Park Assist, manual gearbox

[josephvman]

The owner's manual has very little information about the Park Assist function, and I've not been able to figure it out at all. Do cars with manual gearboxes even have this feature? I see the menu and the graphics, but I've not been able to figure it out.

 

[Massimo 2323]

I posted the Golf 8 manual in pdf format and at page 288 you will find all the information.
If you have a total of 12 parking sensors then you have the park assist and this feature is available for manual gearboxs.
Here is the link:
Post in thread 'Golf 8 Manual pdf edition..'
https://www.golfmk8.com/forums/index.php?threads/golf-8-manual-pdf-edition.380343/post-7550818

 

[SRGTD]

I don’t have Park Assist and it’s not something I’ve ever considered getting in a new car. Although it’s marketed as a parking aid, like many assistance systems designed to help the driver it’s not infallible.

It’s probably worth noting here that with Park Assist, when parallel parking at the roadside between two vehicles, the additional (Park Assist) sensors will use those vehicles as reference points and if they’re badly parked - e.g. wheels ‘brushing’ the kerbside or mounting the pavement - then there’s a high risk that Park Assist will attempt to manoeuvre your car to park in a similar manner (e.g. wheels against the kerb or mounting the pavement), resulting in potentially expensive alloy wheel or tyre damage. If you do a Google search on ‘park assist damaged my wheels’ or similar search, you’ll find quite a few instances of owners of vehicles with Park Assist sustaining nearside wheel and tyre damage while parking.

From a personal perspective, I’d opt to have a reversing camera over Park Assist. It costs a few £’s more but IMHO would be more useful. That’s just my personal choice though and we all place different priorities and levels of importance on certain features in a car (and life in general) - which is a good thing, otherwise life would get boring .

 

[josephvman]

I have parking camera and Park Assist, and frankly I'd never use the Park Assist as I've been fully capable of parking my own car since 1984. I would like to know how it works out of curiosity, or if it even works at all. I'm finding in my first two weeks of ownership far more of the electronics don't work as advertised, or even function at all, than those which do. My MK7 was practically flawless for four years or use, abuse, and generally beater treatment, but this new car might set a new record for my short ownership.

 

[SRGTD]

YouTube video at the link below shows a manual mk8 Golf with Park Assist in action. Video is French but IMHO it’s still possible to understand from the video how it works even if you don’t speak French.

 

[josephvman]

Thanks for that video, which brings up some interesting points.

Did you notice the warning triangle on the left side of his instrument screen, and the the yellow exclamation points on all sides of the car on the left of the media screen? Earlier this week I got into my car and had that same warning with an indication that there was a parking sensor malfunction. Also strangely when I pushed the dashboard button to pull up the Parking functions on the media screen, I got the same initial screen that you see on the video, with the 2 choices. This is the ONLY time I've ever seen that screen. I had to shut my car off, get out and lock it, and get in and start it again to get the parking sensors to work, and that main Park screen disappeared and hasn't occurred since.

In that video the parking sensors clearly indicate a malfunction, and I'm assuming their function is critical to the Park Assist feature, so a lot of unanswered questions here!

For the record, my car is two weeks old and my software version is 1880, Hardware H56, USA car.

 

[Genegenie]

I find PA useful as my first car with alloys had PA specced and for some reason I got paraniod about kerb-touching with alloys, one 'kerb kiss' and they can be destroyed, though I never have hit a kerb, go figure. PA is good when you 'absolutely, positvely have to park - there' are very short on time and no other spaces are avaliable, say in a hospital car park or similar. Can bit a bit of a faff to use, compared to Mk7 version. But as mentioned it takes it's cues from other vehicles which may be badly parked and will also happily slot the car into a space I wouln't normally dream of parking i.e. not enough room or clumsy 'pull out wihout checking behind and /or swing the door out as wide as possible without looking' idiots. IMO a rear camera is a bit of distraction as it can take your atrtention away from checking your mirrors and looking round - and you can scare your self with how close you can get while manouvering in your every day areas where you never hit anything ....