Aftermarket Dash Cam - Which one and how to install

teon · Jul 13, 2021

I currently use Viofo A129 Plus Duo for front (2K) and back (1080) camera with low bitrate parking mode and hardwire kit.
I'm happy with it so far.

Viofo a129 Plus Duo

I just took delivery of the new 129 Plus duo from Viofo direct. I also bought a high endurance 256 SanDisk card from B & H. I registered both products to help with any warranty items if needed. Viofo gives you an extra 6 months of warranty when registering for a total of 18 months. This is...

www.rav4world.com

Since your car is a hybrid one, you can install 2 Viofo A129 Pro 4K separately front and back dashcams if you want and use the back cigarette outlet to power the rear one.
However, this Viofo A129 Pro 4K seems to run very hot in the Summer.

Rigsby · Jul 14, 2021

LexVApin said:
Do you have a 'stand alone' rear camera of choice?

I would be interested in installation info too. It looks to me like it will require the removal of the back plastic covers on the door, then snaking it up through the rubber wire covers. Unless there is a switched power supply in the hatch.

Not done the rear yet but from what I’ve read the plastic trim at the top of the tailgate is easy to remove then feed up through the rubber boot.

I have a 12v accessory socket in the boot / trunk area so power should be fairly easy to sort out.

Expe12 · Jul 15, 2021

Rigsby said:
I’ve fitted the 4K FitCamX mainly because I didn’t want the windscreen cluttered, I am going to fit a “stand alone” rear camera.
The main reason I didn’t install a rear one that plugs into the front camera and syncs was the fact that you have to run the cable passed the two curtain side airbags and also the A pillar airbag. May be ok, but better safe than sorry.

Question on the FitCamX - is it drawing power from the battery while the vehicle is off? I see it basically gets it's power from the housing where the existing camera is, which I wouldn't think has power to it when vehicle is off. Only reason I ask is that the dash cam touts a G Sensor which usually translates to it wanting power when the car is off to record in the event of your parked car getting hit.

Edit: The manufacturer answered this on the Amazon Q&A, the camera does not operate when the vehicle is off unless you specifically run the power to the fuse box (not standard).

redrav52 · Jul 16, 2021

I have a Momento M6, Momento | In-Vehicle Dash Camera + Backup Cam Solutions | Momento, and it is mounted in the clear area in the middle. Yes it sticks down a bit but the rear cam mount is idea. It's a great camera with great software and I had it professionally installed.

I have had crappy dashcams with crappy software and I'd rather have a good cam with an OK mount. The custom fit ones look sweet but I don't want to be a test case.

Rigsby · Jul 17, 2021

LexVApin said:
It looks like the 4K has a firmware issue and requires an update. When the 4K camera loses power, on startup, it defaults to 1K. With the firmware update, the issue is fixed.
All of this info comes from discussions on Amazon.

If there was a problem with it defaulting back to 1k after “power down / power up” it’s certainly been rectified on my model.
Set at 4k and checked it a number of times still set at 4k. 👍

soccerdmon · Jul 17, 2021

soccerdmon said:
I've had the Rexing V1P in a previous vehicle and just installed it on my new Rav4. Front and rear. I hid the cables through the head board and side panels. Uses MicroSD card that I can easily access.
View attachment 169337 View attachment 169338

It rained last night...but from the outside, it's pretty decent.
View attachment 169339

Amazon.com

I used this video as a guide for the install:

Just throwing this out there for anyone who may look at this, I do live in Arizona. So, for dealing with the car heat, I have had no issues. I bought this tape: Amazon.com: Heavy Duty Double Sided Tape, 0.94 Inch x 16 Feet Waterproof Mounting Tape Super Strong Two Sided Adhesive Foam Tape Picture Hanging Strips Thick for Walls Poster Automotive Outdoor: Industrial & Scientific
and it's working pretty well.

TwoLostMinds · Jul 20, 2021

I emailed back and forth with a rep from Fitcamx and they were unable to provide me with instalation directions for the Rear Camera. The best they were able to provide is this installation video for an Audi. Audi Youtube Video The video wasn't very helpful to me but it might be for one of you. I have requested a wiring diagram for the front and rear camera's.

TwoLostMinds · Jul 21, 2021

Feng from FitcamX sent me fantastic technical marvel of a wiring diagram. I was hoping to find out if the rear camera was integrated the way the front was, but no joy there.

However, I did learn that the rear is wired to the front, probably through the headliner or trim? That's probably above my paygrade.

