[TimJWatts]

Hi,

This is partly a warranty and partly a "what's the dealer like fitting non factory parts".

Looking at getting a new Tucson next year and I'd like to get a front/rear dashcam in from day 1 with parking mode recording. We've had so much trouble with drive-by hit'n'run dings and twits hitting our car from behind and stuff like that.

Given the warranty issues, who would be better to fit an aftermarket dashcam nicely? Dealer or dashcam fitting company?

Local dealer said they can do it for a similar price. I'd like a properly routed install, rather than a "tuck up behind the door seals" job if possible. Pros and cons to my mind are:

1) Dealer is likely to be familiar with how the trim comes  off and if they snap any clips or mess up an airbag, they'll fix it.

2) Dashcam fitter might be better at routing wiring and knowing how to place the cam units properly (ie within an area swept by the wiper blades, going through wiring rubber conduits to the tailgate, stuff like that.

3) Dealer will possibly make a better job of tapping the correct circuits - we need permanent live and an ACC suppliy via a Power Magic Pro or similar. Generic fitter might just stick on a couple of Add-A-Circuit piggy back fuse taps  to avoid warranty problems, but this is a bit ugly (tends to foul other fuses).

If it was an old car, I'd possibly do it myself, but no way on a brand new one

What do you folks think - dealer or 3rd party fitter?

Cheers!
Tim

[Jon]

Main dealers will have very limited experience of this kind of thing. You'll probably get a more proficient installation, and a device that meets your demands if you go to a third party specialist.
It should be easy enough to secure power supplies via the fuse box, possibly with "piggyback" fuses. Trim is easy to pop off and on again.

[TimJWatts]

Main dealers will have very limited experience of this kind of thing. You'll probably get a more proficient installation, and a device that meets your demands if you go to a third party specialist.
It should be easy enough to secure power supplies via the fuse box, possibly with "piggyback" fuses. Trim is easy to pop off and on again.

Thanks for your post. It is also my gut feeling. I have just found an installer as it happens - I'm going to let him loose on our old Mini as it seems to attract eejit drivers like flies to a turd.

This chap said he runs all the cables properly, removing trim and threading, not stuffing behind door seals (which is OK ish for a DIY, but for a Mini, especially a Clubman with the van doors, you really need a proper install to avoid loops of wire everywhere).

He says he also taps into the circuits nicely (no piggybacks).

If he does a good job, I'd consider letting him loose on the Hyundai when we get it.

Only question is: does it affect the warranty?

Superficially, it does not (I've had a read) - but lurking in the back of my mind is "if something goes wrong, especially electrical, will Hyundai start the blame game?".

There must be a fair few people here who've had AV or security mods done on new cars: what are Hyundai like about this?

Cheers,

Tim

[TimJWatts]

PS For the record, in case anyone's interested, this is the dashcam I'm going to buy:

https://dashboardcamerareviews.com/blackvue-dr650gw-2ch/

It's not the absolute best in any given parameter, but it does seem to be very good across the board. Discrete, takes big uSDcards (128GB), GPS, rear cam, Wifi download and most importantly, visual motion parking mode (one of our dings was a **** who dented the side whilst parked and could not be ***** to leave a note).

The Mini will be a testbed - if it works out, I'll get another.

[TimJWatts]

Main dealers will have very limited experience of this kind of thing. You'll probably get a more proficient installation, and a device that meets your demands if you go to a third party specialist.
It should be easy enough to secure power supplies via the fuse box, possibly with "piggyback" fuses. Trim is easy to pop off and on again.

I would disagree, your dealer will be used to dealing with electrical issues on a daily basis. Fitting a dash cam will be a doddle!

Perhaps what I should do is go and quiz their fitter or service manager on exactly how they will do it... If they will also thread the wires nicely, then there's not much else to go wrong assuming they can clean a bit of glass and stick a mount on square and in the right place

[Tony]

I have fitted the same cameras, I suspect either main dealer or specialist will still just tuck the cables behind seals, it provides a neat simple install, and there is nothing wrong in doing this.

The camera itself works well, make sure you set up the power pro correctly as the settings even on the highest voltage still allow the battery to run dangerously  low.

[TimJWatts]

Just has a Blackvue fitted to wife's old MINI. Chap did a very neat job, routing through the bodywork and not the door seals.

Turns out he is known to the local Hyundai dealer as he does some of their aftermarket non-Hyundai component fits for them when the customer wants a particular sound system or something. So that's sorted then. He can even do the job at their site with their blessing.

We did find another problem though, but I'm starting a  new thread for that as it's an electrics issue.