Dash Cams (2 channel)

[pkalhan]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to get an idea of how many of you are planning to get or have thought about getting a dash cam for your model 3s. This will be my most expensive car I have ever owned and plan on having it for years. I want to protect it from the crazies out there. Does anyone have any experience with them? I was thinking about getting a dual channel dash cam, one for the front and one for the back. I heard blackvues and think wares are really good brands.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Tam]

...dash cam for your model 3s...

I wouldn't want to drive without one.

Famous tennis player Venus Williams drove without one and got into a fatal accident and nobody believed her words that she didn't run through a red light.

After interviewing various witnesses, police officially concluded that she ran through a red light.

Fortunately, later on, a camera from a building near by verified her words.

Back to dash cam, I have been using BlackVue that you can see on my Youtube because of its compactness and I am quite happy with it.

Better yet, I hope Tesla will offer Dash Cam Service SOON since it has now 8 external + 1 internal cameras for Model 3.

 

[K-MTG]

I already ordered the new 750S: New Blackvue Dashcam (DR750S) that I will install in my 3. Got a 650S on my Model X and a 650GW on my Acura

 

[pkalhan]

@K-MTG was the 650S difficult to install? I am thinking about the Blackvue as well, but will probably need to get it professionally installed. I am hoping the installers will not have difficulty installing it. I know that sounds silly, but I have seen some Youtube videos that look confusing.

 

[melindav]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to get an idea of how many of you are planning to get or have thought about getting a dash cam for your model 3s. This will be my most expensive car I have ever owned and plan on having it for years. I want to protect it from the crazies out there. Does anyone have any experience with them? I was thinking about getting a dual channel dash cam, one for the front and one for the back. I heard blackvues and think wares are really good brands.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

There is also will be a group buy that will begin soon for the DR750S-2CH on the Model3OwnersClub site (listed in the Tech section) if you are interested, check it out.

 

[K-MTG]

@K-MTG was the 650S difficult to install? I am thinking about the Blackvue as well, but will probably need to get it professionally installed. I am hoping the installers will not have difficulty installing it. I know that sounds silly, but I have seen some Youtube videos that look confusing.

If the install is similar to the S, I will do it myself. It should be even easier since the 3 isn't a hatch for the rear camera.

I had it done professionally on the X because of the windshield: Blackvue DR650S Review + Tesla Model X Install

 

[C141medic]

Look at this thread in the M3 forum:
Cloud based dashcam

 

[timk225]

Tesla should offer a dashcam option, using video from one of the cameras already watching the road. They can charge $3500 extra for this option.

 

[03DSG]

Tesla should offer a dashcam option, using video from one of the cameras already watching the road. They can charge $3500 extra for this option.

Only $3500? Bargain! I'm thinking closer to $5k.
Have you seen the resolution from those cameras? Certainly not meant for dash cam/security purposes. Only for EAP/FSD purposes.

 

[K-MTG]

Only $3500? Bargain! I'm thinking closer to $5k.
Have you seen the resolution from those cameras? Certainly not meant for dash cam/security purposes. Only for EAP/FSD purposes.

$5k would be a lot just for a dash cam unless you can access all 8 cams and view footage remotely on the Tesla app

 

[smak]

Never thought of getting one before, 100% will get one.

I just have no idea the difference between a $100 dash cam and a $500 one. Trying to educate myself.

 

[Qbenjamin]

@K-MTG was the 650S difficult to install? I am thinking about the Blackvue as well, but will probably need to get it professionally installed. I am hoping the installers will not have difficulty installing it. I know that sounds silly, but I have seen some Youtube videos that look confusing.

There was one challenging area to get through in my S, but it's definitely worth doing it yourself. I have an S with no sunroof, so I ran the wire along the inside edge of the headliner, from the back of the rear view mirror (took about 10 mins). I ran the wiring through a grommet under the rear headliner, which was a pain to retrieve in the hatch. That was the ONLY complicated part.

For the three, it should be as simple as running the wire from the rear view mirror, and through the headliner which is pretty easy (all your doing is tucking the wire inside). Since everything is staying inside the vehicle and under the headliner, no grommets for you to jump through. I can't see it taking more than 30 mins to do this...

 

[xmetal]

So, reading up on dashcams and specifically the power angle, I have two questions that I think I know the answer to but wanted to confirm:

1. It looks like using the OBD-II port for power is common, but that port will always be ON in the Tesla, if the car is on or off, right? Therefore, your dashcam would always be on drawing some power? I don't particularly like that idea...

2. Does the Model 3 have a cigarette adapter? I can't recall seeing any mention of that. I know the center console has the 2 USB ports for the phone area (which I assume are switched and only have power when the car is on).

 

[melindav]

So, reading up on dashcams and specifically the power angle, I have two questions that I think I know the answer to but wanted to confirm:

1. It looks like using the OBD-II port for power is common, but that port will always be ON in the Tesla, if the car is on or off, right? Therefore, your dashcam would always be on drawing some power? I don't particularly like that idea...

