After our 15-year-old Subaru finally bit the dust in 2021, we needed a new car. There were a lot of things to like about the new Volkswagen we chose, but some things — like emergency braking when the car senses an impending collision — were just plain annoying and confusing. Especially when trying to back out of a parking space with a bike rack attached to the car.
I posed this question on the Singletracks forums, back when forums were a thing, asking how to prevent my car from auto-braking with a hitch rack attached. Of course, the answer is simple — just cancel the safety feature by tapping the “X” on the backup camera screen — and reverse as usual. On my vehicle, disabling parking assistance disables the backup camera, too, so I need to turn my head the old-fashioned way to back out safely.
If you don’t cancel backup assistance while in reverse, the vehicle — at least in my case — will go just a few feet before coming to a stop and shifting itself into park. You can put it in reverse again, and go a few more feet, but that gets annoying. Because the car stops abruptly, even at slow speeds, it feels like you’re hitting something, which definitely gets the heart pumping.
While drafting this article, I did some additional testing and found that if I tried backing up in a straight line, emergency braking wasn’t engaged; the vehicle only beeps and shows a warning on the screen. However, if I turn the wheel even just a little bit while in reverse, the car almost immediately brakes and shifts into park.
Bottom line: For those who are wondering how to back up with a bike rack attached to your super safe, super smart car, just hit the “X” and re-take full control.
0 Comments