I installed a Blackvue 4k dashcam in our 2018 Prius c Two last week, and I decided to make this thread just to make the results easier to find for others searching in the future. This should work for any dashcam that uses a standard 12v power input, and they should be valid for any 2017-2019 Prius c (USA model) and at least some other Aqua NHP10 cars with the Toyota Safety Sense pod on the front windshield. I trimmed the dashcam's native power cable to about 10" (25cm) and spliced it directly to the car's harness. I found 12v switched ignition power on the windshield for the TSS pod. This is the black plastic housing surrounding the rearview mirror anchor. The plastic shell around the pod is two pieces: there is a small upper center piece which you can pry out- it has 2 or 3 very stiff snap tabs but it really will come out towards the center of the car. I needed a plastic prybar to get mine out. The larger lower shell then slides down and forward, hugging the glass a centimeter or two until it is free of its catches. Reposition the rearview mirror out of the way so you can get at the TSS pod. Connector Q7 on the safety sensor has both needed connections: pin 7 (black) for IG+ and pin 10 (white/black) for ground. The dashcam draws so little power I had no concern about the fuse rating on this branch circuit. This is switched ignition power- it feeds the camera every time we get in and drive, and cuts the power every time we park. If you are setting up a system for recording during parking, you'll need to make some changes at this point. Connector Q7. Gray shell. Pins 7 and 10 are both on the upper row, blocked from view in this shot. I used a tiny ziptie to attach the dashcam cable to the car's harness for a strain relief to protect the splice points, and routed the dashcam cable upwards and out of the cable exit slot at top of the pod. There, I tucked it into the lip of the headliner to make a U-turn and come back down just to the right of the pod, where I had the camera physically mounted. I don't think this will present any complications during a windshield replacement should it become necessary. No need to thread wires around the side airbags or take up the power plug in the dash- it's permanent, invisible to the driver and just works.
Interesting. In my case, I will have to install a small transformer. Due to the length of the cords... this might not be optimal... unless he box will fit in there and I can cut and splice the USB cable to effectively shorten it.
No scale to your photo, but I've seen various gadgetboxes; it is possible that it will fit in the ceiling void space with a bit of doublesided foam tape. Wrap it with something soft before installing it as anti-rattle just in case, given it'll be close to your ears. You should be able to shorten/splice the USB line easily; that is commonly done, just 4 wires and nothing in the protocol cares about shortening a line.
Just a follow up: The box behind the rearview mirror (on the windshield) is called the "Forward Recognition cover." There is a camera in there and it is fairly safe to say there is no room in there for solid state electronics... and not to mess with it. I just posted a new thread about a device from china. Lets you use your head unit and mirrors your phone... touch screen too. Unofficial and not verified yet. for now I will just wire them from the fuse box to the overhead console and hanging from there.
Just touching up this thread. The BlackVue dashcam I installed has continued to operate flawlessly. In order to guarantee good future operation, I have decided to replace the memory card used to record videos. The original 16gb card is being retired in favor of a 128Gb SanDisk card. In theory this will require fewer re-writes per hour across the media, and lend itself to longer service life. 128gb cards are around $25 as of this writing, for reference. A cheap upgrade.
