Anybody knows what´s the purpose of this?

On the side of the front bumper? That look like reverse sensors?

Those are for IPA's Pre-Support function.

 

Pre-Support for Intelligent Parking Assist. Toyota found out that people were not positioning the cars properly before using IPA so the "failure" rate was high (and so was the "it's useless" and "why bother?"). Pre-Support guides the driver to position the car properly so that all the driver has to do is press "OK" on the screen without having to fix the box to change it from red (unable to park) to green (vehicle is clear of obstacles). This leads to faster/smoother operation.

Yes and no.

They are for the Intelligent Parking Assist and will not actually provide any guidance that you would expect of "parking sensors" (like the reverse sensors)

i.e. they only work with IPA.

 

You're welcome. In North America, that feature has its own chapter in the Navigation Manual (Chapter 7).

That's still a good habit to keep. If your body allows it (I know some people have neck issues or back issues that disallow them to turn around), looking out the rear window is still the better option as the view is not distorted by a fish-eye lens and I find I can reverse faster since I can see where I'm going. I use the camera for the final bit as I approach other parked vehicles.

 

I don't know if it was you but someone installed a FLIR camera on a Gen 3 in the front bumper. It could double as a front-end camera to view the curbs. (Like Toyota/Lexus "Wide-View Monitor" on the Land Cruiser)

 

The person that installed the FLIR had a separate monitor that he left on the dashboard. I think it came with the FLIR unit.

 

Correct.

Although now you can use your smartphone (but plug it in since it'll be running for the duration of your drive).

Wouldn't mind having a system like that for the winter months. Snow covered roads actually make it easier to drive at night, reflecting the street light. Rain.... not so much.

I drove a friend's A7 several years back that had an infrared camera with pedestrian detection. It would put a yellow box around a pedestrian it detected and worked well. The only problem was that it was in the IP between the speed and tach rather than as a HUD.