WTF The Dashcam

[ultane]

FYI:
Those little mini nippers are mini diagonal pliers which we always call dikes, as most of you are probably well aware of.
Back in 2002, two of my guys were working under an escort in a secure area at the space center and one asked the other to hand him his dikes.
Well, she, the escort was offended by that, as you can imagine why, and that guy got fired. Then they came out with a list of tool nicknames that we were not allowed to use. I think that was the beginning of our government going woke.

I didn’t know they were called dikes, until a lesbian friend that I was helping on her car, called them dikes..

 

[Marinna]

I have no doubt whatsoever that you are correct. The technology in those Teslas is awesome and I wish these Toyotas had that kind of camera system built in.
I have my own Blackvue 2-channel systems but you have to use a power magic pro or equivalent to keep it from draining down the battery. I have that also but haven't got around to connecting it that way. Also, it's a LTE system and for $10 a month I had a prepaid plan from T-Mobile. Two phones and Internet with AT&T and they wouldn't give me the same deal.
Do you have a favorite camera that you either own or would own?
The Black view was a pain in the ass to connect to on the phone although once you get the hang of it it's not too bad.
My biggest gripe is having to connect to them with Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth. I wish it was just as simple as opening the app and you were there.

I am about to install exactly the same settings on mine. I guess it will be as painful as I expected.

BTW how did you mount your rear camera? I am still undermined for the best location

 

[Nick]

I am about to install exactly the same settings on mine. I guess it will be as painful as I expected.

BTW how did you mount your rear camera? I am still undermined for the best location

It looks off-center in the picture but if you see the second picture you can tell the lens is pretty much in the center.

It was really easy to route the wire from the front windshield up above the headliner and then just tucked it in along the molding from front to rear. I showed a little bit in the video backwards. Just use a plastic trim tool. It probably took me five minutes ago from front to rear.

For now I did the front camera where I went down the passenger pillar and then down behind the glove box. You can see in the back of the glove box there's a tab on left and right side you can pull out that backing really easy and just route the wire down through there and then I went up beside the console took in the wire in to the 12 V adapter behind the console.

I'll have to find a fuse box (you probably know where it's at?) Parentheses and then I can hard wire it in with that "Power Magic Pro." I've had that for years and it's worked great. I think they've replaced it with something else, but I'm not sure.

My favorite seller is from over there on the Pacific side of Canada and they're just the most awesome seller and customer support. They get back we're very fast with emails. They have great how to videos and I only buy from them on Amazon. They are called "Black Box My Car."
The dash cam I'm using survived my 90 mph collision with my Tacoma. Gotta love it!

Don't hesitate to reach out if you wanna know more.

 

[Marinna]

For time being my plan is to use a small lithium power station as a staging source for the camera and LTE connection (DC to USB-C), while I am thinking for a more permanent solution.

I want to hide the wire as much as possible, so for time being I don't want to put it directly on glass. The best option I can think of now is to mount the camera next to the rear camera, and hopefully I can route the wire through the rubber tube that connects the backdoor and car roof.

My model has these recording box and for time being I would just place it in the storage bin behind second row. I hope the wiring through that roof cover is easy enough, then I will onlt have minimal wires exposed.

That is my plan. I'll see how it goes with my installation this weekend.

 

[MSINAL]

The camera is added by the distributor as a port installed option (PIO). The dealership paid the distributor for the car and thus paid for the camera as installed. The dealership isn't going to remove it for you AND not charge you for an accessory that they've already paid for. Even if they added it to another car, it would cost them the labor to uninstall and reinstall. At that point, they may as well just take the L and let you negotiate down by some amount to just accept the car as is if they are desperate enough to move the car. More likely, they'll just sell it to someone else.

The purpose of the camera is to boost the sticker and add profit at the distributor and the dealership. They know that most people will get "close enough" on a spec (trim and color) and just deal with it. Only way to fight back is to tell the dealer that is why you didn't buy the car and hopefully the dealer factors that into how they spec their allocations in the future or push that back to the distributors. You'll also notice that accessories vary by region. Gulf States and South East are the absolute worst about loading up every vehicle with accessories. They even have psuedo trim packages that boost that sticker price with high cost, low value items.

The dealer said they would move the camera for free after i told them that the distributor installed camera position passes below the AS1 line, which it does. This is most likely illegal as it obstructs your view, compromising safety - while also potentially compromising proper airbag deployment? (was crash testing done with this camera in place?
). I'm surprised no class action has taken place yet.

 

[Dr. M]

Okay. So, I have been driving my LC FE since last July, 2024. I drive it here in MN as my daily driver, and I drive it in the winter in Colorado as my daily driver and off road vehicle. I agree that initially, the dash cam grabs your eyes as you look through the windshield. I reviewed earlier directions for how I could remove it. Not that difficult if you are mechanical, which I am. I did not want a dash cam, but, I wanted at FE in Meteor Shower. The dash cam was the up charge I had to pay. As of today, mid January, I can honestly say that I do not think about the dash cam. Except, when I slid into a garbage truck a few weeks ago. It was nice to have at that point. Otherwise, my eyes and brain just look past it. Yours will too. Our brains acclimate to various sensory images and memorize them, at which they no longer focus on lots of detail, unless it is new stimulation. Think about your spouses face, Do you see every line in his/her skin each time you look at them? Probably not. Change to a LC without the cam if you want to and can. Otherwise, I am betting you will get used to it within 4-6 weeks. Dr. M