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I contacted my local UK Audi dealer last week with regards to installing the Audi UTR front and rear dash camera system in my 2017 A8 D5 and was surprised to be informed that only the front dash camera could be fitted into my model? I suspect this might be because my A8 also has the electric rear blinds installed on the side and rear windows? After some more research online I have opted to install the Blackvue DR900x dash cam system in my car. It has a 4K front camera, 1080P rear camera, and I also bought a Blackvue battery pack to use the cameras in 'park mode', (battery pack is reported to last for ~12hours which is fine for me. Larger, and more expensive, battery packs are available. I'm getting these professionally installed in the morning and will let you know how I get on with them. Anyone else installed dash cams in their 'precious' A8?
I contacted my local UK Audi dealer last week with regards to installing the Audi UTR front and rear dash camera system in my 2017 A8 D5 and was surprised to be informed that only the front dash camera could be fitted into my model? I suspect this might be because my A8 also has the electric rear blinds installed on the side and rear windows? After some more research online I have opted to install the Blackvue DR900x dash cam system in my car. It has a 4K front camera, 1080P rear camera, and I also bought a Blackvue battery pack to use the cameras in 'park mode', (battery pack is reported to last for ~12hours which is fine for me. Larger, and more expensive, battery packs are available. I'm getting these professionally installed in the morning and will let you know how I get on with them. Anyone else installed dash cams in their 'precious' A8?
Appropriate time.. I am also looking to get the Blackvue DR900x front / back.. I guess the rear shades only allows certain cameras that have a small form factor.
Curious to see how the installation was done and how the professional guys got power to the camera (or battery).
For the folks in the US, does Best Buy do a good job in these installations...? Or should I find another specialist?
Appropriate time.. I am also looking to get the Blackvue DR900x front / back.. I guess the rear shades only allows certain cameras that have a small form factor.
Curious to see how the installation was done and how the professional guys got power to the camera (or battery).
For the folks in the US, does Best Buy do a good job in these installations...? Or should I find another specialist?
I'll post some images tomorrow after the DR900x dash cam installation and let you know if it causes issues with the rear sun blind.
I have got a next base camera fitted to mine and you can buy a rear view module to plug in to the front facing camera. OK, its not as good as a rear view camera in the rear window but its better than nothing.
Well the installation engineer showed up at 8:45am this morning and started my dash cam installation, (BlackVue DR900X-2CH + battery pack), after he performed a quick inspection of the car. It took just under 2 hours to complete and I'm very happy with the results. The battery pack has been concealed behind the glove box so there are no visible wires, except for those supplying the cameras. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great today so I was struggling to get some decent photos of the installation. Here are some I did mamge to take;
The BlackVue android app was initially a bit problematic trying to connect to the dash camera via direct wi-fi mode, but after about 30 minutes of playing around, I eventually got it working. I was able to easily update the camera firmware, (as recommended by BlackVue), and configure the front and rear cameras settings. A quick test drive confirmed the cameras were working as set-up. It appears that the camera 'intelligently' knows when I'm not driving the car, (possibly g-sensor, or gps?), and goes into park mode where continuous recording is disabled. The cameras are then only triggered by motion, or by the g-sensor. As soon as I reverse off the driveway, the car switches to standard (continuuous) recording without any intervention from myself. So far very impressed with the features and image quality but I'll wait before I make any final judgement on the BlackVue dash cam, after all, it definitely is not the cheapest of kit.
In the UK spec A8 D5, there is a fuse box located in the front passenger footwell. There is also another fuse box on the side of the front dash, on the same side as the glove box. The rear camera does not require a seperate power feed, only a connection to the front dash camera. I haven't tested the rear sun blind as yet, but I will once I've done some precautionary checks in case i damage anything. i.e. remove the rear camera from it's holder for a start. I'll report back with my first impressions in a few days and test the rear blind.
In the UK spec A8 D5, there is a fuse box located in the front passenger footwell. There is also another fuse box on the side of the front dash, on the same side as the glove box. The rear camera does not require a seperate power feed, only a connection to the front dash camera. I haven't tested the rear sun blind as yet, but I will once I've done some precautionary checks in case i damage anything. i.e. remove the rear camera from it's holder for a start. I'll report back with my first impressions in a few days and test the rear blind.
Brian, wondering how was the installation? Especially for the rear shade?
I have front and rear cameras in my A8L, my concerns were the same, I also have an aux battery pack, my rear camera is at a slight angle but does not impact the blind. Works fine!
08-31-2021, 03:55 PM
UK: Audi A8 D5 dash cam options?
