Parking Assistant Plus (Self Parking)

LogicalApex · 10-13-2021, 01:32 PM

This feature has come up a few times on the forum and I've been a major fan of the feature and continue to be on my MY2020 530e with "SP15" in BMW speak. My neighbor just picked up a new BMW X1 MY2022 I believe with the updated SP18 hardware (since he didn't have to hold the PDC button for it to work) and the experience was absolutely terrifying.

Being a fan of BMWs and a fan of the feature on my car I implored him to give it a shot on his so I was standing on the sidewalk as it tried to park in a spot I've parked in many times using PAP (Parking Assistant Plus) on my car. The spot was a good size, but had a telephone pole on the sidewalk and was parallel. The car shot off like a rocket and he slammed his brakes just in time to prevent it from hitting the car in back of the spot (with 6" of clearance left!). It didn't appear to see the sidewalk, the pole, or the other cars. It was stopped with a whole tire on the curb and it was coming in at an angle as if it saw the curb 2 feet away from where it actually is. He said he has no confidence in the feature and I wouldn't either if I had his experience!

On the LCI with SP18 hardware has anyone used this feature? Has this feature regressed so much that it is no longer functional?

I feel bad for recommending him to try this out! I showcased him it working smoothly in my car in a similar spot one car in front of the spot he tried. I also suggested he get BMW to sort his car out.

But curious if others are having similar issues.

ob2ob2 · 10-14-2021, 05:56 PM

My 2017 G32 has Parking Assist Plus, I do use the auto parking function when it is parallel parking. It does seem to be a bit faster than I like, but it does park every time flawlessly in the daylight. I have only done the auto parallel parking at night a few times so far, the scars on the alloy wheels remind me, better do it myself at night.

LogicalApex · 10-14-2021, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ob2ob2

My 2017 G32 has Parking Assist Plus, I do use the auto parking function when it is parallel parking. It does seem to be a bit faster than I like, but it does park every time flawlessly in the daylight. I have only done the auto parallel parking at night a few times so far, the scars on the alloy wheels remind me, better do it myself at night.

This was in daylight and very clear and sunny out too.

taskrov · 10-14-2021, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

This was in daylight and very clear and sunny out too.

I too have this option. I have tried it a couple of times (during the day only) and it seems to work fine. One time I tried it in a grocery store parking lot. The car picked up the parking spot (for back-in parking) fine but by the time I tried to go into it, someone has already slipped into that space. It was a busy lot. I can see why that person would do that (maybe a bit rude), but the way the car was positioned (90 deg) at the beginning of the maneuver it is not obvious to those coming behind you that you intend to pull into that space. I had the blinker on. Had I tried to park myself I would positioned the car at about 45 degrees so it was obvious to others what I intend to do.

5Pilot · 10-15-2021, 12:06 AM

I have Parking Assistant Plus on my 18 530e. I’ve only used it a couple of times each for parallel and back-in parking. I don’t like how quickly it moves. The parking has always been flawless, but it moves so quickly that there’s little time to intervene. The dealer advised me to just ride the brake pedal. I just do the parking myself, instead.

taskrov · 10-18-2021, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5Pilot

I have Parking Assistant Plus on my 18 530e. I’ve only used it a couple of times each for parallel and back-in parking. I don’t like how quickly it moves. The parking has always been flawless, but it moves so quickly that there’s little time to intervene. The dealer advised me to just ride the brake pedal. I just do the parking myself, instead.

If you have PAP, does that mean you have the auto reverse feature? If so, how does one activate it. It would be nice for pulling out of my garage which is at 90 degrees to the driveway and the car cannot make the turn in one shot.

SteveinArizona · 10-18-2021, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5Pilot

I have Parking Assistant Plus on my 18 530e. I’ve only used it a couple of times each for parallel and back-in parking. I don’t like how quickly it moves. The parking has always been flawless, but it moves so quickly that there’s little time to intervene. The dealer advised me to just ride the brake pedal. I just do the parking myself, instead.

I have it also on my 2018 530e but have never even tried it. I love having the cameras but park the car myself. I am too OC to let the car take command.

hlothery · 10-18-2021, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

I have it also on my 2018 530e but have never even tried it. I love having the cameras but park the car myself. I am too OC to let the car take command.

What he said!

LogicalApex · 10-18-2021, 11:41 PM

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like something was off on his X1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taskrov

If you have PAP, does that mean you have the auto reverse feature? If so, how does one activate it. It would be nice for pulling out of my garage which is at 90 degrees to the driveway and the car cannot make the turn in one shot.

The reverse out feature is in the LCI with full iDrive 7.

OmahaDB · 10-19-2021, 07:29 AM

When I bought the car (a CPO 2018) I assumed it didn't have self park ability. After reviewing the build sheet, I discovered that it does. I tried it out the other day. The parking lot was not very full, but I don't want to try something new in a busy parking lot. It did try to park me, but it also tried doing that by reversing onto an island at the end of the row. Oops! Needless to say I hit the brakes once I saw where it was headed. I decided to try it out another day, in a different lot.

