Hardwired Dash Cam Install

Hi Everyone! I just installed my car dash cam today and I thought I'd like to share with everyone. This is for a Prime but the steps should be the same for the standard Prius as well. I decided to do a hardwired install because I like the idea of having all the wires tucked away and not seen. The model I got was an AUKEY DRO2 D which I got off Amazon and it comes with front and back cameras. For the hardwire kit I just got a kit with a Mini-USB connector and it comes with fuse taps for the common types of fuses and tapped off the power outlet fuse

All the parts for the install.

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Our cars use the low-profile mini fuses, and included is a 5A fuse. The empty slot is where you place the original fuse which you want to tap from. Crimp this to the +12V wire.

Also on the +12V power line is another fuse. Don't forget to check this in addition to the tap fuse if you ever think you blew the fuse for the dash cam.
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The fuse cover and the fuse I picked to tap into. FYI - after installing the fuse tap the cover won't fit back on.


All wired up and run it along the weather stripping

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Yank the A pillar carefully starting at the weather stripping. There is an plastic anchor which stops you from pulling the whole thing off. You only need to pull enough so that you can run the USB connector and wire through BEHIND the air-bag.

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Move away the rear-view mirror and pull away the small plastic piece at the top, then slide the large cover downward along the windshield and the cover comes off so you can easily access the headliner.

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(if applicable) Mount the GPS antenna somewhere and bring the wires up into the headliner.

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The headliner has a nice cutout which I used for the 3 wires - USB power, GPS, and rear camera USB. For the rear camera USB, I started here and ran the wire in the head liner on the other side of the car - up to you to decide which side you want to run it on.

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The next few steps are routing the rear camera wire to the back. I did it on the passenger side, but you can follow the same steps for the driver side if you want. Push the wire behind the headliner and under the weather stripping.

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Pull back the B pillar starting from the weather stripping. I only pulled it back enough to fish the wire through it. Also, for my install the wire was very long so I tied it together and hid it all inside the B pillar. Theres a nice space inside which you can hide it, and it doesn't affect the operation of the seat belt either.

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Pull back the C pillar and run the wire behind everything. I found it easier to pull the clips off in the back of the headliner, but I think you can skip this. I cut a small notch for the wire to come out and connected it tot he camera that way. I thought of doing it through the firewall and up through the trunk lid but that would have taken too much effort.

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Test everything out before putting all the panels back, and zip tie all the loose wires so everything is neat and secure.