Reversing Camera And Parking Sensor Option

[davismith31@hotmail.com]

Hi, Ive seen a few topics on reversing cameras but nothing that really answered my question.

Im due to get a new Avensis Tourer D-4D T4 which has the Nav system which includes the reversing camera.

As our work car park is very small with lots of double parking my previous cars have all had reversing sensors. (originally fitted for the wife honest )

My question is, with the reversing camera is there a need for the optional reversing sensors or is the camera good enough to aid parking.

Also, where does the camera point, directly behind or angled to the gorund....is the reversing camera good in the dark / raining etc.

Thanks for the help

Dave

[blue verso 56]

I have the sat nav with camera and also reversing sensors and if I had to decide which one it would keep it would be the sensors !!

The camera gives a distorted view in my opinion and also gets very dirty from road dirt

[rogerbu]

I agree.

I had sensors fitted to my T4 with the camara by my local Tow Bar fitting company (colour coded etc).

The sensors are much more useful that the camara.

The camara does not protect the corners of the car the same way that the sensors do.

That said, I can place the tow hook perfectly when backing up to my caravan using the camara.

Horses for courses, but I would'nt drop the sensors.

PS If you havent yet committed to the upgraded Nav System & 10GB hard disk - Dont.

The Premier Sat Nav is the worst sat nav I have ever had and the 10GB Hard disk for music is an absolute pain.

Buy the best Sat Nav and MP3 player and save at least a £1000.

[davismith31@hotmail.com]

Hi, Thanks Both for the input.

looks like the sensor option is the way to go. The prem sat nav is coming as part fo the car as its on a company car scheme. I have seen a few comments on here as to it not being very good. In your opion why is it not good.

Dave

[cabcurtains]

Confession..... i nearly crashed a new CRV that had the camera and sensors as i was watching the tv display and it was only at the last second that the brain registered thats the back of my car about to it that Corsa in the picture..... It always impressed the passengers but as mentioned it gets dirty far to quickly.

[Geordie Mick in Wigan]

In your opion why is it not good.

Dave

an earlier post by me HERE wil fill you in on details but agree with what's been said so far.

THe camera's great for hitching up trailers, rubbish for reversing, you can't reverse in a straight line using the camera, it's fish eye and it's bias is towards the kerb side, you have a BIG offside blind spot which is not covered, throw in a dark nigh, privacy glass, bit of road grime and crap reverse light and you're reversing blind.

If you can get your employers to spec the non SN T4 then do so, the extra £1500 value to your car isn't worth the extra BIK tax

[rogerbu]

Premium Sat Nav issues.

My prinary gripes against the Premium Sat Nav & 10GB Hard disk.

1. It is incapable of offering sensible routes - Once you select a destination it will offer 3 alternative routes. None of these routes are the quickest. eg Portsmouth to Crawley 55 miles 70 minutes via obvious A roads. It offers 1. Go via the M25 + 20 minutes + 15 miles. 2. Go via Brighton +15 Minutes + 12 miles. 3. Go via farm tracks etc + 30 minutes -3 miles. All thes are useless. To add salt to the wounds if you select 2 via Chichester & Brighton, it tries to take you off the Chichester Bypass, into the town centre and rejoin the bypass at the next roundabout adding a further 3 miles and 5 minutes viewing Chichester City Centre - Crasy

I have tried tweeking the assumed mph for Motorways, urban & Rural roads to no avail.

Most other Sat Nav features are ok but the menues are not intuative, so without being able to rely on its route alternatives it is useless.

2. The 10GB hard disk for music - The only way to load music onto it is by playing a CD and recording it. Forget the fact that you have all your music as MP3 or WMA, You can't save those onto the disk.

Any music you have legally downloaded you will have to burn a CD, and as the byte count will not be exactly right - see manual data below.

So you will spend weeks feeding in CD after CD

However it has a Gracenote DB of CD details - Only has high volume CDs upto about the end of 2008. All others you will have to manually enter the CD Name, Genre, CD Artist (no capability to recognise that compilations have multiple artists) and Track Names - at least 10 minutes per CD that must be done whilst the vehicle is stopped. The neighbours must wonder why I spend so many hours in my car parked outside my house.

Once entered you can painfully select a specific CD or or Genre, you cant select a specific artist across CDs.

3. Connecting the bluetooth to a mobile is interesting. Once achieved getting contacts from your phone to the SatNav bluetooth is a challenge. However once achieved you will get quite good at it as every couple of months it forgets all the contacts you have transferred.

Overall this is clearly the beta version 0.5 of the software, where Version 1.0 is usually the first customer release. Toyota needs to hang the software provider up and demand that the significant issues be fixed and retro installed onto all existing vehicles. Unfortunatley they can't as they haven't yet developed the update process.

If this was a freebie that came with an otherwise excellant car - fine. It isn't, I paid £1500 for this rubbish feature.

Roger

[Geordie Mick in Wigan]

Brilliantly put Roger

(not to sound rude) but I'm pleased others think the same, thought is was only me being too demanding/expecting......

Must say though, my bluetooth loads up contacts really well and have never had any problem pairing up phones.

Have you turned up the gain on your microphone via the 'secret menu'??