Hey, I did some mods on my 2020 xle hybrid that might interest you.

I'm currently working on a 360 camera system myself. This is my front camera:

Except I have mine connected to the oem head unit 9 inch screen and I'm making a remote for camera selection on the steering wheel.

My rav4 did not come with 360 camera stock, so I added those side cameras and I'm actively trying to make a different side camera mounting system to be more like a Tesla's side view mounted further up on the fender/wheel trim.
It's mostly because these mounting spots is more like a birds eye view, whereas I want like a camera to help with lane change more than a birds eye view. Preference I guess?

Note those covers you listed, if your rav4 did not come with 360 cameras or puddle lights stock, you're going to have to take apart the whole mirror assembly and buy the plastic parts to accept those oem style camera inserts. It's a lot of work, not hard, just a lot of work. If you're going to do the automatic side mirror kit, now would be a good time to do it also, since you're taking everything apart.

I also added additional wires in case I wanted to add more cameras or lights, I just don't want to take it apart completely again. But you can see the color difference between the two parts, most xle and le won't have the plastic portion that accepts the camera addon, so you need the whole sub assembly.

Dont get me started on running the actual wire. That alone is the hardest part. If you want to do it the correct way, with all the proper pins going through the oem door harness you have to manually add in the missing pins. Unless you know what you're doing here, I'd skip this.

With that said, I'm actually in the process of trying to add the steering lines to the rear oem camera, it appears you just need to connect the camera to the canbus network, and buy the right camera that communicates with the canbus also, 6pin.

I haven't had the need to remove the rear camera yet, but I'll let you know how it went once I do the thing. I'm waiting for some connectors to come in, then I gotta triple check the canbus lines locations.

But I also have secondary backup cameras for my digital rear dash cam 3 channels (front/rear/kid seat). I'm also really proud of that oem 12.3 full digital cluster I was able to install, since it wasn't a thing when I bought my xle in 2020, and It's only on the limited trim 2023+ only?

I did an oem style install to it with a custom bracket for the digital rearview mirror:

ran the lines through the proper wiring protection through the kickpanel and to the back seats and up through the ceiling to make it look oem:

Ran the wire up to the ceiling through the grommet to the rear door. and I 3d printed a mount to the oem trim piece that I ordered from the version with the oem rear digital camera.

So that could be another location for your rear camera if you can't get the oem one off, and you can always make a button to switch between the two cameras.

 

Wow first of all congrats for what you achieved. Cool work really!
Second of all thanks for the explanation about the mirror. I asked multiple (by multiple I mean like 4 or 5) sellers that had that piece and no one could explain me first of all where that piece went and second of all that my mirror is not compatible currently (I sent them all the pictures).

I have the power mirrors stock so no "extra" work ahahahha. I need to buy essentially a new mirror skeleton and that piece to rebuild the mirror with the 360 holes? Seems quite fun even if really involving.
What cameras did you put in? Do circular aftermarket "dedicated to 360 usage" mirror cameras fit in?

Thanks again!

 

Thanks, and no problem regarding the pictures, I'm glad they were helpful.

Power mirrors are so nice. But yeah, there's like a skeleton frame you you have to replace. Imagine the colored portion of the plastic of the mirror, the sub skeleton beneath that colored plastic piece, you have to disassembly to swap to the one that accepts that insert with the 360 camera w/ or w/o the puddle lights.

I think some models also come with just puddle lights for easy swap, but you still need to route the wires through the middle of the swivel mechanism so it can be ran through the mirror hole on the door and to the grommet area inside the door.

I was trying to make an easy to mount adapter that'll get screwed into the same oem hole that holds the fender's wheel flare up front.

That way you just route the front and 2 side cameras through the same grommet that goes through the firewall. And easy power source and ground.

If memory serves right, I bought some 20 or 22mm circular camera. It comes with a pressure clip that keeps it in place, I don't mount it with the oem camera holes. You could just 3d print a bracket, the cameras I bought worked with the pressure mount.

Or if u dont mind drilling a hole through the plastic, you can do that too. It came with a drill bit for the correct size.

 

Thanks, and no problem regarding the pictures, I'm glad they were helpful.

Power mirrors are so nice. But yeah, there's like a skeleton frame you you have to replace. Imagine the colored portion of the plastic of the mirror, the sub skeleton beneath that colored plastic piece, you have to disassembly to swap to the one that accepts that insert with the 360 camera w/ or w/o the puddle lights.

I think some models also come with just puddle lights for easy swap, but you still need to route the wires through the middle of the swivel mechanism so it can be ran through the mirror hole on the door and to the grommet area inside the door.

I was trying to make an easy to mount adapter that'll get screwed into the same oem hole that holds the fender's wheel flare up front.
View attachment 221376
That way you just route the front and 2 side cameras through the same grommet that goes through the firewall. And easy power source and ground.

If memory serves right, I bought some 20 or 22mm circular camera. It comes with a pressure clip that keeps it in place, I don't mount it with the oem camera holes. You could just 3d print a bracket, the cameras I bought worked with the pressure mount.

