Porsche Macan Forum banner

Parking Sensors False Warning

35K views 65 replies 45 participants last post by  RJE 
#1 Ā·
Parking sensors have worked well for 1st 3 months ownership. Yes, overly sensitive re distance (OMG Iā€™m 3 feet away from an object!) but, once you learn that, you can mostly ignore yellow & start paying attention when red.

1st false warning: 12-3-2015. In stop & go traffic & the ā€œwent crazyā€ with audio & yellow & red zone warnings, mostly in front (LF & RF on display) while the car in front of me was a full car length away! Lasted ~ 10-15 seconds.

2nd false warning: 12-9-2015: driving & LF red warning on screen along with loud warning for 5 seconds. No other cars near me!

Dealer found ā€œnothing wrongā€ when had car in yesterday.

Has anyone experienced this?
 
#2 Ā·
Check the license plate, if you have a holder in the front and it doesn't follow the bumper curve then it's probably the issue.
 
#3 Ā·
I have the false alarm twice in 8 months of ownership and I don't have a front license plate.

So far I just ignore it. If it starts to happen more frequently to annoy me I will let dealer deal with it.
 
#4 Ā·
No license plate or holder on front bumper.
Good thought though.
 
#6 Ā·
I have had a couple of false alarms at the front and my best guess was the car in front's cold exhaust reflecting off my headlights or sun reflecting. I'm probably completely wrong but they are the only common denominators in my false alarms.
 
#7 Ā·
Mine is set to low but has been for weeks b4 the 1st instance occurred.

Plenty of sunshine here & had not had this happen for 1st 3 months.

Porsche has no idea why or what to do to fix it.
 
#9 Ā·
I hate when the alarm goes off when my driver door is still 2-3 feet away from the drive thru window! I actually wish that there was a way to turn off the sound and just watch the color change on the PCM screen. I may ask and see if the dealer can turn off the audible part next time I go in.
 
#10 Ā·
@ mrt5150, Mine has always done that @ drive through windows too. Annoying but not a fault, just overly sensitive. Too bad they do not allow us to adjust sensitivity. I tend to only pay attention when it is RED.
 
#12 Ā·
Were you on a flat surface at the time? I have noticed that since lowering my Macan it will alarm based on the slope of the road or even going up and down driveways... If I am on a flat surface and the road starts to slope up in front of me and the sensor sees it then it will actually alarm... Wondering if it was flat roads.
 
#13 Ā·
False proximity sensor warnings happen in the front on a regular basis for me even when nothing is around. Annoying but I just chock it up to buggy Porsche software and ignore them. I've brought it up with my service adviser on more than one occasion but it continues to happen. Pick your battles...
 
#14 Ā·
@ Arilla850, yes, happened on flat paved road both times.
@Got F?, So, you apparently have the same problem. Do you have PASM A/S? If so do you mostly have the car suspension set to low on paved roads?

BTW re normal (oversensitive) operation:
PCM manual p. 121 states:
Yellow: 31.5ā€ F & 31.5ā€ R
Red: 15.8ā€ F & 17.7ā€ R
Red wi continuous tone: 11.8ā€ F 11.8ā€ R

So, if youā€™re moving very slowly & paying attention you can focus only on Red & especially red with continuous tone.

My issue (2x to date) has been driving on paved road with no cars remotely near 10 feet away & sudden red warning with continuous tone -mixed with some yellow.

Pg. 120 states park assist activates when speed 10 mph or less. I think I was going 10 MPH or less when my 2 false warnings occurred, not sure. The first instance definitely yes <10 mph.
 
#15 Ā·
Could swear the manual said the sensitivity is adjustable, but I left it alone because mine has had no problems. Not near my manual now. Have u guys checked ur manuals?
 
#18 Ā·
Yes, I've had the same issue.

My best guess is that its interference from a similar parking sensor. I've had it bounce around from green to red / yellow / red / green all while sitting still in drive no where near the car in front.

I've also had it go "RED STOP YOU IDIOT" while slowing down on an off ramp when I was still 20 feet from the car in front.

I think its driving the same issue where ACC randomly goes "BAHHHHH! HIT YOUR BRAKES YOU IDIOT!!!!!" randomly on the expressway for 1/2 a second. Then has dementia and forgets anything happened.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Louie Zoi
#19 Ā·
3rd occurrence this month! (3 prior months--no problem)

Slowing for light, car in front at least Ā½ car length away. Got red center warning wi continuos tone with both R & L front yellow. Lasted 5 seconds. So I was under 10 mph & not sure if triggered by that car in front. Typically do not get warnings in traffic as slow @ stoplights, etc.
 
#21 Ā·
If you & others with this issue complain to Porsche, maybe they will fix it?
Apparently, they are currently in denial that such an issue exists!
 
#22 Ā·
I have had this issue 3-4 times. Not a big deal, a bit annoying at the time but it only lasts for a few seconds. I won't be going to the dealer at this stage, maybe if it is happening more frequently.
 
#23 Ā·
I've had this issue a few times for no apparent reason. Last time I was stopped in a parking lot with no cars around me while I was doing something on my phone. All of the sudden the beeps and red engulfed the screen, went crazy for about 15 seconds, and then disappeared into the mist like nothing ever happened.

What annoys me more about the parking sensors is driving in NYC traffic. If I'm on a bridge or a highway with close medians (as there are lots of these highways / roads with no shoulders here) it will just be beeping the entire time and it drives me nuts. I wanted to throw my car off the Williamsburg Bridge once because I was in 30 mins of traffic going across and it kept going off while I sat in the left lane not moving.
 
#26 Ā·
I hope they've fixed this for the MY17 model. If you can't trust the sensors, then what's the point of having them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tim Griffin
#28 Ā·
And then you ignore it. And discover you shouldn't have too late...
 
  • Like
Reactions: WHT TGR
#29 Ā·
On my Bentley Continental the parking sensors would false trigger, so i got used to turning them off when driving and back on when parking. A bit of a PITA but surprisingly became a habbit that i never evn rhought about.
And in case you asked, i never once forgot to turn them back on.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top