My battery died today and the prius freaked out.. (while installing dash cam)

for reference: 2016 four touring

I just wanted to share my experience. I just got a dash cam on amazon that was on sale during prime day, it arrived this morning so i went out to the garage to install it. I put the car in accessory mode, played with the options a little bit then stuck it to the windshield. Then i needed to figure out how to manage the cord so it wasnt just dangling in the middle of the car. I decided to tuck it behind the headliner as there is a small gap that looked perfect to hide the cord. as i was doing that the windshield wiper randomly goes off (it is set to auto) Then I decide to look at the manual to figure out what exactly all these contraptions are mounted to the windshield. It took a while but eventually I found out that I mounted the cam right in front of the rain sensor, however it looked like I gave it enough room to not effect it. So then i start becoming concerned that i have knocked some wires loose behind the headliner so i decide to take the cord out. This is when things start to really go haywire.

I get an alert on the dash that my 12v battery is low so I try to turn on the car to recharge it. It refuses to start, then the headlights start surging and the brake pedal starts kicking back at my foot. This is followed by a series of messages about safety connect not being available and to take it to the dealer, and a myriad of beeps and click that ended with a repeated beeping until i decide to call toyota care for a jump start. when i shut the car down and closed the door it would not stop this loud whine until it eventually got jump started.

Looking back I realized that the auto headlights were on because I was in the garage, and I was also charging the dash cam, and the interior lights were on all for about 30 minutes. Yes this was my fault but I was a little disappointed that I didnt get an alert sooner that the battery was getting low, and that after only 30 minutes it had drained the battery low enough to shock the Toyota care responded. My first drive after the jump many of the features including the qi phone charger wouldnt work, however after I shut down the car it started and all seems fine now. I will update if anything changes, but i was pretty worried there for a second that I had really messed something up.

All cables are neatly tucked away and all seems well.

The green arrow shows the path of the cable.

 

it actually fits great. I can't even see it from the drivers seat, it hides perfectly behind the mirror. The charger was actually perfect length for this routing as well. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, im still waiting on the micro sd to arrive. I will update this weekend as we are making a trip out of town.

Here is the unit I bought.

 

I saw the hardwire on amazon but was worried about difficulty of installation, and it killing the battery. how long have you had it and how was installation?? Also, i bet if you installed it on the other side of the mirror you wouldnt even see it, but i guess that depends on if you want to be able to see it or not.

 

good point. people that want them would love it, but everyone else would think the government is watching them.

 

thanks for the tip, ill look into it. we put 300 miles on it yesterday, do you think that would be good enough?

 

I'm confused, what do you mean by keep it charged? are you saying that once its been depleted it wont stay charged? or are you thinking there is something wrong with the battery. I think the thing that killed the battery in the first place was the fact that i had the headlight on for half an hour with the car off.