Hello guys, this may seem obscene but I need help! I'm having a hard time parking this car! I can't judge distance with this car! I used to drive a small civic and it was easy because I can see where I am. The aerodynamic design of the new 2010 Prius is giving me a hard time! Any tips for this noob?! Any help to judge distance in front of me? The car dips down so I can't see if I have any room left. (YEAH THIS IS A DUMB POST I KNOW..) Any tips would be appreciated!
I also have a difficult time with judging space in front of me when parking. I always think I am closer then I am. I haven't figured out any sure fire tricks yet.
I had the same issue at first. I don't parallel park much, but when pulling into a parking lot spot, I'd get out and see I was really far away from the front of the parking spot. Only thing that worked for me was experience.
i've had my prius for 9 months and still have a problem parking it straight in a space. the best i can do is swing wide when i make the 90 degrees so the car straightens out when going in towards the curb.
In every car that is not a 77 lincoln town car....I have had to practice (what a concept!) My experience is that it takes a few tries to get the "feel" of where the corners of the car are located. I do this in my driveway carfully backin up to the garage door until I think I am as close as I want to be..then I get out and look..Then I do the same with the front of the car...after only a few tries I really have a great sense of where the nose and tail of this vehicle are. Practice makes perfect is a corny and old saying but...you only become an expert at anything through practice.
I guess some have problems with depth perception, others dont. If you do, then all I can say is practice. If you need to know how far up/down you are in a space rather than where your nose is when turning, then just slap it in reverse and see where the camera says you are.
Like Tom, I ended up installing a backup cam in mine. I just don't think there is any getting use to the lack of visibility out of this car. Like Turd, I still can't park straight in a parking spot.
Someone on here took a bike flag, cut it down, and bolted it to the front license plate holder. Little white pole sticking up on the front, which will help immensely. I practiced with my DH standing on the curb, telling me when I was where I wanted to be. Do it a few times, you learn what it 'looks like' when you are parking. Oh, and I did the same for him, of course.
That is actually a feature found on most South-American, Carribean, African, and Asian domestic markets. It is a "parking pole" and you can get them on the front and/or rear bumpers. A lot of them now are actually retractable and powered. So you flip a switch and it comes up like a power antenna, you park, and it comes back down.
I wouldn't worry about trying to get in super close, the better thing, esp if you're in a garage in which the spaces are not angled, is to make sure the rear end of your car is out far enough so that you aren't 'hidden' in between what might be larger SUV-type vehicles and then it looks like that your parking space is available because you're pulled in further and others cannot see the tail end of your car until they're almost upon it. It's like that at work and I always think those little hatchback cars are going to get slammed one day because they pull in so far you can't see the space is occupied. I could just see someone ripping into what they think is an open spot, only to find out...not so open afterall.
