Limitations of Park Assist Pilot*

Updated 08/06/2023

The Active parking assistance (Park Assist Pilot – PAP) function may have limitations in certain situations.

Parking is discontinued

A parking sequence will be discontinued:

if the driver moves the steering wheel
if the car is driven too quickly - above 7 km/h (4 mph)
if the driver presses Cancel in the centre display
when the anti-lock brakes or the Electronic stability control are engaged - e.g. when a wheel loses grip on a slippery road.

Where applicable, a message in the centre display states the reason for a parking sequence being discontinued.

Note

Dirt, ice and snow covering the sensors will reduce their function and may prevent measurement.

Important

Under certain circumstances, PAP is unable to find parking spaces - one reason for this may be the fact that there is interference with the sensors from external sound sources which emit the same ultrasound frequencies as those with which the system works.

Examples of such sources include horns, wet tyres on asphalt, pneumatic brakes and exhaust noises from motorcycles etc.

Driver responsibility

The driver should bear in mind that the PAP is an aid – not an infallible, fully-automatic function. The driver must therefore be prepared to interrupt a parking step.

There are also a few details to bear in mind while parking, e.g.:

PAP bases itself on the locations of vehicles already parked nearby - if they are inappropriately parked, your own car's tyres and wheel rims may be damaged by contact with the kerb.
PAP is designed for parking on straight streets - not sharp curves or bends. For this reason, make sure the car is parallel to the parking space when PAP measures the space.
It is not always possible to find parking spaces on narrow streets since there is not enough space for manoeuvring. In such parking situations, it helps the system to drive as close to the side of the road as possible where you intend to park.
Bear in mind that the front of the car may swing out towards oncoming traffic while being parked.
Objects situated higher than the detection areas of the sensors are not taken into account when calculating the parking manoeuvre. This may cause PAP to turn into the parking space too early, and hence such parking spaces should be avoided.
The driver is responsible for determining whether the space selected by PAP is suitable for parking.
Use approved tyres1 with the correct tyre pressure - this affects the ability of PAP to park the car.
Heavy rain or snow may cause the system to measure the parking space incorrectly.
Do not use PAP if snow chains or a spare wheel are fitted.
Do not use PAP if cargo items are protruding from the car.
Perpendicular parking spaces may be missed or offered unnecessarily if one parked car is protruding more than other parked cars.

Important

The PAP system's parameters may need to be updated when changing to another approved wheel rim size involving changed tyre circumference. Consult a workshop - an authorised Volvo workshop is recommended.

Maintenance

P5-1507-PAP Sensorplacering BirdView — PAP sensor locations.

For the PAP function to work properly, the surfaces with its sensors must be cleaned regularly with water and car shampoo - they are the same sensors on the bumpers that Parking assistance uses.