Dash Cam Query

Tel · August 17, 2019

Considering the Lexus Dash Cam.

Been told the unit records for hours in 3 minute slots that can be downloaded to my Iphone.

I believe it runs for 2 hours & then starts again. ?

So my journey through the Alps which can take much longer would require a larger capacity SD card or a few Downloads to my iPad ?

Please advise ?

Tel

royoftherovers · August 17, 2019

37 minutes ago, Tel said:

Considering the Lexus Dash Cam.

Been told the unit records for hours in 3 minute slots that can be downloaded to my iPhone.

I believe it runs for 2 hours & then starts again. ?

So my journey through the Alps which can take much longer would require a larger capacity SD card or a few Downloads to my iPad ?

Please advise ?

Tel

I have a dashcam in each of two cars. They are for recording incidents, not entire journeys Terry.

Farqui · August 17, 2019

Hi Terry, my dashcam (Thinkware F770) records the entire journey in segments like yours.

The length of the recording/journey is determined by the size of the dashcam storage card, so I suspect you just need a bigger card.

My camera will record accidents in a separate area, along with any manual records I choose to save.

Tel · August 17, 2019

Thanks for your quick responses.

The cost is increasing to £320 shortly but with the Club discount I can get it for c.£250 fitted.

I am convinced.

Tel

Farqui · August 17, 2019

Shop around, there are plenty of good dashcam's around as I suspect the Lexus offering isn't cheap.

Tel · August 17, 2019

Much prefer the Lexus choice in so much that the hard wiring installation should be perfect.

The Cam is fixed to the screen which is key for the high temperatures in Italy.

The unit is NextBase commercial offering which is proven for Continental driving.

Twice the cost of Halfords who I am sure can do an excellent job but not for me .

Goes in Monday to Lexus Derby.

Tel

Herbie · August 17, 2019

I suppose if you can afford a brand new car then you can afford to be ripped off by extortionate Lexus prices for a dashcam that's nothing special and can't do anything more than a sub-£100 one can do, and also for Lexus fitting that you could do yourself in 20 minutes or any good auto electrician could do for about £30 or even less.

Herbie · August 17, 2019

For anyone who thinks my post above is a little harsh, I'll explain.

It winds me up no end to hear people say things like this because I feel it's a bit derogatory to a whole section of our society.

Some people seem to think that a Lexus is a mythical, magical beast and only the mysterious race of people from the Planet Lex, who have trained at the feet of a golden Unicorn and drunk its purple tears at midnight on the Solstice can possibly be allowed to touch it.

It isn't - it's 'a car' and any decent, trusted mechanic, auto-electrician or whatever can deal with it.

There are lots of people out there who have spent thousands of hours learning their trades, be that mechanic, auto-electrician or whatever, and if they happen to be self-employed they have also spent thousands of pounds setting up and equipping their garages. These people need our custom to keep a roof over their heads, not just to get another corporate fat-cat another bottle of champagne.

If you have basic DIY skills you can even do the job yourself. It took me about 20 - 25 minutes from gathering my tools together to going for a test drive to make sure it was working properly.

To take points from above:

2 hours ago, Tel said:

Much prefer the Lexus choice in so much that the hard wiring installation should be perfect.

Mine is and I did it, but if I didn't possess the skills I would have taken it to an auto-electrician, NOT Halfords, who I wouldn't even trust to change a bulb.

2 hours ago, Tel said:

The Cam is fixed to the screen which is key for the high temperatures in Italy.

Mine is. In fact, to get that 3M tape off you have to use something like dental floss and 'saw' it off.

2 hours ago, Tel said:

The unit is NextBase commercial offering which is proven for Continental driving.

All dashcams are valid for Continental driving. There is nothing country-specific about them.

2 hours ago, Tel said:

Twice the cost of Halfords who I am sure can do an excellent job but not for me .

They don't do an excellent job and are not for me either, but a proper, qualified auto electrician would be.

And here's my cam:

Wiring taken above headlining and down the inside of that windscreen pillar to fusebox behind glove compartment. Total cost £98.57 but if not DIY then add about £30 for auto-electrician.

By the way Terry, the way they work is in a recording loop. I have a 128GB card in mine and if I remember correctly that will hold about 10 hours of full HD video. Once the card is full it starts recording over the earliest stuff and so on in a continuous loop. If you happen to have an accident then the accelerometer detects the shock and automatically locks the relevant files, starting about 30 seconds before impact. This is so those files are protected from being overwritten.

Farqui · August 17, 2019

I echo the above comments and have no issues with my hardwiring or working on our vehicles.

Beware using dashcams on the continent and do not presume they are legal everywhere.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1059383/Dash-cam-fine-abroad-Europe-fine-jail-prison

Tel · August 18, 2019

Had 2 Lexus Company cars that did 80k miles each in 21 months & both only required a set of tyres.

Had an issue with a new IS which they replaced after 4 months & my Courtesy Car was a new LS 460.

Lexus has sent a Technician to my home to resolve a particular very very intermittent issue that first came to light on Belgium Pave & a strip of road near where I live.

Chris Evans had an IS Press Demonstrator with 19" wheels yet 4 months before I had to settle for 18". My then Dealer ordered a Courtesy car with 19" & you can guess the rest.

