Backup camera

just registering an interest

 

We just bought a 2014 Prius with the back up camera. Its not as useful as it could be... Its missing the guide lines that indicate where your car is headed. Our 2013 Dodge Dart had green, yellow and red guide outlines on the back up camera display, so you knew exactly where your limits were, and where you were headed. Sure Wish Toyota would include those, as it is just not as user friendly / or even that useful without the guide lines. Sure it will let you know if something is in the way, but,, not nearly as much help.

 

I am not sure if this helps my 07 has a factory install of reverse camera. My understanding is that unless you have factory the MFD is not compatible with reverse cams. Therein meaning your would need to get/purchase seperate monitor.

 

a separate monitor might not be such a bad thing
I was thinking along the lines of GPS and reversing camera, folding into the bay draw below the CD player for security

actually a step up from factory maps, and free upgrades

 

been looking around researching this
turns out 'some' Garmin GPS come both with a 7" screen which is about the same width as the Toyota Display in dash, and have a AV jack to accept a reversing camera. It sounds like how it works is, once a camera is powered up, it shows on the display, turn the camera off and the display returns to GPS mode.

Garmin GPS with the LMT post script to their product code have free map updates for life and seems vastly superior to the Toyots unit that came with Prius.

I expect that the screen can fit within the draw bay beneath the radio, but from here it gets a little complicated. You can get push open draw slides, a kind of smooth railing that allows drawers to travel smoothly which you open by pushing the door of the draw in, from there it pops open.

Drawer runners & Drawer slides - Push To Open Drawer Runners

So in my mind it could work like this. Remove the door to the bay, install the slides and screen horizontal within the bay, and the door fits perpendicular onto what is the front edge of the screen. Push the door to open, and the screen and door pop open enough to manually pull the unit out, where once it comes out far enough on the rails, it folds down to hang beneath the dash. A refinement is to have a sealing piece which sits behind the GPS, positioned so that it follows the GPS screen out of the bay, but doesnt fold down like the screen does it simply fills the gap into the bay.

So you have slide tracks with traveller cars on them. The cars carry the blanking piece, which is the most forward part. Then comes a hinge, which attaches to the screen. This allows the screen to fold down once clear of the bay opening. Once folded down, the original door to the bay is left attached to the bottom of the screen

• In this way the screen is secured from sight when the car is unattended, but easily deployed using a similar action to how the door to the bay works on the Prius right now.
• Aesthetically its size is a comparable width the the Prius screen, but should just fit into the bay.
• The data maps are updateable for free, and are universal.
• Turning on the camera for rear view could be automated by using the reversing light switchgear, or you could have a bypass for just using it as a fourth driving mirror if GPS function isnt required.