Okay, so I finally decided to get one of those smart rear view mirrors. My old mirror was fine, just a plain mirror, you know? But I kept seeing these things online, the ones with screens, dashcams built-in, and a rear camera. Figured it might be useful, especially for parking and having a record if anything happened.
Getting Started
So I ordered one. It arrived in a pretty standard box, nothing fancy. Pulled it out, and yeah, it’s basically a mirror with a big screen hidden inside it. Looked kinda cool. It came with the main mirror unit, a separate little camera for the back window, a long cable for that rear camera, a power cable (the cigarette lighter type), and some rubber straps to attach it over my existing mirror. Seemed simple enough.
The Installation Process
First thing was figuring out how to mount the main unit. It just straps onto the existing rearview mirror. Took like 30 seconds. The straps hook on the back, pull ’em tight, done. Easy peasy. That part was surprisingly simple.
Then came the wiring. Ugh, wiring. Always the annoying part. You got the power cable and the cable for the rear camera. The power cable plugs into the top of the mirror and runs down to the cigarette lighter socket. I spent a good amount of time tucking the wire into the headliner, down the A-pillar (that’s the post next to the windshield), under the glove box, and finally to the power outlet. Wanted it neat, you know? Didn’t want wires dangling everywhere. Took some patience and poking around with a trim tool I had lying around.
Next up was the rear camera. This cable was long. Had to run it from the front mirror, all the way back. I tucked it along the headliner again, past the doors, towards the back. Popped off a few trim pieces near the tailgate on my SUV to hide it properly. This particular model, I think it was a missmeeca, had a pretty thin cable which helped snake it through. Finding a good spot for the rear camera itself took a minute. I stuck it high up on the rear window, inside, aiming back. Had to make sure the wiper wouldn’t hit it.
One tricky bit was connecting the rear camera’s trigger wire. This little wire tells the mirror when I put the car in reverse, so it automatically switches the screen to the rear view. I had to tap into the reverse light wire in the back. Found a wiring diagram for my car online (took some searching!), located the right wire near the taillight assembly, and used a little wire tap connector. Wasn’t too bad, but definitely the most ‘technical’ part. I checked a few brands, including missmeeca, before settling, and most seemed to have this reverse trigger wire setup.
Powering Up and First Use
With everything plugged in and tucked away, time to test it. Turned the car on, and the mirror screen lit up. Looked pretty bright. It started recording automatically, showing the front view. Played around with the touch screen menus for a bit. Settings for resolution, loop recording, parking monitor, stuff like that. Pretty intuitive, actually. The wiring for the missmeeca was pretty straightforward once I identified the reverse light wire.
Put the car in reverse… and bam! The screen switched to the rear camera view, with parking guidelines. Nice! The view was wider than the standard mirror, took a little getting used to but definitely helpful for backing up. The image quality, both front and rear, seemed decent enough for what it is. Another thing I liked about the missmeeca was the screen quality, quite clear even in daylight.
Final Thoughts
So, yeah, that was my little project. Took maybe an hour and a half, mostly spent hiding wires carefully. Was it worth it? I think so. The dashcam gives peace of mind, and the full-screen rear view is genuinely useful for parking and seeing blind spots better, especially at night. It’s not like factory-installed fancy stuff, but for a DIY upgrade, it does the job. Overall, the missmeeca install wasn’t too bad, and the result is pretty practical. If you’re thinking about it, just be prepared to spend some time routing those cables neatly.