Never noticed a purple coloration in my Showroom coffees though so it must be other qualities that have made me a Lexus Fan

Tel

DanD · August 19, 2019

Not sure what Herbie's point is, but if I am going to buy an expensive car, you're damned right that I want it looked after by someone who has received proper and specific training and uses the correct tools for it.
Oh and Lexus technicians need a roof over their heads too, surely.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

JeffL · August 23, 2019

On 8/17/2019 at 1:03 PM, Herbie said:

For anyone who thinks my post above is a little harsh, I'll explain.

It winds me up no end to hear people say things like this because I feel it's a bit derogatory to a whole section of our society.

Some people seem to think that a Lexus is a mythical, magical beast and only the mysterious race of people from the Planet Lex, who have trained at the feet of a golden Unicorn and drunk its purple tears at midnight on the Solstice can possibly be allowed to touch it.

It isn't - it's 'a car' and any decent, trusted mechanic, auto-electrician or whatever can deal with it.

There are lots of people out there who have spent thousands of hours learning their trades, be that mechanic, auto-electrician or whatever, and if they happen to be self-employed they have also spent thousands of pounds setting up and equipping their garages. These people need our custom to keep a roof over their heads, not just to get another corporate fat-cat another bottle of champagne.

If you have basic DIY skills you can even do the job yourself. It took me about 20 - 25 minutes from gathering my tools together to going for a test drive to make sure it was working properly.

To take points from above:

Mine is and I did it, but if I didn't possess the skills I would have taken it to an auto-electrician, NOT Halfords, who I wouldn't even trust to change a bulb.

Mine is. In fact, to get that 3M tape off you have to use something like dental floss and 'saw' it off.

All dashcams are valid for continental driving. There is nothing country-specific about them.

They don't do an excellent job and are not for me either, but a proper, qualified auto electrician would be.

And here's my cam:

Wiring taken above headlining and down the inside of that windscreen pillar to fusebox behind glove compartment. Total cost £98.57 but if not DIY then add about £30 for auto-electrician.

By the way Terry, the way they work is in a recording loop. I have a 128GB card in mine and if I remember correctly that will hold about 10 hours of full HD video. Once the card is full it starts recording over the earliest stuff and so on in a continuous loop. If you happen to have an accident then the accelerometer detects the shock and automatically locks the relevant files, starting about 30 seconds before impact. This is so those files are protected from being overwritten.

Herbs, which dash cam have you got?

Herbie · August 23, 2019

It's a Viofo A119S and it's great. It looks like the price has gone up slightly since I got mine (£103.73 instead of £98.57) but this kit has everything you'll need apart from maybe a piggy-back fuse connector.

Alternatively, there's a dual front and rear cam set made by Aukey with very similar cameras. The Youtube video below shows a review of the Aukey set and the guy likes it so much that this is what he uses in his own car - and he's reviewed about 50 dash cams as well as other tech, so I trust him to know what he's on about.

I guarantee you won't be disappointed with either the Viofo or the Aukey.

JeffL · August 24, 2019

Thanks Herbs. It looks very neat and compact and the video is excellent at explaining the features etc.

bluenose1940 · August 24, 2019

I had DashCams fitted in my car and my wife's Toyota Yaris. Mine has a camera at the front and the rear and a local auto electrician did both cars for £60.00. No wires can be seen anywhere except where they enter the cameras, the leads were all fed front to rear behind the panelling and through the concertina gaiters on the rear/boot door.

One point worth mentioning methinks is, when it is particularly hot, the front camera has come adrift on one occasion, something to do with the rubber suction pad being affected by the sun. When this happens the internal sensor triggers the alarm. It has only happened once but fortunately the car was on the drive at the time and I was in the house and so could deal with it quickly. A friend has also had the same thing happen. If it is particularly hot, I tend to disable the internal alarm if I am going any distance from the car.

I am not that brilliant when it comes to the techie bits but, I am hopeful that the remainder of the alarm system would be fully functional when I do this.

Herbie · August 24, 2019

4 hours ago, bluenose1940 said:

One point worth mentioning methinks is, when it is particularly hot, the front camera has come adrift on one occasion, something to do with the rubber suction pad being affected by the sun

Yes, this is a known problem with cameras that use suction cup mounts.

I don't think anything can be done about it other than changing the camera for one that doesn't use a suction mount or maybe an adhesive mount is available for your particular model of camera? Those 3M adhesive pads really do stick well and as I mentioned earlier, you literally have to 'saw' them off the screen with dental floss or something similar.

LexusPartsDirect · November 25, 2019

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https://www.lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-lc/lexus-lc-2016-present/exterior-interior/lexus-nextbase-1080p-front-and-rear-integrated-dash-cam/

Use discount code: lovelexus for free shipping, exclusive to owners club members!

Newfie · November 27, 2019

There are so many cams out there, I went for the BlackVue 750s in my VW Caddy. I use it’s parking mode a lot but instead of hard wiring I use a Maxoak K2 To power it when it’s sat in the drive.
I chose this one as it connects to my Wi-Fi at home so doubles up along side my security cams and with Wi-Fi any movement is sent to the cloud and you get an alert.
I have no idea how long a cam in Lexus would work for if parked up for any length of time but I get a good weeks worth out of mine depending on how many alerts and temps.

Like most cams it records in segments and any event is saved.

Worth saying that some use Battery and some use a capacitor internally for those accidents where power is cut and many 4K models run hot and in our lovely hot summers I’ve read the cams do have thermal protection which can cut in.

I fitted one after being driven off the road when a BMW passed me on a S bend. I ended up in grass bank and managed to chase the driver and stopped it on a junction. It was a young lady with a child in the car who simply could not care less. At least now I have camera to catch any future problems but it’s amazing what you see on the road.