“Parking is hard” is a popular meme on social media because parking neatly within the lines is a task that seems to elude a large portion of the American driving public. Automakers have gotten wise to this and have created increasingly automated parking systems for new vehicles, some of which do most of the hard work of navigating parallel and perpendicular parking maneuvers. Like advanced driver aids, companies give their parking assistants engaging names. Nissan calls their system ProPilot Park.
ProPilot Park uses four high-resolution cameras and 12 sonar sensors to detect parking spots and safely navigate the vehicle into position. The driver must push a console-mounted button to activate the system and position the car in front of the desired spot. The system can detect the space, other vehicles, parking barriers, and other obstacles. Nissan notes that it’s capable of dealing with parallel and perpendicular (forward) parking spaces and can also handle parking spots that require switchbacks to reach.
ProPilot Park also has a memory function that lets the driver store parking locations. Once the car is parked in the desired spot, the system can store the site and suggest the auto-park feature when the vehicle nears a registered spot. ProPilot Park controls the vehicle’s accelerator, brakes, shifting, and steering in all parking scenarios.
Though ProPilot Park is convenient and does much of the hard work of parking, the driver must still be in the vehicle and attentive to its movements. The ProPilot Remote Park system lets the driver step out of the car and use the key fob as a remote control. When the driver activates the system using the key, the vehicle uses its onboard sensors to safely move out of the parking space. Like standard ProPilot Park, Remote Park relies on sensors and cameras to detect the lines, other vehicles, and obstacles. The car will stop if it senses an obstacle and can adjust its direction to avoid objects in its path.
Nissan started with ProPilot Assist, which has grown into an ecosystem of advanced driver aids. Depending on the vehicle and the configuration, there may be a range of “add-on” features, including ProPilot Remote Park and ProPilot Navi-Link. The navigation feature automatically adjusts the vehicle’s speed in response to speed limit changes or curves. It’s intended to reduce driver fatigue by cutting steps out of the cruise control speed-management process.
The new Nissan Ariya EV comes with ProPilot Assist 2.0, which enables hands-free driving and guided lane changes. Nissan calls it an “on-ramp to off-ramp” system, and the driver only needs to set a navigation destination to let the vehicle do most of the work. It can suggest when to pass, and Nissan notes that it has a high-precision satellite system for more accurate lane location on large multi-lane highways.
Nissan ProPilot Park is a valuable tool for avoiding fender-benders while parking. Unfortunately, it’s not available in vehicles from other brands. If you’re looking for different makes and models that offer semi- or fully autonomous parking systems, head to the Shopping Guides section to find models equipped with advanced parking assistance systems.
Chris Teague is an experienced writer in the automotive and technology fields. In addition to JDPower.com, his work appears at Forbes, The Drive, Your Test Driver, and others.
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