Toyota's Dash Cam

[Lewis&Clark]

The 5th gen 2021 I'm buying today or tomorrow does not include it, but I was thinking of running to my local dealer when the truck arrives to have it installed.

Anyone here using it? Is it worth it or am I better off getting an aftermarket camera?

I'm assuming -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- that I can effortlessly swap out Toyota's meager 8GB SD card for a larger one? Sandisk has industrial grade SDs with as much as a terabyte now. Or is Toyota's camera unable to make use of more space no matter what card you put in?

Last question...I'm assuming it's just a forward-visibility camera with a reasonable arc to be able to see off towards part of the front sides of the car. Not a 360 degree camera with rear visibility too?

 

[rageandlove]

The 5th gen 2021 I'm buying today or tomorrow does not include it, but I was thinking of running to my local dealer when the truck arrives to have it installed.

Anyone here using it? Is it worth it or am I better off getting an aftermarket camera?

I'm assuming -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- that I can effortlessly swap out Toyota's meager 8GB SD card for a larger one? Sandisk has industrial grade SDs with as much as a terabyte now. Or is Toyota's camera unable to make use of more space no matter what card you put in?

Last question...I'm assuming it's just a forward-visibility camera with a reasonable arc to be able to see off towards part of the front sides of the car. Not a 360 degree camera with rear visibility too?

I'd do some digging around. I read a review somewhere that was complaining it was not great - basically a generation or two behind other units.

 

[lunar_t4r]

i have it on my 22. not worth the cost in my opinion. can get better form factor and better resolution footage for cheaper if you go aftermarket. the app that is supposed to work is pretty much useless.

you could probably have a front and rear installed for cheaper than the toyota one that is installed at the port/dealer.

 

[Buba1]

I was in the same boat as you when I was ordering my 4Runner, and decided not to go with the Toyota one as it was very expensive in comparison to great aftermarket ones that cost far far less. Go with aftermarket, you can probably get like 2 or 3 for the price of the Toyota one, and have much better quality videos!

 

[Ripper238]

Definitely go aftermarket. Far better video and capabilities.

I have a Blackview 650 and its great for event recording, cloud and parking security. I have been contemplating replacing it since its 7 years old for a VIOFO Dual Dash cam which is really nice for price.

 

[DallasTRDPro]

If its anything like their rear camera quality I wouldn't even let them install it for free.

 

[4r-4ever]

i use a toyota dashcam which i installed myself separately. i like it and it can be accessed via your phone. it's worth it in my opinion. i only need the front since that is what matters for me. yes, you can install a bigger sd card if you want. here's the video i created. Toyota Dashcam installation for the 2020 4Runner - YouTube

The 5th gen 2021 I'm buying today or tomorrow does not include it, but I was thinking of running to my local dealer when the truck arrives to have it installed.

Anyone here using it? Is it worth it or am I better off getting an aftermarket camera?

I'm assuming -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- that I can effortlessly swap out Toyota's meager 8GB SD card for a larger one? Sandisk has industrial grade SDs with as much as a terabyte now. Or is Toyota's camera unable to make use of more space no matter what card you put in?

Last question...I'm assuming it's just a forward-visibility camera with a reasonable arc to be able to see off towards part of the front sides of the car. Not a 360 degree camera with rear visibility too?

 

[Yotalivin]

Is the power source a usb or some type of proprietary plug? Goal would be to remove and use a 3rd party higher quality dash cam with factory wiring.

Thanks for any info!

 

[bill444]

Is the power source a usb or some type of proprietary plug? Goal would be to remove and use a 3rd party higher quality dash cam with factory wiring.

Thanks for any info!

The connector to the camera is not USB.

Unfortunately the power and ground is supplied by an ordinary vampire tap splice. An additional wire is spliced to the ECU harness presumably for ignition sense. It's not a harness like you'd expect for an alarm system or remote start kit.

It would probably be easier to tap into the power of one of the existing USB ports or 12V power port for a 3rd party camera.

IMHO, the benefit of the Toyota camera is the fit and finish. It is small, looks like a factory component, and does not look like a camera at all. It also has the power port in a location so that the cable is flush against the windshield (covered) and tucked behind the headliner.

 

[Paui4m]

Mine came with one, but I've only tried to view the video once and it was painful to scroll. Haven't tried the pc app yet. I also turned the mic off as I don't need it recording my conversations.

BTW, does anyone know if this can be turned off or disabled if one were to want to do that? I didn't see anything in the manual and it beeps when the SD card is removed. Fuse perhaps?

The 5th gen 2021 I'm buying today or tomorrow does not include it, but I was thinking of running to my local dealer when the truck arrives to have it installed.

Anyone here using it? Is it worth it or am I better off getting an aftermarket camera?

I'm assuming -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- that I can effortlessly swap out Toyota's meager 8GB SD card for a larger one? Sandisk has industrial grade SDs with as much as a terabyte now. Or is Toyota's camera unable to make use of more space no matter what card you put in?

Last question...I'm assuming it's just a forward-visibility camera with a reasonable arc to be able to see off towards part of the front sides of the car. Not a 360 degree camera with rear visibility too?

 

[gakattack]

I run Blackvue 590-2ch (not 590w or x) on all of my cars with the parking mode box. No complaints, small form factor, stupid easy to hardwire in, and no on-board GPS.

 

[NoSoupForYou]

I would recommend anyone interested in a dash cam watch this before buying one. LTT is kind of cheesy but there's a lot of good info on why most dash cams are junk.

tl;dw; dashcam video sensor tech is about 5-6 years behind and since most dash cams use the same sensors, companies are innovating by adding more 'features' (eg: multi camera linking, movement alerting, etc) to cameras instead of updating the video quality itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AnyhHl3_tE&t=4s

His reccommendation for the 'best' dash cam is the VIOFO A129 Pro - it has a IMX317 sensor which is one of the better ones since like 95% of the budget cams out there have a NT96660 or NT96670 sensor which is pretty garbage in his testing.

 

[Borriq]

Don’t do it I have it on my Venture straight trash. I’m trying to figure out to swap it using the same wiring..