How to Use Ford Park Assist

Using Active Park Assist in your Ford F-150 is as simple as pushing a button—but it’s not a true self-driving function.
Written by Jasmine Kanter
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
To make use of Active Park Assist in a Ford F-150, you’ll first need to find a suitable parking spot. Then, it’s simply a matter of pressing the button and following the onscreen instructions.
It was only a matter of time before parallel parking became the target of driver assistance technology. In 2003,
Toyota
introduced automated parking for the
Prius Hybrid
, and Ford followed suit six years later. Not sure how to access your F-150’s parking tech? Don’t worry—we’ve got all the details on how to use Active Park Assist in a Ford F-150.
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How to activate Ford Active Park Assist 

Thanks to technology, parking isn’t something you need to do all on your own. Ford Active Park Assist is an automatic parking system that guides you while you park your vehicle. There have been three versions, each more sophisticated than the last:
  • Active Park Assist uses ultrasonic technology, parking sensors, and electronic power-assisted steering to guide drivers through the process of parallel parking.
  • Enhanced Active Park Assist adds two more parking modes—perpendicular parking and exiting a parallel parking space—but still relies on drivers to control the gas and brake pedals.
  • Active Park Assist 2.0 uses twelve sensors and four cameras for greater precision and a completely hands-free process.
Active Park Assist can help guide you into a parallel parking space while you control the gas and brakes. Want to know how to use it? First, locate a suitable parking spot. Next, follow these steps:
  • Press the Active Park Assist button located on the center console just below the shift knob, labeled with a “P” and the symbol of a steering wheel
  • Use your turn signals to indicate where you want to park and the touchscreen will report “Spot Found” when it detects a parking spot
  • Position the vehicle
  • Release the steering wheel
  • Shift into Reverse.
  • Use the gas and brake pedals to move the car while Park Assist steers for you
If you want to stop the process at any time, grab the steering wheel or press the Active Park Assist button again. Once you’re done, shift into Park. It takes some getting used to, but soon you’ll have no qualms about trusting your F-150 to steer you in the right direction!

How do I use Ford Active Park Assist 2.0?

The latest version of Active Park Assist bears a lot of similarities to the first. As before, you’ll first need to locate a suitable parking spot and press the Active Park Assist button. It’s located on the top of your touchscreen and labeled with a “P” between two vertical lines.
Your next step depends on what you want your truck to do:
  • Parallel Park In: Select the second button from the left, which shows a car backing into a vertical parking space. Use your turn signals to indicate which side of the street you’d like to park on.
  • Perpendicular Park In: Select the third button from the left that shows a car backing into a horizontal space. Use your turn signals to select which side of the vehicle the parking space is on.
  • Parallel Park Out: Select the fourth symbol from the left, which shows a car sandwiched between two lines. Use your turn signals to indicate the direction in which you’d like to exit.
Follow the instructions on the touchscreen to position your car. The screen will chime and report “Space Found” once it’s detected a valid parking spot; check the on-screen diagram to see if it’s got the right one. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for traffic and pedestrians! 
Once you’re in place, you’ll need to do the following:
  • Apply the brakes
  • Shift to Neutral
  • Press and hold the Active Park Assist button while the vehicle parks itself.
It can be nerve-wracking to watch your truck move on its own, but you can slow the parking process at any time by pumping the brakes. Park Assist will pause if you release the button or if any of the passengers or rear doors open. To cancel it entirely, simply turn the steering wheel, open the driver door, or release the button and shift out of Neutral.
Once Park Assist has done its job, shift your transmission to Park (or Drive, if you’ve just finished exiting), and go on your merry way!
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Do all Fords have Active Park Assist?

Not all Fords have Active Park Assist—and it’s only getting scarcer. After introducing it as an optional feature on the
2010 Lincoln MKS
and
Lincoln MKT
, it’s remained a luxury feature. Enhanced Active Park Assist was reserved for the
2020 Ford Expedition
’s three highest trims, and Active Park Assist 2.0 is available for the
Explorer Platinum
,
Explorer ST
, and
Escape Titanium
Due to ongoing microchip shortages, Ford announced in March 2022 that
Active Park Assist 2.0 would be removed from select models
, including the F-150. Find out if your pick-up truck is one of the lucky ones that still have access to Active Park Assist using the table below:
Year(s)
Trim(s)
Technology
Availability
2021-2023
Limited
Active Park Assist 2.0
Standard
2023
Lariat, Tremor, King Ranch, Platinum
Active Park Assist 2.0
Ford BlueCruise 1.0 with Active Park Assist 2.0 and Forward Sensing System Package
2022
Lariat, Tremor, King Ranch, Platinum
Active Park Assist 2.0
Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Package
2021
Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum
Active Park Assist 2.0
Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Package
2018-2020
Limited
Active Park Assist
Standard
2018-2020
Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum
Active Park Assist
Technology Package
2016-2017
Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, Limited
Active Park Assist
Optional feature (requires packages)
2015
Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum
Active Park Assist
Optional feature (requires packages)
If your truck doesn’t have this feature, you might have to try it out at your local dealership. Once you’ve had a taste of automated parking, you won’t want to go back! 
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