2. Does the Model 3 have a cigarette adapter? I can't recall seeing any mention of that. I know the center console has the 2 USB ports for the phone area (which I assume are switched and only have power when the car is on).

all OBDII ports are constant power. However, there have been debate if the Model 3 has an OBDII.
So... if no OBDII, I will be using a fuse tap from a constant power fuse circuit in the interior fuse box.
It does have a 12V power outlet but don't know if it's constant power, or only when the car is on.

 

[03DSG]

all OBDII ports are constant power. However, there have been debate if the Model 3 has an OBDII.
So... if no OBDII, I will be using a fuse tap from a constant power fuse circuit in the interior fuse box.
It does have a 12V power outlet but don't know if it's constant power, or only when the car is on.

When I wired mine with the parking mode power device I needed one wire to a fuse that's always powered and one to a fuse that is unpowered with the car off and powered with the car on. That acts as the 'switch' to power for parking mode. Great system. I like the park protection. Set mine for 12 hours.

 

[Qbenjamin]

So, reading up on dashcams and specifically the power angle, I have two questions that I think I know the answer to but wanted to confirm:

1. It looks like using the OBD-II port for power is common, but that port will always be ON in the Tesla, if the car is on or off, right? Therefore, your dashcam would always be on drawing some power? I don't particularly like that idea...

2. Does the Model 3 have a cigarette adapter? I can't recall seeing any mention of that. I know the center console has the 2 USB ports for the phone area (which I assume are switched and only have power when the car is on).

I'm not worried about it drawing power from the 12V, as the main battery is always charging it. My camera stays on for most of the workday since I park in a very active lot. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now with no major issues. We'll see as time goes on, but my only issue right now is the amount of storage on the provided card (updating to a 64gb microSD card in a few days).

 

[Jason Bourne]

I decided a long time ago that I'll have a dashcam in my Model3 and I did a lot of research in preparation. I decided I'd buy a dashcam for my current car to play around a bit so I could make a better informed decision when it came time to buy and install for my Model3.

I bought a Blackvie DR470-2CH and a PowerMagicPro and did the install myself. I used to mess around with car stereos in my younger days so I was comfortable with the wiring after I had carefully planned everything out. My experience with the Blackvue DR470 has been mediocre and I think it may be a lemon.

Having the PowerMagicPro in conjunction with the Blackvue's Parking Mode is really nice (when it works, that's what my unit has an issue with). It's designed to be constantly monitoring for motion or impact when the car is parked, and only records a video file when either of those events occur.

I used Fuse Taps, and it was an easy install. The most difficult part was finding a circuit with constant power.

 

[ahagge]

Note this from the "Private owners receiption at Tesla Monterey" thread:

Held in Seaside as a "thank you to our Roadster owners for the continued passion and support in accelerating the future of sustainable energy."
.
.
.
Model S and X owners will be interested to hear that Tesla is working on a software update to use the front camera(s) to support dashcam functionality. Some early Model S's without any AP hardware won't have this option.

If Tesla adds this to an upcoming Model 3 software update, it should obviate the need for a separate dashcam. Woo hoo!

 

[ikjadoon]

I decided a long time ago that I'll have a dashcam in my Model3 and I did a lot of research in preparation. I decided I'd buy a dashcam for my current car to play around a bit so I could make a better informed decision when it came time to buy and install for my Model3.

I bought a Blackvie DR470-2CH and a PowerMagicPro and did the install myself. I used to mess around with car stereos in my younger days so I was comfortable with the wiring after I had carefully planned everything out. My experience with the Blackvue DR470 has been mediocre and I think it may be a lemon.

Having the PowerMagicPro in conjunction with the Blackvue's Parking Mode is really nice (when it works, that's what my unit has an issue with). It's designed to be constantly monitoring for motion or impact when the car is parked, and only records a video file when either of those events occur.

I used Fuse Taps, and it was an easy install. The most difficult part was finding a circuit with constant power.

I also had a PowerMagic Pro on my DR650S-2CH, but my unit was trash. Worked great for a week and then it failed, killing my admittedly old 7-year-old car battery.

I went all out: bought the Cellink lithium battery that gives me a long enough parking mode without touching the car battery. The plus side is that it also charges at like 100W+ (unlike Blackvue's battery setup), so even a short drive can give me 1-2 hours of parking mode. Then I also upgraded to an AGM car battery (though this was also for upcoming stereo upgrades).

Now it's all jelly. Works great, I'm never worried, and I feel much safer.

By me, any and all evidence in an accident or case is useful. Quality is good enough, but I think we'll see big improvements in 2-3 years as 1440p and bigger sensors come out. The dream is a seamless quad-channel system (for door dingers and T-bone crashes)...one day.

EDIT: yes! I did Fuse Taps, too. Pretty easy to install (except all the time wasted troubleshooting the PMP). Did you have a diagram for the fuse box? I ended up using my hazard lights as the constant power one and I found it via the diagram in my manual.

 

[Tam]

...will always be ON...

I prefer my dash cam to be always on the alert, not just for driving but also for potential vandalism/mishaps while parking. Yes, it drains power but that is still much cheaper than hiring a parking attendance to watch over my car.