How to parking sensors?

I have a Toyota Avensis with fairly flush fitting bumpers and I need to fit parking sensors. The bumpers are the best place I think. I want to do this myself as the installers are failry expensive near me, but I don't know what's involved. The wife has already cost me =A3500 in damage to other cars by reversing into them so I'm trying to save money on the install. If anyone has fitted these to a similar car can you tell me how you did it please? I think I have to remove the rear bumper, drill the four holes for the sensors, and perhaps drill a hole into the car body to the boot space for the cables too, and that's the bit that scaring me. I don't want the stick on ones as there's still no obvious way to get the cables into the boot.

Reply to
kenord
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Wouldn't your money be better spent teaching your wife to drive ?

Find a local course covering manoeuvres, and send her on it !

Do exactly as you just said - but you don't need to remove the bumper. If you pull all the carpet/trim out of the boot, it should be easy to see a way from boot-to-bumper - you might not even need to drill a hole.

Reply to
Nom

Drilling holes in the bumper is easy enough, it's plastic and hole saws on drills are a POP, but you do want to put a guide hole in and make sure the holes are in the right place.

The usual way to get from bumper to boot is to put a hole through at a convenient point and seal it up with a rubber grommet, a sort of rubber bung with a hole in it. The wires go through the hole, water can't, and the wires won't chaff on the metal edge. There is likely to be a grommet or hole there already.

Power to the sensor can be taken from the +ve to the reversing lights so that the sensor turns on whenever reverse is selected. Earthing in the same place makes sense. Bolting the box near the cluster is also common sense therefore, unless it has the display on it. Mine just beeps gradually more frantically until you hit things, so I've put it just under the parcel shelf with the piezo pointing up, loud enough to hear, but not raucous. If it has a display, be sure to put this in the back, e.g. top of the window or rear pillar. You want to either see it while looking back, or in the mirror if being lazy. Having it in the dash means you can't see it while reversing, unless you aren't looking where you're going.

Reply to
Questions

When reversing, do you physically turn around to see where you're going then ? I tend to solely use my mirrors whilst parking, so screen-on-the-dash would suit me just fine.

Reply to
Nom

I tend to do a full sweep, from right shoulder, right mirror, windscreen, interior mirror, left door mirror, and over left shoulder, and then back again, until I'm in the spot.

Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

probably because your to fat to turn round huh? :)

i tend to use mirrors and turn around as well as mirrors have big blind spots and dozy bastards in car parks seem to ignore reverse lights and big things moving backwards round my way :)

Reply to
Vamp

I look round. It's a pain in the neck, literally sometimes, but I can't see enough to be confident there isn't someone / something there by just using the mirrors.

Similar when pulling across to the right hand lane, I always check the blind spot even when I'm sure there's nothing in it, and a glance left when pulling back in.

Reply to
Questions

yep as you should! even the AX i used to drive years ago had a tiny blind spot near the back window, could have a vectra sized saloon in that blind spot and not see it in your mirror.

love the MR2 for parking, can drive it backwards almost as fast as i can forwards as the back end is so flat and the spoiler helps judge where the back bumper is roughly. the back window being so close can be a right bitch mind if the sun is low and behind you!

Reply to
Vamp

Me TR7 is extremely simple to reverse into spaces, mainly because your head is only a couple of feet or so forward of the rear boot edge, and you're in the open air with no pillars or glass.

Reply to
Questions

You make it sound so easy. Unfortunately it's a skill beyond the reach of a lot of people.

Reply to
LordyUK

Far from it ! Although I gather that *would* apply to some other group members !

Reply to
Nom

hehe own up who's the fatty then? who's a bit of a chubster, a bit of a porky pig, a podgy podge? :)

Reply to
Vamp

Reply to
AstraVanMan

haha podgy podge!

Reply to
Vamp

Waves back in an Me Too kind of way.

Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

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