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8 Things You Need To Know About Back-Up Cameras | Edmunds.com

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited January 2015 in General
image8 Things You Need To Know About Back-Up Cameras | Edmunds.com

Back-up cameras will be mandatory in 2018, but nearly half of new vehicles already have them. New camera uses are on the way, too.

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    emmmwemmmw Member Posts: 1
    I just added an OEM compatible backup camera in my daughter's new PriusC for $115 and installation was easy. Took less than an hour and works perfectly. The PriusC does not have this as an option for some reason but my daughter learned to drive in my wife's Ford Fusion Hybrid and we all love the backup camera.
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    steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    @emmmw, OEM compatible meaning it hooks up to the existing screen in the dash?
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    vricovrico Member Posts: 3
    My 2014 pathfinder rearview camera is really out of focus and they are telling me that is the way it is. Anyone else have this problem. Just purchased this vehicle last week
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    meteor10meteor10 Member Posts: 59
    camera is dirty too many times here in Russia... need some new technology for our market))
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    boomer47boomer47 Member Posts: 1
    I have an issue,more of a curious question. I have a 2015 Hyundai Equus and my backup camera works very well 99.99% of the time. WHEN I park in a particular parking space and only this space at the post office and I put the car in reverse my backup camera will suddenly revert back to the GPS map. THIS IS the only space it does it in. Any other timer place the system does what it's suppose to do. ODD ? very....can these cameras be affected by outside microwaves or something.
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    BluWolf17BluWolf17 Member Posts: 1
    What are the dimensions of the cameras. I'm doing a paper and I just need the dimensions!
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    alhebalheb Member Posts: 1
    You can save the significant expense of a backup camera system by simply turning your damned head around and looking at where you are backing up.
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    thebeanthebean Member Posts: 1,217
    Not everyone is young and has great flexibility in their neck. It has been great for me and I’m glad they are mandatory on new cars now.
    2015 Honda Accord EX, 2019 Honda HR-V EX
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    PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    I still like to get "eyes on" things behind me, but I do like the dynamic trajectory on the backup camera on our new Rogue