Or if u dont mind drilling a hole through the plastic, you can do that too. It came with a drill bit for the correct size.

I don't really feel comfortable drilling such a hole in the mirror but it's an idea. My biggest concern would be the actual positioning of the hole.
Another idea is fitting the cameras on the mirror base, seems quite easy to open without dismantling the whole mirror. But the actual angle of the camera would be a bit of a concern. The format of the camera itself would be also a concern as I think that the cameras that require a hole and are mounted with a nut from the inside wouldn't have enough clearance (judging by pictures of the insides I saw online)

Another idea for the camera format, keeping it on the mirror base, would be the 2 screw format similar to the one I mounted on the front but the cable would be a concern as it sticks out from the back!

 

Here's the first question, I took apart the rear trim to take a look at the camera but i wasn't able to really detach it from the car. Is it adhered with a strong glue? What should i do?

It is not attached with glue, rather it is a really tight fitting grommet. Yes, it is a bear to take off. The thread on the rear camera washer talks about getting the grommet loose to install the washer:https://www.rav4world.com/threads/backup-camera-washer.336890/?post_id=3110339#post-3110339

 

Alessandro said:
Here's the first question, I took apart the rear trim to take a look at the camera but i wasn't able to really detach it from the car. Is it adhered with a strong glue? What should i do?

It is not attached with glue, rather it is a really tight fitting grommet. Yes, it is a bear to take off. The thread on the rear camera washer talks about getting the grommet loose to install the washer:https://www.rav4world.com/threads/backup-camera-washer.336890/?post_id=3110339#post-3110339

it looks like rear camera is bolted from the inside. Interior trim on hatch would need to be removed.

 

Hey, I did some mods on my 2020 xle hybrid that might interest you.

I'm currently working on a 360 camera system myself. This is my front camera:
View attachment 221370

Except I have mine connected to the oem head unit 9 inch screen and I'm making a remote for camera selection on the steering wheel.
View attachment 221365
My rav4 did not come with 360 camera stock, so I added those side cameras and I'm actively trying to make a different side camera mounting system to be more like a Tesla's side view mounted further up on the fender/wheel trim.
It's mostly because these mounting spots is more like a birds eye view, whereas I want like a camera to help with lane change more than a birds eye view. Preference I guess?
View attachment 221371

Note those covers you listed, if your rav4 did not come with 360 cameras or puddle lights stock, you're going to have to take apart the whole mirror assembly and buy the plastic parts to accept those oem style camera inserts. It's a lot of work, not hard, just a lot of work. If you're going to do the automatic side mirror kit, now would be a good time to do it also, since you're taking everything apart.
View attachment 221372

I also added additional wires in case I wanted to add more cameras or lights, I just don't want to take it apart completely again. But you can see the color difference between the two parts, most xle and le won't have the plastic portion that accepts the camera addon, so you need the whole sub assembly.

Dont get me started on running the actual wire. That alone is the hardest part. If you want to do it the correct way, with all the proper pins going through the oem door harness you have to manually add in the missing pins. Unless you know what you're doing here, I'd skip this.

With that said, I'm actually in the process of trying to add the steering lines to the rear oem camera, it appears you just need to connect the camera to the canbus network, and buy the right camera that communicates with the canbus also, 6pin.

I haven't had the need to remove the rear camera yet, but I'll let you know how it went once I do the thing. I'm waiting for some connectors to come in, then I gotta triple check the canbus lines locations.

But I also have secondary backup cameras for my digital rear dash cam 3 channels (front/rear/kid seat). I'm also really proud of that oem 12.3 full digital cluster I was able to install, since it wasn't a thing when I bought my xle in 2020, and It's only on the limited trim 2023+ only?
View attachment 221374

I did an oem style install to it with a custom bracket for the digital rearview mirror:
View attachment 221367

ran the lines through the proper wiring protection through the kickpanel and to the back seats and up through the ceiling to make it look oem:
View attachment 221368

Ran the wire up to the ceiling through the grommet to the rear door. and I 3d printed a mount to the oem trim piece that I ordered from the version with the oem rear digital camera. View attachment 221373

So that could be another location for your rear camera if you can't get the oem one off, and you can always make a button to switch between the two cameras.
View attachment 221375

@notblue, what 360 camera kit are you installing to have it connected to your 9 inch OEM unit? Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? What year and trim is your RAV4?

 

No kit, custom sourced/made it and 3d printed the steering wheel remote. I'm still adding finishing touches to it right now since I want to change how the side cameras are setup.

 

Hi! Today I received my new AHD1080P with the stock mounting bracket. Works flawlessly. It was a bit hard to remove the stock camera but in the end I did it. I also pulled the trigger on the other two cameras to make it full 360... I'll probably regret it for the hard work that has to be done but that's fine I guess 😂

 

Did anyone pass a cable through the door? If so, how did you do that?