Hi Oz,
I'm looking at getting a dash cam installed on my wife's RAV4. I was thinking the Blackvue DR970X-2CH PLUS due to the sentry/carpark mode and monitoring. Has anyone had any experience with these or other brands of similar specs? It needs to read fairly clearly through the day and night and be able to read plates also, what some people have paid approx. for installation costs?
WA based
2022 RAV4 Hybrid
Ok thanks good to know. Its a hybrid model
The hybrid battery does not work well with Blackvue
Thats a lot of dribble you have there.
Hybrid or not, the 12v system works the same. You have a bad install.
If you use parking mode you should get a dashcam battery pack installed, for example https://www.blackvue.com.au/accessories/blackvue-b-130x/
Yep, completely agree on this. If you want any sort of reasonable runtime during parking mode, the dashcam battery is the way to go.
I requested the dealer to install the dashcam and they did not advise anything. I did go back to ask them to check the battery but it just ended up nothing wrong. And tell me stop using parking mode or to install the battery but still it does not guarantee the issue will go away. I dont drive the hybrid every day as I have multiple cars, depending on work and schedule, sometimes I may still be away for a few days with other car.
Also, when your car battery is dead, it is easier to jump start a petrol car rather than a hybrid, too much hassles.
this is as expensive as the camera itself, any alternatives that don't cost as much?
My Blackvue shit itself and is now just a paper weight. So much for paying extra to get good quality.
DR750-s Dual Channel
Blackvue are overpriced trash. Just get a Viofo or if you wanna spend more coin Thinkware
I had a 2020 Rav4 Hybrid and the install isn't to difficult, other then routing the rear cable through the roof and through the rubber gromet that goes into the rear hatch, bit fiddly but had worse.
What thinkware model do you recommend?
I just received a Viofo A119 Mini 2 for my new car install and previously had a Viofo A119 in my old car for over 6 years and it was very reliable with good image quality and never missed a beat , just make sure you use a brand name micro sd card , the Viofo are highly regarded and one of the best bang for buck dashcams out there.
Is your RAV4 hybrid or petrol? My own experience with Blackvue and Lexus hybrid is no good at all.
The hybrid battery does not work well with Blackvue. It does not always go into standby mode (what you call the carpark mode). And if there are too many activities going on during standby it will drain your battery to dead in a few days if you leave it behind.
For picture quality, I believe they are pretty much the same. Unless you are comparing a 4K versus 1080P. They are all reasonably good.
I am looking to try other brands to see if it will work better. I have Viofo but just havent connected it yet.