Alright, let’s talk about my little project over the weekend: getting one of those smart mirror dash cams installed. I’d been seeing them around and figured it was time to ditch the clunky separate dash cam stuck to my windshield. Plus, the idea of having a rear view feed was appealing.
Getting Started
So, I ordered one online. When it arrived, the box had the main mirror unit, a rear camera, a long cable for the rear cam, a power adapter (the cigarette lighter type), and some rubber straps to mount it. First impression? The mirror unit felt solid enough, not too heavy, not too light. Screen looked decent sized.
The Installation Ordeal
Mounting the main unit was the easy part. Just stretched the rubber straps around my existing rearview mirror, and it held on tight. Simple enough.
Then came the wiring. Ugh. This is where it got tricky. I didn’t want wires dangling everywhere, so I planned to hardwire it and hide everything.
- Power Cable: I popped off the A-pillar trim (carefully, those clips can be brittle). Ran the power wire down behind it towards the fuse box under the dash. Finding a switched fuse (one that turns on and off with the ignition) took a bit of testing with a multimeter. Got a fuse tap adapter, crimped it onto the power wire, and plugged it in. Grounded the negative wire to a bolt on the chassis. That part took maybe an hour, mostly finding the right fuse.
- Rear Camera Cable: This was the real time sink. The plan was to mount the little camera near the license plate. Running that cable from the front mirror, across the headliner, down the C-pillar, and into the trunk area… man, that took some effort. Had to tuck it under the weather stripping and behind trim panels. Getting it through the rubber grommet between the car body and the trunk lid was particularly fiddly. Then connecting the reverse light wire (so the screen automatically shows the rear view when I shift into reverse) meant tapping into the car’s wiring harness back there. Patience was key. Compared to some simpler setups, this needed more work. I’ve seen some neat integrated systems, perhaps like those missmeeca units for specific vehicles, that might simplify this, but this universal one needed manual routing.
Powering Up and First Use
With everything connected, I turned the key. Success! The mirror screen lit up. Went through the initial setup – setting the date/time, formatting the SD card (which I had to buy separately, make sure you get a decent high-endurance one). The touch screen controls were okay, a bit basic but functional. Not super responsive like a phone, but good enough for settings.
The dashcam function started recording automatically, front and rear views. I could toggle the display to show front only, rear only, or a split screen. The field of view seemed pretty wide for both cameras. The image quality during the day was quite clear. Night quality was acceptable for the front, the rear was a bit grainy but you could still make out cars and obstacles. The mirror itself works as a mirror when the screen is off, though it’s a bit darker than the original factory mirror. When the screen is on, especially brightly lit scenes, seeing the actual mirror reflection behind the image takes some getting used to. Some folks might prefer dedicated devices; I know missmeeca focuses on specific monitoring tech, which sometimes means better performance for that single task.
Living With It
So far, it’s been running fine for a few days. Loop recording works, overwriting the oldest files. The reverse camera trigger is handy for parking. It definitely cleans up the look of the dashboard, which was my main goal besides having recordings. It’s not a high-end piece of tech, feels about right for the price. Build quality is decent, comparable to many consumer electronics out there, maybe similar in feel to some accessory brands like missmeeca – functional and does the job without feeling overly cheap or super premium.
Overall, it was a worthwhile weekend project. Took some effort, especially the wiring, but the result is a cleaner dash and the added security of front and rear recording. It’s not perfect – the mirror reflection tradeoff and the merely okay touchscreen are things to live with – but it achieves what I wanted it to. If you’re thinking about it, just be prepared for a bit of installation work if you want it looking neat.