Audi Parking System

The bumper-mounted sensors detect proximity to an obstacle and signal it to the acoustic parking system control unit. As soon as the distance to an obstacle at the front of the vehicle falls below 120 centimetres, or 160 centimetres at the rear, or 60 centimetres at the side, an intermittent tone warns you so you can respond appropriately in good time. If the distance falls to less than 25 centimetres a continuous tone sounds. When you are driving along a wall the warning tone is muted after three seconds, though it delivers a renewed warning if you get nearer to the wall again.

The sensors are mounted on the bumpers in a barely visible flat configuration. Tone emitters are built into the dash panel and the rear parcel shelf. At speeds above 9 mph the system is automatically deactivated. You can also disable it at the press of a button, so it does not irritate in stop-and-go traffic for example.