backup camera

I read where someone on an entirely different forum did just that. I don't recall how. Check the other Prius forums out there.

 

Backup camera, as an option, was not availble until 2006 model.
I installed backup camera myself on my 2005.
To trick the system, all you need to do is identifying the reverse signal wire input and add a switch to it (pass thru or tie high).

 

The procedure to do it is posted here on PriusChat. Do a search...

 

Reverse video

 

So it can clearly be done, but why do you want to? Car companies don't do that because of the concern about safety, that drivers may apply their attention to the "TV" image rather than the real scene unfolding ahead of you. Plus you would have to switch the image off, to get to the Climate Control and Audio screens, to have control over those functions.

There's definitely some situational awareness value in a wide-angle rear-view function, however. But is it worth the trade-off in forward awareness?

Road Fan

 

even as it is now the climate and information overrides the backup camera if selected in reverse. so I would assume that after the camera was tricked into running in forward the same rule would apply.

 

It seems to give a better view than does the rear-view mirror. I'd like a full-time rear view camera as an option separate from the nav option.

 

I too would like to have non-wide angle camera for: rear view, side views, and most importantly: a backseat view (to keep an eye on the baby in the back, for example).

Some buses and RVs have rear mounted cameras so that drivers can better see what's behind them while driving (not just reversing). Same thing can apply to cars, IMO. Anything to help reduce/remove blind spots can't hurt.

 

Certainly the most effective way to present the image is without the fisheye effect, but there is a cost to doing that. One is multiple cameras each with narrower coverage, and with their images stitched together onto a single screen. Here there's the cost of up to four cameras, a processor that can stitch the images, and a smarter display unit to deliver an image of the correct situation (out of many that could present at the rear of the car) at the right time. A second approach is to add "flattening" software to remove the fisheye effect. These need a much more powerful processor.

So we can get what we want, we just need to convince Toyota that enough people will buy it and pay the premium, to make it worth their while.

But bear in mind, it is possible for added driver information to hurt: cognitive overload, an aspect of distraction. The mind has a limited rate and capacity for acquiring and processing new information. Drivers might work so hard dealing with multiple or more complex displays, that they won't pay proper attention to something else. This issue has been seen and fully documented in human-machine interfaces for aircraft, specialized machinery, and warships. Toyota is fully aware of the potential of this problem, and tends to move forward in baby steps.

 

Anything to supplement the existing mirrors to reduce/eliminate blind spots are fine by me, e.g. blind spot detectors in newer cars. I think safety features like that should be mandatory, not optional.

As for backseat camera, something like this, but built in, would be very useful and nice.

Automobile Monitor (09090) - Summer Infant

 

Ceric, That is exactly what I want to do. The Prius I am purchasing is in excellent shape and never saw winter with 65,000 miles. My wife wants the backup camera and wants me or someone to find out how to do it and how much is involved $ and time.

Thanks for any help. I do have a friend that can do it I'm sure.

 

I am trying to locate an OE backup camera. I have pulled the tailgate trim and have the requisite connector present.

With luck, simply connecting the camera will enable the reversing camera function but we shall see. So far locating a camera has been the stumbling block!

 

zenMachine & Road Fan,

In my driving of several different cars at my job in the auto auction company I work for, I have come across one very interesting camera/display set-up in an Infinity EX35 (the car is similar in shape to the Nissan Murano).

The screen displays in split-screen format. On the right side of the display is all 4 views [forward (from camera in the inverted "V" of the grill's Infinity badge), rearward (from the camera in the license plate area), & the left & right sides (cameras mounted in the bottoms of both side view mirrors)]. On the left side of the display is a blow-up of whichever of the 4 views the driver desires & selects. However, once in motion the cameras turn off.

This might be an interesting system to investigate with its 4 cameras, screen, & processor, but I don't have any idea how pricey it is & if it can be tricked into staying on full-time.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Georgepol & DarrenG,

As suggested in one of the other "backup camera" threads, do a search for a post by "Frenchie" & in that thread you'll see to look for a 4-pin connector & something is also mentioned in one of the posts in that thread about the NTSC format versus a RGB format (I'm guessing they are referring to the difference between the '04-'05 screen resolution & the '06-'09 screen resolution, as they're not supposed to be compatible), so use caution when picking & paying for your camera.

I noticed that Frenchie had an '06 so logically that wouldn't seem to be a problem installing an '06 camera in an '06 car, but I believe that the NON-camera equipped '06's used the '04-'05 resolution screens, so he may well have had the incompatibility issue (I didn't read his link to his installation process), therefore you may need to follow his footsteps for your '05 installation.

I know that Prius salesman C. Rickey Hirose in Freemont CA was having backup cameras installed in some of his customers' '04's & '05's for about $900, but I don't know if his dealer's installations were aftermarket (using a mirror display or dash-mounted auxiliary screen) or OEM equipment (possibly using the imported Japan-only camera for their own '04s & '05's to avoid the resolution incompatibility issue).

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)