Ex-Guard pickup and van grille guards are engineered to work alongside your vehicle’s driver-assistance systems. Radar-based features continue to operate normally when the guard is installed in accordance with Ex-Guard installation instructions. Ultrasonic parking sensors are the one current exception, and every pickup and van guard ships with the parts needed to address them.
Which Guards This Applies To
This page covers pickup and van grille guards only.
Ex-Guard semi-truck and heavy-duty guards are a different product family with different mounting geometry and sensor clearances. They currently work with collision mitigation systems (CMS) and are not affected by the parking sensor behavior described below. Nothing on this page applies to them.
Radar-Based Driver Assistance
On pickups and vans, Ex-Guard grille guards work with most radar-based sensors. Adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning should continue to operate as intended, because the radar sensor remains clear of the guard structure.
Parking Sensors — The Known Exception
Ultrasonic parking sensors are the one system Ex-Guard pickup and van guards currently do not work with. These are the small round sensors set into the face of your front bumper. They are short-range, low-speed aids intended for parking and maneuvering, and they are separate from the radar systems described above.
Because the guard sits directly in front of the bumper, one or more front parking sensors may read the guard itself as an obstacle. Whether this happens depends on the sensor positions and configuration on your specific vehicle.
Every Ex-Guard pickup and van guard ships with a set of parking sensor mutes. These adhesive covers fit over individual sensors — or all of the front sensors, if needed — and stop them from detecting the guard.
On many makes and models, your local truck dealer may also be able to recalibrate or reset the parking sensor system so it ignores the installed guard. Contact your dealer to find out whether that option is available for your vehicle.
What To Expect After Your Guard Is Installed
Once the guard is fitted, you may notice one or more front parking sensors flagging an object in their field of view. On many late-model trucks — such as Ford® F‑150® through F‑600® models, which carry four sensors in the front bumper — this engages the forward-facing and 360° camera views on your screen whenever the vehicle is put into Drive or Reverse.
If you would rather the camera did not activate every time you shift into Drive or Reverse, you can either apply the included parking sensor mutes or switch the front sensors to OFF in your vehicle’s settings.
Applying Your Parking Sensor Mutes
- Clean the sensor with mild soap and water, then wipe dry.
- Remove the adhesive backing from the mute.
- Place the mute over the sensor, centered.
- Press firmly for a few seconds, making sure the whole surface is in contact with the sensor.
- Repeat on the remaining sensors as needed.
For best results: wait at least 24 hours before driving in wet or severe weather. The adhesive is deliberately consumer grade so that it protects the sensor’s painted surface.
Re-Activating Your Cameras
Once the mutes are in place, the camera will no longer switch on automatically when the vehicle is put into Drive or Reverse.
To turn the cameras back on from the home screen on Ford® truck models, go to Driver Assistance → Park Aid Sensors and set Front Sensors (Always) to ON. Other makes offer equivalent settings — check your owner’s manual or ask your dealer.
Important: Winch Box Installations
Winch boxes affect adaptive cruise control
Ex-Guard winch boxes (models WB‑9512‑B and WB‑1650‑B) do affect the adaptive cruise control system and the grille-mounted camera on pickup trucks and vans.
Adaptive cruise control operates normally with an Ex-Guard grille guard installed on its own, but it will not function when a winch box is fitted. Please take this into account when specifying your equipment, and contact us with any questions about your configuration.
Questions
Contact the Ex-Guard customer care team at 877.237.5481 or [email protected] with any questions about parking sensor mutes or driver-assistance compatibility.