Jack Daniels · Jul 21, 2021

70mai dashcam pro is compact, discreet, top quality recording, great night vision and a reasonable price. Another big bonus is the "large" battery capacity, 500 mah, which means that you may get recordings of incidents where other cameras wont.
Having a big screen is unnecessary on a dashcam. On a Rav 4 , this camera can be placed beside the rear view mirror
I need to check out where to take the power from, but on some key fobs there is a button to turn on the lights for a few seconds, if so then the dashcam can be powered from a DRL type light, which means that the camera can then be remotely turned on via the key fob.

TwoLostMinds said:
the rear is wired to the front, probably through the headliner or trim?

as far as front and rear cameras go, just using 2 cameras is a simple solution, only a suitable power source is required.

LexVApin · Jul 21, 2021

TwoLostMinds said:
Feng from FitcamX sent me fantastic technical marvel of a wiring diagram. I was hoping to find out if the rear camera was integrated the way the front was, but no joy there. However, I did learn that the rear is wired to the front, probably through the headliner or trim? That's probably above my paygrade.

Thanks. When I found out that the rear camera had to be wired to the front one, that persuaded me to not buy that model. If I put a camera in the back, it will likely just be a single camera separate from the front. I don't need them to be tied together since I already have a camera in my rear view mirror.

Rigsby · Jul 21, 2021

TwoLostMinds said:
Feng from FitcamX sent me fantastic technical marvel of a wiring diagram. I was hoping to find out if the rear camera was integrated the way the front was, but no joy there. However, I did learn that the rear is wired to the front, probably through the headliner or trim? That's probably above my paygrade.

That’s why I fitted the 4K FitCamX to the front and will be fitting a stand-alone camera in the rear.

I didn’t fancy negotiating the side air bags and the air bag in the A pillar.

LexVApin · Jul 21, 2021

Jack Daniels said:
as far as front and rear cameras go, just using 2 cameras is a simple solution, only a suitable power source is required.

My thoughts exactly. I see no benefit to tying them together. I would be nice to have parking recording, but not a huge priority since I don't park the car every day.

I just want a recording of what is going on behind me, especially when drivers get crazy on my tail while I am boxed in at the front and cannot drive any faster.

As to power, I have the hybrid. The battery is in the back, but I would need a camera that will sleep and not kill the battery. Or connect to that Aux Cigarette lighter outlet which is switched.

Although I have the tools, I am not a fan of having to remove those plastic covers to run wires. Getting to that switched plug is yet another cover to remove.

LexVApin · Jul 21, 2021

Rigsby said:
I didn’t fancy negotiating the side air bags and the air bag in the A pillar.

On my Prius, I was able to just tuck the wire into the side of the pillar plastic which has an air bag. It was not a big deal. No experience with the RAV, though.

Rigsby · Jul 21, 2021

LexVApin said:
On my Prius, I was able to just tuck the wire into the side of the pillar plastic which has an air bag. It was not a big deal. No experience with the RAV, though.

The air bags are obviously designed to operate at high speed and the trim is designed to hinge rather than fly off.

I was more concerned about crossing the air bag with the cable and causing an obstruction or hindering the operation

LexVApin · Jul 21, 2021

Rigsby said:
The air bags are obviously designed to operate at high speed and the trim is designed to hinge rather than fly off.

I was more concerned about crossing the air bag with the cable and causing an obstruction or hindering the operation

A reasonable concern.

But I don't see how putting a wire along the edge of the windshield and the plastic piece that will open would hinder the operation of that air bag. It is not tucked in such a way that it could ever compromise the operation.

side curtain airbag operation

Jack Daniels · Jul 22, 2021

I happen to have a Kia that is very similar as far as the trim over the air bag goes. I pulled the trim off completely and ran the cable under the air bag, not in contact with the airbag, but across an area that the airbag was not covering near the top of the trim. There is no way that the cable will impede the airbag, or rub a hole in the airbag thru abrasion. The cable needs to be secured so it can not move and come in contact with the airbag.

If the cable is just tucked randomly under the trim it may not stay in place when the airbag activates.

LexVApin · Jul 31, 2021

I got the Fitcamx today, which I thought was pretty good, considering it is 7/31/21 and estimated delivery is 8/4 - 8/31. Pretty obviously, it is coming all the way from China.

The video of the install makes it all look simple. And, although I have installed replacement radio upgrades with backup cameras which involved removing several interior plastics, I found this to be difficult. The insert would not pop out as the video shows and finally the entire piece came off the window. I was then able to take out the insert and get the original cover out from the mirror.

The wire connections are great. It reminds me of doing a Crutchfield radio install where they supply all the plugs and wires - no splicing or cutting. But there is a fair amount of extra wire and getting that all behind the plastic cover is not simple.

