Parking sensors don't like rain

[Dave R.]

I have a 2018 Rav 4 with parking sensors.  There have been a couple of occasions when the front parking sensor beepers have been going off with  no obstacles around (e.g. driving around normally, stop at a junction with no other vehicles or obstacles in sight).  The only common factor is that this is after rainfall - so I suspect it is water droplets running down the bumpers over the parking sensors.  Is this a common "feature" or do I need to take it back to the dealer?

[WarrenB]

I get this on mine as well, 2016 Rav4 Hybrid

[philip42h]

Do you not have a handy switch to control whether the front parking sensors are active? I've found that they are best used only when parking else they will tell me when I'm driving alongside a hedge, pulling up behind the vehicle in front etc. etc..

[Dave R.]

Afraid not - my last car (Lexus IS300h) had one on the dash.  On the Rav it is on the configuration settings 2-3 menu clicks down on the steering-wheel controls... not the sort of place you want to be hunting around for when just about to park.

Guess I'll just have to live with the inconvenience. 😞

[philip42h]

39 minutes ago, Dave R. said:

Afraid not - my last car (Lexus IS300h) had one on the dash.  On the Rav it is on the configuration settings 2-3 menu clicks down on the steering-wheel controls... not the sort of place you want to be hunting around for when just about to park.

Guess I'll just have to live with the inconvenience. 😞

That's annoying ... on mine there's a switch on the centre console, just forward of the gear selector which is very convenient though I suspect that this may be the result of having the parking sensors fitted after import. I couldn't live with my front sensors being 'on' all the time - they'd alert every time I approached a roundabout (due to the cars in front) and have a perfect fit driving along the narrow lanes around home.

Oh, and, just for fun, that switch is illuminated when the parking sensors are on (and gets rather hot if left on for a long while). 🙂

[spl@]

Had sensors on our old car, you wait till it snows.

[gjnorthall]

Many cars suffer from issues with front sensors in wet weather caused by water droplets or the effects of wet road surfaces. Nissan, for example, have had recalls to fit improved sensors / modify software. There are also the aforementioned issues of driving bumper to bumper etc. It wouldn't be difficult to fit a switch on the dashboard wired to isolate the sensors normally and activate when required.

[Dave R.]

Yes - as I said, had them on the Lexus with no rainwater or snow issues - just the odd bleep if I ended up too close to someone in a traffic jam - & then was able to hit the button on the dash.  Wonder what it is about the Rav sensors that makes them so sensitive to rainwater? Either way, at least I know it is not a unique fault, but a "feature".

[152bobby]

I NEVER use that switch to turn my front sensors off, as I would forget to turn it on again until I hit something !!!

Must admit that my Toyota front and rear sensors have never let me down in all the years I have owned this Rav, even in the rain, they are fine.  Obviously thick snow stuck to them would interfere with them.

I do notice sometimes when driving forward up a steep slope or similar when reversing they sometimes activate, but that's them only detecting the ground because it's steep.

I'll always have front and rear sensors.

[daveh_rav4]

Blimey, how much extra did all you guys pay on top of the vehicle price for these finicky parking sensors?  I have parking sensors and I have never had any problem with them in years of motoring; also, they come on automatically... I just have to keep my eyes open and use my brain for distance measurement and that's it!  As I say... they have never failed me and I never paid any money to Toyota for them!  You guy's need to upgrade to these... they are brilliant. 🙂

[G4HFG Graham]

My wife videoed the warning and simultaneously videoed the empty road ahead.  We showed this to the Service Manager and the fault was corrected during the last service.

Job sorted! 

[Catlover]

These sensors do need to be kept clean of road dirt. Just try an occasional wipe, and I dont mean whilst your driving. 😎

[Anuell]

I have the same problem on my Toyota Premio 2019. Its happening repetitively when there's heavy rain. It functions normally after wiping water droplets away from sensors. Toyota should look into this issue. 

[Dippy]

My 4.3 has sensors front and rear as a Toyota option. Those in front only work below a low speed like 5mph. There is a dash button to switch them off but I never use it. 

Dealer (6 hours away) originally just fitted a rear set to the front as well, and they would beep at 80mph if I got too close to central reservation. Got them changed after a long fight. “We fitted sensors, what’s the problem?”  

My 4.2 rear sensors were terrible in the rain, useless when wet. 

How do you clean them? Main flat surface, inset ring, which?

[Gerg]

I have had the situation where parking sensors, after they were a few years old, would give a false indication in times of wet weather.  This does not necessarily mean that they were covered in droplets, just that they were wet.

I found that putting a quick squirt of WD40, aimed vaguely at the circular gap, helped a tremendous amount.  Just a quick spray, then wipe the excess off.

About 10 years ago I had a dead, factory-fitted parking sensor that nothing would revive.  So I did the decent thing and sawed it in half to see what was inside.

In this one, the electronic module was encapsulated in rubber (potted), so the WD40 spray was unlikely to affect it.  By the time our cars have been 'moved on', the WD40 had not seemed to have had any detrimental effect.

[Mikeyjd]

Our other car, a Jaguar XE has the perfect solution. You can isolate the front sensors if you wish, but if they are switched on and you get too close to another car at traffic lights or something and they start to bleep, there is a switch on the dash that cancels them instantly. As soon as you start driving again, they are working. It is the perfect solution.

[PeteB]

The latest RAV4 (and I suspect new Corolla) has a good solution too - "The buzzer can be temporarily muted by pressing (OK) of the meter control switches while a suggestion that says mute is available is shown on the multiinformation display."