I'm interested to see how well it centers the car in tighter spots, like the airport parking garage. The car moves quite a bit faster when parking than I would, I'll say that.

r1cero · 10-19-2021, 09:46 AM

When it is a really tight spot for parallel parking, it won't recognize it so I see this as a gimmick. When the parkig space is large enough, I know how to park myself.

LogicalApex · 10-19-2021, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r1cero

When it is a really tight spot for parallel parking, it won't recognize it so I see this as a gimmick. When the parkig space is large enough, I know how to park myself.

I have had it get into some fairly tight parallel spots. I find that it can be very concerned about how close or far you are to the car you pull up next to though. As too close or too far it will struggle to see a safe path where you would be able to handle it yourself.

I think you need about a foot or so in front or back of your car for it to be able to fit into the spot which I think is pretty solid for a self parking feature.

It does have a limit on how many maneuvers it will do. Maybe 6 or something like that pull forwards. I can’t remember. I have had it pull into a super tight space, but give up due to having to move forward and back too many times to fit. But that was OK. I was impressed with how far it got!

Next time I use it I’ll take a picture of the size of the spot it was able to get into on its own and share some dashcam footage.

OmahaDB · 10-19-2021, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r1cero

When it is a really tight spot for parallel parking, it won't recognize it so I see this as a gimmick. When the parkig space is large enough, I know how to park myself.

Gimmick for sure, if you've been driving (and parking) since the 1970s. I just want to see the car do it a few times... I doubt very seriously I'll use it much, if ever, "for real".

r1cero · 10-20-2021, 05:04 AM

It might be what LogicalApex said, I was always trying it by being pretty close to the car on the right. I will test again.

BBDDVV · 10-20-2021, 07:19 AM

2021 530e, used self parking a couple of times just to see how it does, and so far I'm impressed, esp. with the parallel parking in tide spaces. It automatically goes back and forth a couple of times to wiggle itself in, and seems to use the camera's to make sure the end location is somewhat centered in the white 'parking spot outlines' instead of centered between the cars (when e.g. the car is front is close to its end marking and the car behind is still far away of it's front line.

The perpendicular parking in a (very) wide space tends to put the car too much to one side for my liking (there were no parking spot outlines in these cases, just parked cars.

The automatic reversing is a godsend for narrow/curvy driveways, especially at night with poor or no lighting. I use it every week, pitch black outside (no street lighting) where reversing/surround cameras are ± useless (the car doesn't provide enough light at the rear to recognize the sides of the driveway)

CnSky · 10-21-2021, 08:48 PM

How does this automatic reversing work? How to activate and use it?

LogicalApex · 10-21-2021, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CnSky

How does this automatic reversing work? How to activate and use it?

Automatic Reversing was added in the LCI MY2021+

CnSky · 10-21-2021, 08:50 PM

Seems it's only on the LCI?

calbears · 10-22-2021, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CnSky

Seems it's only on the LCI?

Yes, only with full iDrive 7

LogicalApex · 10-24-2021, 07:04 PM

As promised earlier. I pulled some footage from my dash cam of me using the feature to pull into two parallel spots. The speed at which the car does this is within the normal time for human parking as well.

I forgot to snap a picture, but the first video was a fairly tight spot. The wide angle of the dash cam may make that less obvious. The parking on the first video starts slower as my wife suggested I use the spot on the other side of the street instead since it was bigger. But you can see how many maneuvers the car did to get into the spot and it handled the planters on the side well. It is really good at knowing when an object is too close even when the PDC is solidly red.

The second spot was good as well and it handled the car illegally parked on the right well.

