Security and safety are the paramount factors most car owners care about. Usually, vehicles’ safety systems often work with radar sensors and cameras to determine the distance and speed of the object in front of the car. If the radar sensors are not working properly, your vehicle will display an “Unavailable Front Radar Obstruction” indication. It either causes the systems to deactivate frequently, or completely turn off.
This article covers the causes why your car’s dashboard gives an “Unavailable Front Radar Obstruction” indication and how to deal with it.
Table of Contents
What Does A Radar Sensor Do?
What Is A Radar Sensor?
The radar sensor is used in most vehicle safety systems such as Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), and Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) to determine the speed and range of objects around the car. It comprises a transmitter and a receiver. Normally, the transmitter sends radio waves out to objects around the car to detect. They then got back to the receiver to analyze and find the distance, direction, and speed of the moving objects.
What Does A Radar Sensor Do?
In the Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system, the radar sensor, along with the cameras, scans the road ahead for obstructions such as other cars, objects, and even people. The system will notify the driver by illuminating the indicator light or generating a warning tone if a forward collision is possible.
The Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system automatically applies brakes if you don’t react in time.
The Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system, on the other hand, detects the distance between cars, using radar sensors to automatically adjust acceleration and deceleration to maintain a safe distance.
Where Is The Radar Sensor Located?
The sensor needs to have the right location and angle to avoid unnecessary obstruction and function properly. In most cases, automotive radar sensors are installed behind the portion of the bumper or radome. This position is transparent for radar signals to work.
The “Unavailable Front Radar Obstruction” warning message shows that the radar sensor in your vehicle’s safety system is obstructed, blocked, or faulty. Hence, it does not work properly, causing the FCW and AEB systems to stop or disable.
Driving your car with an “Unavailable Front Radar Obstruction” indication will not hurt your vehicle or directly affect any systems. However, you must know that your safety systems will not work. Specifically, when the radar sensors are obstructed, the AEB and FCW systems will not be able to measure the collision to determine if it is necessary to automatically apply the brakes. Even if you are a safe driver, it is best to fix the issue as soon as possible. Try to fix the radar sensor and restart the car to check if the warning light goes off.
As mentioned above, the safety of drivers won’t be protected when the front radar sensors have trouble. Let’s discover all possible causes of making the radar sensor obstructed or faulty and find out how to fix it.
Radar Sensor Obstructed By Bugs, Mud, Or Dirt.
The safety systems using the radar sensor will immediately terminate if bugs, mud, dirt, or any other object covers the region of the front bumper.
How To Fix?
If your vehicle sets the alarm and shows an “Unavailable Front Radar Blocked” message, pull over to a safe location.
Place the shift lever in the P (Park) position, and turn your engine off.
Clean the sensor region of the front bumper and restart your engine.
Radar Sensor Obstructed By Inclement Weather.
If you are driving in low-visibility situations such as rain, fog, or snow, there are chances that the radar sensor will not detect objects ahead. In other words, the safety systems will instantly be disabled and won’t be able to work in these types of conditions.
How To Fix?
The practical solution is to stop your vehicle on the side and clean the sensors immediately. When the conditions listed above are no longer present, the warning message will no longer be available in the vehicle information display, and the systems will operate normally.
Driving on roads with limited road structures
Sometimes, while driving on a long bridge, in a desert, snowfield, or moving next to long walls, the radar sensors cannot distinguish and detect stationary objects as moving ones. Thus, causing the misconception and alerting through the message on the dashboard.
How To Fix?
In such a case, the best practice is to turn off your FCW, AEB, and ICC systems. When the above driving conditions no longer exist, you can turn your safety systems back on.
Heavy paint on the front bumper
Some used car owners often experience this problem and immediately decide to replace the radar sensor. However, the cause might originate from the front bumper. Normally, the car’s front bumper had been repainted to prepare for resale. Once there is a heavy paint layer on the front bumper, it will give you an “Unavailable front radar obstruction” warning.
How To Fix?
As simple as that, you can remove the paint layer on the bumper or replace a new bumper if it has any sign of physical deterioration.
Faulty Radar Sensor
After checking all the causes above but the message still appears, there is a chance that the radar sensor fails to function properly. Specific Nissan models from 2017 and later seem to have front radar sensor issues. Consequently, the afflicted automobiles halt and brake for no cause.
How To Fix?
If you have resorted to all other fixes and nothing seems to work out, you would have to replace the radar sensor. Contact your dealer first for the replacement.
On average, replacing a radar sensor will cost you around $1600.
Conclusion
Driving with an “Unavailable Front Radar Obstruction” warning can end up having more serious issues than the actual collision. For instance, if you are not a good driver, unexpected or more frequent braking increases the chances of a collision, especially from the car behind you. So, with the first warning, you should check for the potential causes we have mentioned. If your sensor is clean, not obstructed with any dirt, and still gives an alert, you must get it replaced for seamless working.
