Opinions on removing the factory dashcam?

I'm about 98.7% certain there's a different camera that handles the road sign detection. The only thing integrated about the Toyota dashcam is the wiring. Other than that, it's a standalone unit. It looks like the Viofo unit will do everything the Toyota unit can do.

The only real difficulty in removal will be getting the adhesive backing off your windshield. I'm guessing your car will smell like GooGone for quite awhile by the time you're done. As for the wiring, you'll have to pull down the map light bezel(a sharp tug is better than steady pressure - find out whether you need to pull from the back or front - there will likely be press clips on one side and hooks on the other that you don't want to break). Once it's down, it should be one wire clip to remove, then pull the wires out through the headliner(you may need to slightly drop the headliner by removing the clip that holds the sun visor steady). The camera itself has some blind clips that hold it onto the adhesive plate. Find a video or installation instructions that show where those are. You'll probably need two long, flat, and thin probes to push the clips in to release the camera.

In another thread about the Toyota dashcam, I posted some links to installation videos and instructions for other vehicles. Just find that thread and you should get most of the info you need.

 

Just be sure your Toyota Prius came with an integrated dashcam. In mine, there is a piece that is similar in shape but it's not the dashcam but part of the radar system for Toyota Safety Sense. The integrated dashcam has a red button and thats the easiest way to find it.

 

Are you talking about the integrated-dashcam accessory that records the traffic on a microSD card or the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) 3.0+ camera that is used for LTA, DRCC, AEB, proactive driving, etc.? It sounds like you are talking about the TSS camera. You should definitely not remove the TSS camera. You would not only lose most of the TSS features but could be found liable in an accident that could be claimed to be caused by tampered safety systems. Note that the TSS camera does not record the traffic.

 

Heh, I never thought to ask that question. lol

@HoustonEvolution: This is the dashcam you're talking about removing, correct?
https://www.sparksparts.com/oem-parts/toyota-integrated-dash-camera-pt94908230

Anything else is not a dashcam and something you shouldn't be removing.

 

I also thought they installed the dash cam for free when I first saw it.

 

Some one mentioned a dealer charging $150 to install that dash cam. For those that do want the 'factory' one, it is really easy to install compared a third party unit. Wait, and wiring harnesses to connect third party to the factory connection may become available.

I think people have been asking for using the ADAS cameras as dash cams for about as long as they have been installed on cars though. Toyota bothered putting in a wiring for separate dash cam. Sharing the feed from the ADAS camera shouldn't be any more difficult.

I'm thinking they don't want customers seeing that camera's image. Maybe it is lower res or just greyscale. Something that works fine for the ADAS, but wouldn't be 'pretty' too the human eye, which would lead to customers complaining. Or they just want the profits of selling a separate dash cam.

 

On my invoice it is $375, same price as in the "build" function on the Toyota Website. Includes installation, is a port or dealer option.

 

I wouldn't remove it. Perhaps some features are not as good as some aftermarket cameras', but it's nice that it has no wires and it's an OEM part and some other features may be better. Aftermarket parts decrease a car's resale value.

 

Isn't difficult to remove a third party dash cam, and return to stock.

 

You can't return any port-installed accessory.

 

But they can keep it, re-install it when getting rid of the Prius, and move their preferred dash cam to the next car.

As for the OP's question, I'd just stay with the OEM cam if it is already installed. Does the OEM have a rear camera?

 

When removing it, do you recall if it was connected to a white plug that was fixed to the map light bezel or headliner? Or was it connected to a very small wiring harness that spliced into other wires going to the map light area?

 

No, the OEM integrated-dashcam accessory is only a front camera.

 

No. The lack of a rear camera is one of the problems with the OEM dashcam. It's one of the examples of the downsides of Toyota kaizen in relation to modern electronics. Incremental change causes Toyota to add things slowly enough that they do it in pieces when it would've been better to create a complete system from scratch. That's probably Tesla's biggest advantage in creating new cars from scratch in the modern world.

Toyota:
"Let's add a backup camera to make reversing easier."
time
time
time
"Let's make a dashcam an option." "But the radio/nav unit wasn't designed to handle multiple feeds, so it has to be discrete." "Okay."
time
"Let's add a separate rearview camera." "But the dashcam wasn't designed to accept a second feed." "Okay, it will be its own thing."
time
time
"Let's completely revise the infotainment interface." "Okay, but every previous camera feed is in its own format and the units aren't designed for multi-way communication." "Well, do your best to integrate things." <software problems galore>

Tesla:
"We're going to be building a car that's going to have a lot of cameras to start with and more will be added in the future." "Okay, so let's design our hardware and software to be expandable and easily reconfigured in the infotainment interface."
<profit>