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Focus Reverse Parallel Parking Help.


CrazyInWeston
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Any help in helping me tight reverse in a focus? (parallel parking)

I often get my rear view up their windshield and think JEEZE I must be close but there is infact like a metre gap left! I really cant tell how close I am to the car behind so any tips would be fantastic! :)

I used to have a Kia Picanto, and I could tell exactly how close I was to the car in behind because its a narrow thin car with is rear wheels right at the back, all i had to do was see how close the wheels were, and every other car was wider so I could see that as well as judging the rear wheels. But I cant see to do this on the focus, the rear end is quite prominent, not to mention its a very wide car!

I've hit 2 cars in the past while tight reversing using this car, I've been avoiding tight parallel parking just because of this problem. If I could get any tips with this wide/big butt car, be fantastic as the road I live on is parallel parking only and struggle for parking space.

Need reference points help in side mirrors and references looking back.

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Not sure which mk yours is but even after 8 years of ownership I also find my mk2 difficult to park compared with other cars I've driven due to the way the ends of the bonnet and boot are not visible to me. I'd be interested in how others judge how close their bonnet and boot is from other cars without parking sensors. I have worked out that the bottom of the wing mirrors mark where the front of the car is.

Sent from my XT1562 using Tapatalk

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Sorry, I can't offer tips, but sympathise completely with your predicament. Very difficult to judge distances and the parking sensors are quite pointless for very tight spots, because they go mad when you're still about 3 feet away.

I don't know what the turning circle in your 1.6 is like, but parallel parking was also a nightmare in the Focus ST mk2 because of the rubbish turning circle.

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Best trick is to get someone to reverse you safely to as close as you'd be comfortable when parking and then find something on your car that you can relate the reference point to.
I know that when pulling up at stop lines or into car parks that aligning the underside of my wing mirror just past the line positions the nose of my car exactly on the line.
Tbh, if you want total confidence then an inexpensive set of parking sensors will make it far easier for you.

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As I said on the other thread you mentioned this on, it seems to be something that can't really be explained or taught but can be learned over time, a bit like muscle memory.

Personally I sort of "feel" where the corners of the car are and don't really have to think about it afterwards but I do know what you mean, thinking you must be nearly touching something behind and getting out to find there's 3 or 4 feet of space.

As this is the first car I've had with parking sensors, I'm finding I'm relying on them more and perhaps not looking as much which is a bit not good really. I don't need to use them but they do make things easier, at the probable expense of eventually becoming reliant on them. A bit like using a sat nav but still having no clue how you got to where you were going!

The alternative is a reversing camera which quite a few people have retrofit fairly inexpensively. At least you can see what's going on behind you.

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Halfords used to sell a gadget years ago for this. Not sure if they still do but someone will. It was a piece of transparent square plastic, about 4"x4" that you stuck on the rear window. When you looked at it from the driver's seat it showed the rear of the car by the bumper. Still see a similar thing on the rear window of busses. 

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On 9/17/2017 at 8:09 AM, Phil21185 said:

As I said on the other thread you mentioned this on, it seems to be something that can't really be explained or taught but can be learned over time, a bit like muscle memory.

Personally I sort of "feel" where the corners of the car are and don't really have to think about it afterwards but I do know what you mean, thinking you must be nearly touching something behind and getting out to find there's 3 or 4 feet of space.

As this is the first car I've had with parking sensors, I'm finding I'm relying on them more and perhaps not looking as much which is a bit not good really. I don't need to use them but they do make things easier, at the probable expense of eventually becoming reliant on them. A bit like using a sat nav but still having no clue how you got to where you were going!

The alternative is a reversing camera which quite a few people have retrofit fairly inexpensively. At least you can see what's going on behind you.

 

I would say the same thing - my son wanted me to teach him how to park for his driving test which i couldn't as it is just experience and "feel", I don't follow any rules.  My Focus has reverse sensors but they stopped working, which I found out with a big bump noise from the back one day(!) so its probably not great to rely on them.  But if you are having problems I would say that reverse sensors or camera is the way to go, or one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/WIDE-ANGLE-REAR-WINDOW-LENS-FRESNEL-VIEW-OPTICAL-8-x10-/230393166492 if your budget is lower.

 

 

 

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Yeah I remember my driving instructor trying to give me a set of rules for different situations for how much to turn the wheel etc. I had to totally ignore them in the end as I did worse trying to remember them than just doing what felt right... 

There's a fairly old Toyota people carrier that has an angled mirror on a bracket outside the back window for this. Is it a Previa or something?

I never understood why people with almost completely flat backed cars couldn't reverse - the back of your car is wherever your window is!!

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On 9/18/2017 at 6:09 PM, Phil21185 said:

I never understood why people with almost completely flat backed cars couldn't reverse - the back of your car is wherever your window is!!

Thanks for all your replies peeps, as for the quote I've quoted, I cant either, my Picanto was so easy judging distances as a flat backed rear car, also like I said previously, it was a narrow car and therefore judgement was made even easier because where the rear wheels were (right at the end, it was flat backed) meant bam, how close. Was really easy.

I am glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem in regards to the Focus though. I've consined the fact that the rear windscreen halfway up their front windscreen is close enough, even if there is a gap, wont risk it any closer and if my car could of fitted in that gap, I wouldnt bother.

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I have the same issue. Could fit a bus behind me and I think I'm just about bumper to bumper. I learned in a focus mk2 and if I remember rightly my instructor used to reference something about the wiper

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