I had trouble getting the main cover to lock into place. The video shows it snapping in, but it really slides into place. Then I struggled with the new insert and getting it in kept popping the cover off. It turns out that the new insert is not correct - the hole for the mirror swivel is too small. So, I subbed the original insert, but the latch didn't get along with the new cover very well and it took some effort to latch it. (In the photo, the original is at the top.)

Now, in trial, the color balance is way off - everything is blue-ish.

I am trying to contact Tech Support but their email is not obvious. On their website, there is an email, but I bet it is marketing. In the iOS app, the tech support email is truncated as 'zhiyangsoft@sunnin…’ which is silly. Even turning the app sideways does not make the entire email available. And it is not a link to Mail. Plus the app does not play with the Keywords program and save the password, so I have to write it down.

Most disappointing is that the camera is not as well hidden as I expected. It does hang down in the cover into the vision area more than I expected. I would rather have a camera off to the side on the passenger side.

This maybe heading back to Amazon pretty quickly.

More to come.....

Expe12 · Aug 2, 2021

LexVApin said:
I got the Fitcamx today, which I thought was pretty good, considering it is 7/31/21 and estimated delivery is 8/4 - 8/31. Pretty obviously, it is coming all the way from China.

The video of the install makes it all look simple. And, although I have installed replacement radio upgrades with backup cameras which involved removing several interior plastics, I found this to be difficult. The insert would not pop out as the video shows and finally the entire piece came off the window. I was then able to take out the insert and get the original cover out from the mirror.

The wire connections are great. It reminds me of doing a Crutchfield radio install where they supply all the plugs and wires - no splicing or cutting. But there is a fair amount of extra wire and getting that all behind the plastic cover is not simple.

I had trouble getting the main cover to lock into place. The video shows it snapping in, but it really slides into place. Then I struggled with the new insert and getting it in kept popping the cover off. It turns out that the new insert is not correct - the hole for the mirror swivel is too small. So, I subbed the original insert, but the latch didn't get along with the new cover very well and it took some effort to latch it. (In the photo, the original is at the top.)
View attachment 170116

Now, in trial, the color balance is way off - everything is blue-ish.
View attachment 170118
I am trying to contact Tech Support but their email is not obvious. On their website, there is an email, but I bet it is marketing. In the iOS app, the tech support email is truncated as 'zhiyangsoft@sunnin…’ which is silly. Even turning the app sideways does not make the entire email available. And it is not a link to Mail. Plus the app does not play with the Keywords program and save the password, so I have to write it down.

Most disappointing is that the camera is not as well hidden as I expected. It does hang down in the cover into the vision area more than I expected. I would rather have a camera off to the side on the passenger side.

This maybe heading back to Amazon pretty quickly.

More to come.....

The blue tint is extremely odd. I don't even want to ask but I have to, did you remove the blue protective film from in front of the lens? I just installed mine today and couldn't be happier. Such a seamless install and look, great picture quality. Only thing I'm miffed about is paying extra for the 4k version and it keeps defaulting to the lower resolution. Someone who reviewed previously said they contacted them and the manufacturer had them flash something with the microSD that made the 4k setting "stick".

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

iTim314 · Aug 2, 2021

I've seen cameras have a dramatic white balance shift after taking a hard impact. As @Expe12 suggested, if there's no protective film over the lease, then I suspect the camera was jostled while shipping or dropped at some point.

LexVApin · Aug 2, 2021

Expe12 said:
The blue tint is extremely odd. I don't even want to ask but I have to, did you remove the blue protective film from in front of the lens? I just installed mine today and couldn't be happier. Such a seamless install and look, great picture quality. Only thing I'm miffed about is paying extra for the 4k version and it keeps defaulting to the lower resolution. Someone who reviewed previously said they contacted them and the manufacturer had them flash something with the microSD that made the 4k setting "stick".

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reminder.

I had contacted them at Amazon via purchase and they said that the 4K issue was solved. I checked mine and it is not.
So I will contact them and ask for the firmware download.

Did you have any issues with that plastic insert not fitting? Mine is a 2021 RAV Hybrid. It looks like Toyota modified the mirror mount, or the camera in a way that they needed a larger hole for the mirror holder 'neck'. My install would have been significantly easier if I had switched to the original insert as that was what was causing the plastic cover to pop back out.

Aftermarket Dash Cam - Which one and how to install

Dash cams - yes or no?

teon

Viofo a129 Plus Duo

Rigsby

Expe12

redrav52

Rigsby

soccerdmon

TwoLostMinds

TwoLostMinds

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Jack Daniels

LexVApin

Rigsby

LexVApin

LexVApin

Rigsby

LexVApin

Jack Daniels

LexVApin

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Expe12

iTim314

LexVApin

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