Driving aids (Operation): Description and operation

Operation

PDC System Operation

When the ignition switch is in position II and reverse gear is selected, the PDC sensors are automatically activated. The PDC ECU only activates the system if reverse is selected for more than 1 second. This avoids nuisance audible warnings when the gear selector lever is being moved between Drive and Park on vehicles with automatic transmission.

When the system is activated, the PDC ECU illuminates the indicator LED in the PDC switch, switches on the ultrasonic sensors and generates a single chime on the PDC sounder to indicate the system is active. If an object is range of the sensors when the system is activated, a series of audible warnings are emitted by the PDC sounder immediately.

If PDC operation is not required, it can be suspended temporarily by pressing the PDC switch. When reverse is deselected and subsequently reselected, PDC will automatically become active again.

PDC can also be manually selected when not in reverse gear by pressing the PDC switch. A second press of the switch is required to turn off the PDC or the PDC will be deactivated if reverse is selected and then deselected.

Sensor Operation The PDC ECU processes the distance readings from the ultrasonic sensors to determine if there are any objects within the detection areas. If there are no objects in the detection areas, there are no further audible warnings. If an object is detected, repeated audible warnings are produced on the PDC sounder.

The maximum detection range is 1800 mm (70 in). When an object is detected, the time delay between the audible warning tones decreases as the distance between the detected object and the vehicle decreases until, at approximately 450 mm (17 in), the audible warning tone is continuous.

After the initial detection of an object, if there is no decrease in the distance between an object and the central sensors, the time delay between the audible warnings remains constant. If an object is detected by one of the corner sensors only, the audible warnings stop after about 5 seconds if there is no change in the distance between the object and the corner sensor.