System and method to monitor the environment of a vehicle

The parking aid system has a number of sensors (2) for monitoring the area adjacent the automobile (1), the sensor values fed to a control and/or regulation device (3), activating an acoustic signal source (4) for providing a warning signal. The control and/or regulation device controls the signal source for providing a first acoustic signal (A) indicating the distance of a detected obstacle (5) and a second acoustic signal (B1) indicating the position of the detected obstacle relative to the automobile. An independent claim for an operating method for an automobile parking aid system is also included.