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    SatchmoeddieSatchmoeddie Member Posts: 2
    Some ignorant jerk backed into the front quarter panel of my S10 Blazer, knocking me unconscious, putting a huge gash in my forehead, a deep divot in my forehead, a big lump on the top right of my head, above the hairline, spraining my left wrist, bruising my right knee, a large bruise/gash across my left foot, numerous broken fingernails, and a 75% torn off toenail. The stupid moron's wife stands there with her mouth hanging open watching me stagger around bleeding, and exclaims, "THE MACHINE GAVE US THE RIGHT OF WAY". In total disbelief I looked at the gas pumps behind the jackass's truck expecting to maybe see if someone had install a traffic light on the gas pump. I looked back at the stupid idiot and said, "WHAT?" And she repeated, "THE MACHINE! THE MACHINE GAVE US THE RIGHT OF WAY", Then here idiot husband says, "THE BACKUP CAMERA! I COULDN'T TELL IF YOU WERE MOVING OR NOT, BUT IT GAVE ME THE RIGHT OF WAY TO BACK OUT OF THE PARKING SPACE." I ask if Mr. or Mrs. Dipstick had called 911 yet, to which he replied, "IT'S PRIVATE PROPERTY NO ONE WILL COME. MY SON IS A COP. HE KNOWS TRAFFIC LAWS" Yeah the dead and the dying are just piling up at convenience stores and gas stations, because they are all on private property. THESE TWO WHO BARELY CAN SPEAK ENGLISH, AND CANNOT EVEN READ THEIR OWN NATIVE SPANISH MORONS ACTUALLY FILED AN INSURANCE CLAIM AGAINST ME. I HAD TO SEND THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY AN ULTIMATUM, "THE ACCIDENT WAS RECORDED ON VIDEO, SO INSTEAD OF THREATENING ME WITH THAT VIDEO BRING THE VIDEO INTO A COURTROOM! YES I WANT A TRIAL, WITH A JUDGE, AND A JURY TO SEE A VIDEO OF SOMEONE BREAKING 3 CIVIL TRAFFIC LAWS, 2 CRIMINAL LAWS, AND 2 CRIMINAL TRAFFIC LAW ON VIDEO, AND THEN WE CAN RE-DISCUSS WHO IS LIABLE AGAIN!" They quit their threats and their lying. (That is all on audio tape) I am missing fingernails, & toenails now. I have free MRSA from the hospital. I have traumatic brain injury induced aphasia, and visual cortex disorders from the concussion. I have had a minor surgery on average of EVERY 10 DAYS for the past 10 1/2 weeks, and am in extreme pain and discomfort. Seat belts, crumple zones, air bags, padding, and other safety restraints are more geared toward FRONTAL IMPACTS. A SIDE IMPACT TWISTED ME INTO THE PASSENGER SEAT RIPPING OUT THE 1.75 INCHES OF ENERGY RELEASE LOOP STITCHING ON THE SEAT BELT. BACK UP CAMERAS ARE A USELESS GIMMICK!!! A CHILD CAN BE BELOW OR TO THE SIDE OF THE VIEW OF THE CAMERA!!!! And how about the cameras with RADAR. There was an OLD Forest Mimms III project for blind spot RADAR back in the 1990s, and it was a hobbyist's DIY project. It was also NOT TO BE USED EXCLUSIVELY. BACKUP CAMERAS ARE ALSO EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN THEY ARE HYPED UP AS A WONDERFUL NEW SAFETY DEVICE! THEY ACTUALLY SUCK AT WHAT THEY DO! I was parallel parking service vans in crowded downtown areas with only the two side mirrors to guide me. YOU DO A WALK AROUND OF YOUR VEHICLE!! YOU USE YOUR NECK AND BACK TO LOOK BEHIND AND ALL AROUND YOUR CAR BEFORE YOU MOVE IT BACKWARDS OR ANY DIRECTION FOR THAT MATTER!!! You do NOT EVER use a TV screen to back your car up. You have NO DEPTH PERCEPTION! Your view is severely limited! YOU WILL HURT OR KILL SOMEONE!! I AM SINCERELY HOPING THERE WILL BE SOME CLASS ACTION SUITS AGAINST CAR MAKERS OVER THESE GIMMICKY STUPID BACKUP CAMERAS. They are NOT a panacea for safety. If a small child is very close to the car and off to one side, and Mr, or Mrs. Dipstick are backing up, that child is as good as dead! Not only do I walk around my vehicle, I also give the hood or front fender a good thump to scare out any stray cats that crawled into the engine compartment to stay warm. I rented several cars with backup cameras, and they range from barely usable, to okay for backing up to a trailer, or most were just totally worthless garbage. I learned how to back up to a trailer tongue the old fashioned way. Side mirrors, and practice. Use the camera, but also use ALL of your mirrors. If you have power mirrors, adjust those up and down to get a good view too, and then reset them for driving. DO NOT SOLELY RELY ON THAT STUPID CAMERA! YOU WILL HAVE AN ACCIDENT! IT WILL LIKELY BE YOUR FAULT TOO.
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    SatchmoeddieSatchmoeddie Member Posts: 2
    BluWolf17 said:

    What are the dimensions of the cameras. I'm doing a paper and I just need the dimensions!

    THEY ALL VARY! Some have a very tiny 5 inch screen, and the camera is like looking through a fish eye peep hole in a door, or it's like looking through a soda straw. Others have lines on the screen to attempt to show depth, and how far away things are. It's a FLAT LCD screen so you have no depth perception at all. They are also usually way down on the bumper, so you have the same viewing angle as a medium sized dog. Peripheral vision also varies from camera to camera. Some are like looking through a soda straw, and others are like a fish eye lens. Others have large screen that also doubles as a control touch screen. There is NO standard, so they range from fairly useful as an added tool to common sense driving, to an being a worthless joke. Most of them have enough blind spots to hide a few small children in. Some trucks have a camera & RADAR that will guide the truck's trailer hitch right up to the tongue on a trailer, so good driving skills, and smart driving habits are simply being lost, because people think these gimmicks will replace common sense safe driving practices & techniques. It's a tool, like a rear view mirror, only the cameras kind of suck most of the time. I rent numerous cars, and every camera is a little different. I usually ignore the cameras after I have ascertained there is nothing right behind the vehicle. That includes walking around the vehicle BEFORE you attempt to move it. Nissan has a camera with side RADAR to "detect cross traffic". DO NOT RELY ON THAT! LOOK FIRST, and LOOK OFTEN. RADAR can have blind spots. Self driving Teslas will get guard rails, and grassy areas confused with lanes of traffic, and they will head right for the end of a guard rail, if you don't grab the steering wheel and correct it. The Tesla was also rather herky jerky too. It was like having a nervous 6 year old child with palsy behind the wheel. On the highway it got better. Tesla's cameras kind of sucked too. That one displays on the control screen.
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