10-13-2021, 01:32 PM	#1
LogicalApex Colonel 2020 Rep 2,939 Posts Drives: 2020 BMW 530xe Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Farmington, NY iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 BMW 530xe [0.00]	Parking Assistant Plus (Self Parking) This feature has come up a few times on the forum and I've been a major fan of the feature and continue to be on my MY2020 530e with "SP15" in BMW speak. My neighbor just picked up a new BMW X1 MY2022 I believe with the updated SP18 hardware (since he didn't have to hold the PDC button for it to work) and the experience was absolutely terrifying. Being a fan of BMWs and a fan of the feature on my car I implored him to give it a shot on his so I was standing on the sidewalk as it tried to park in a spot I've parked in many times using PAP (Parking Assistant Plus) on my car. The spot was a good size, but had a telephone pole on the sidewalk and was parallel. The car shot off like a rocket and he slammed his brakes just in time to prevent it from hitting the car in back of the spot (with 6" of clearance left!). It didn't appear to see the sidewalk, the pole, or the other cars. It was stopped with a whole tire on the curb and it was coming in at an angle as if it saw the curb 2 feet away from where it actually is. He said he has no confidence in the feature and I wouldn't either if I had his experience! On the LCI with SP18 hardware has anyone used this feature? Has this feature regressed so much that it is no longer functional? I feel bad for recommending him to try this out! I showcased him it working smoothly in my car in a similar spot one car in front of the spot he tried. I also suggested he get BMW to sort his car out. But curious if others are having similar issues.
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10-14-2021, 05:56 PM	#2
ob2ob2 Private 12 Rep 65 Posts Drives: G32 630d GT xDrive Msports Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Reading iTrader: (0)	My 2017 G32 has Parking Assist Plus, I do use the auto parking function when it is parallel parking. It does seem to be a bit faster than I like, but it does park every time flawlessly in the daylight. I have only done the auto parallel parking at night a few times so far, the scars on the alloy wheels remind me, better do it myself at night.
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10-15-2021, 12:06 AM	#5
5Pilot New Member 11 Rep 23 Posts Drives: BMW 530eX Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: US Pacific Northwest iTrader: (0)	I have Parking Assistant Plus on my 18 530e. I’ve only used it a couple of times each for parallel and back-in parking. I don’t like how quickly it moves. The parking has always been flawless, but it moves so quickly that there’s little time to intervene. The dealer advised me to just ride the brake pedal. I just do the parking myself, instead.
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10-19-2021, 07:29 AM	#10
OmahaDB Private 95 Rep 72 Posts Drives: 2018 540i xDrive Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Omaha, NE iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 BMW 540i XDrive [0.00]	When I bought the car (a CPO 2018) I assumed it didn't have self park ability. After reviewing the build sheet, I discovered that it does. I tried it out the other day. The parking lot was not very full, but I don't want to try something new in a busy parking lot. It did try to park me, but it also tried doing that by reversing onto an island at the end of the row. Oops! Needless to say I hit the brakes once I saw where it was headed. I decided to try it out another day, in a different lot. I'm interested to see how well it centers the car in tighter spots, like the airport parking garage. The car moves quite a bit faster when parking than I would, I'll say that.
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10-19-2021, 09:46 AM	#11
r1cero Private First Class 81 Rep 179 Posts Drives: bmw 520d g30 Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: south east europe iTrader: (0)	When it is a really tight spot for parallel parking, it won't recognize it so I see this as a gimmick. When the parkig space is large enough, I know how to park myself.
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10-20-2021, 05:04 AM	#14
r1cero Private First Class 81 Rep 179 Posts Drives: bmw 520d g30 Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: south east europe iTrader: (0)	It might be what LogicalApex said, I was always trying it by being pretty close to the car on the right. I will test again.
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10-20-2021, 07:19 AM	#15
BBDDVV Enlisted Member 11 Rep 40 Posts Drives: G31 530e Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Belgium iTrader: (0)	2021 530e, used self parking a couple of times just to see how it does, and so far I'm impressed, esp. with the parallel parking in tide spaces. It automatically goes back and forth a couple of times to wiggle itself in, and seems to use the camera's to make sure the end location is somewhat centered in the white 'parking spot outlines' instead of centered between the cars (when e.g. the car is front is close to its end marking and the car behind is still far away of it's front line. The perpendicular parking in a (very) wide space tends to put the car too much to one side for my liking (there were no parking spot outlines in these cases, just parked cars. The automatic reversing is a godsend for narrow/curvy driveways, especially at night with poor or no lighting. I use it every week, pitch black outside (no street lighting) where reversing/surround cameras are ± useless (the car doesn't provide enough light at the rear to recognize the sides of the driveway)
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10-21-2021, 08:48 PM	#16
CnSky Major 330 Rep 1,028 Posts Drives: BMW 530E 2017 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Ireland iTrader: (0)	How does this automatic reversing work? How to activate and use it?
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10-21-2021, 08:50 PM	#18
CnSky Major 330 Rep 1,028 Posts Drives: BMW 530E 2017 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Ireland iTrader: (0)	Seems it's only on the LCI?
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10-24-2021, 07:04 PM	#20
LogicalApex Colonel 2020 Rep 2,939 Posts Drives: 2020 BMW 530xe Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Farmington, NY iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 BMW 530xe [0.00]	As promised earlier. I pulled some footage from my dash cam of me using the feature to pull into two parallel spots. The speed at which the car does this is within the normal time for human parking as well. I forgot to snap a picture, but the first video was a fairly tight spot. The wide angle of the dash cam may make that less obvious. The parking on the first video starts slower as my wife suggested I use the spot on the other side of the street instead since it was bigger. But you can see how many maneuvers the car did to get into the spot and it handled the planters on the side well. It is really good at knowing when an object is too close even when the PDC is solidly red. The second spot was good as well and it handled the car illegally parked on the right well.
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