Parking Sensor Issues
 

Anyone else have a problem with their parking sensors going off WITHOUT any nearby objects.....
This happens completely randomly and there's no explanation.

Dealer claims it's because I tapped into a wiring harness in the center console for something.
The only thing it could be is turn on for the sub amp.

This happened to me once on a drive but then it fixed itself.

Ford vehicles with backward facing exhausts are a common culprit. Not all Lincolns do it, but some will.

The audio alert didn't trigger in this video, but it was happening on and off while in stop and go traffic behind this vehicle. It's the first time I actually was able to record it.

Same here, exact same.
But it's even while I'm driving, or pulling up to a spot.
I wish there was a way to adjust sensitivity.
Blaming it on a microvolt tap for an amp is kind of lazy.

I get it all the time while sitting in traffic. It's immensely annoying since it lowers the music volume. You can disable it by pushing the parking sensor button on the dash. This is just part of my long list of electronic ghosts/gripes with this car, including dancing windows, haunted lumbar support, stereo volume disabling for no reason, and random Pre-sense Seat belt strangulations.

Of course all these things except the haunted lumbar support happen so randomly it's impossible to demonstrate to the dealer, so I just live with them. Getting choked out by the seat belt because the pre-sense sees cross-traffic is definitely my favorite.

I am SOOOO not getting this driver's assist crap on my next ride. /shakes old man fist at the sky.

Yes, this occasionally happens while sitting at a traffic light.

I had this happen last week as I was backing into a parking space. I think the rear sensors picked up the exhaust “steam / smoke” from my own exhaust tips. It scared the crap out of me to have the brakes slammed on, when I could clearly see there was nothing behind me.


I think in 18 months this is only the second time it’s happened to me.

— John

My dealer originally blamed my dash cam for the "360 view reverts back to graphic view" issue...

Must be some nasty particulates coming out of those Ford exhausts!

You can de-select Automatic Activation if it is immensely annoying. And onbviously in traffic you are suurounded by other cars. The OP implied that there was nothing anywhere near his car, which seems unusual.

You can at least reduce your physical, if not emotional, pain. Lower your seat belt point anchor point, because it is too high if strangling you :)

John, the sonar based parking sensors don't trigger the brakes. The next thing you hear after a solid tone is a crunch. That was the radar based rear cross traffic alert that triggered the brakes.

Speaking of which, there must be a global sensitivity setting buried somewhere within the system. Our 2 S5's have very different levels of sensitivity, and it is consistent across all sensor types - camera, radar, sonar. Which means it is not an individual sensor issue, nor is it an obvious calibration issue, although I don't know the specific steps of a calibration involve. Never worried me enough to do anything about equalising the behaviour of the two cars. I would be more concerned if the sensors failed to trigger rather than a very occasional false positive. But emphasis on very occasional, if this is happening all the time something is wrong.

Most of these systems can be turned off anyway, so the threshold of aggravation must be below the effort required to select a couple of buttons 😂

In the case of the OP, if this behaviour is very regular, the dealer could be right. Most of the wiring in the car connects to the CANbus system, so needs to treated with some care, particularly where it may affect grounding. "I tapped into a wiring harness in the center console for something." followed by "The only thing it could be is turn on for the sub amp." sounds wrong. Whether it is a B&O or ASS, the amplifier channels go on with the ignition system, and there is no separate switching for a sub amp. There is no On or Off switch at all AFAIK, as the amplifiers are used for sounds other than music, such as warning tones. False grounds within the CANbus network can cause havoc with the sensors. Might be better to disconnect whatever has been connected and observe the sensor behaviour for any change. And the MMI entertainment system's wiring looms are behind the glovebox IIRC.

In my case, there were no audible warnings issued — just the hard slam of the brakes. I was backing in to the spot at about a 90° angle and there were curbs, both behind and to the left of where I was backing in; it’s possible one of those surfaces triggered the event. As I said — it was very startling, due to the infrequency of having experienced it.

— John