Built-in Dashcam - X254 GLC - your experience
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2025
Posts: 11
Likes: 1
W211, X254, W177
Built-in Dashcam - X254 GLC - your experience
I have a factory-installed dashcam in my GLC (X254, manufactured 2022, received 2023), but unfortunately I’m quite disappointed with its performance, especially considering that it was an extra-cost option.
Although the car has the 360° camera package, the built-in dashcam records only from the front camera, which is quite limiting.
The video quality itself feels outdated by today’s standards: 1920×1280 at 25 fps using H.264. The 3:2 aspect ratio also doesn’t seem very practical for a dashcam, as it captures a lot of sky while offering limited horizontal coverage.
I recently experienced a parking incident at a shopping mall where another car caused a visible dent (~3 cm) in the door, while my car was parked. Unfortunately, the G-sensor did not trigger any recording, so there is no footage of the event.
Additionally, the overall image quality makes it difficult to reliably read license plates, especially in real-world driving conditions.
What makes this more frustrating is that for less than the price of this factory dashcam option, one can currently buy a high-quality aftermarket dashcam offering:
Although the car has the 360° camera package, the built-in dashcam records only from the front camera, which is quite limiting.
The video quality itself feels outdated by today’s standards: 1920×1280 at 25 fps using H.264. The 3:2 aspect ratio also doesn’t seem very practical for a dashcam, as it captures a lot of sky while offering limited horizontal coverage.
I recently experienced a parking incident at a shopping mall where another car caused a visible dent (~3 cm) in the door, while my car was parked. Unfortunately, the G-sensor did not trigger any recording, so there is no footage of the event.
Additionally, the overall image quality makes it difficult to reliably read license plates, especially in real-world driving conditions.
What makes this more frustrating is that for less than the price of this factory dashcam option, one can currently buy a high-quality aftermarket dashcam offering:
- 2-3 cameras (front, rear, interior - partially covering the sides),
- 4K 30 fps HDR or 4K 60 fps recording,
- 16:9 aspect ratio,
- good lenses (e.g. f/1.7),
- modern sensors (e.g. big 1/1.8‑inch Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678)
- H.265 encoding,
- advanced parking modes,
- cloud backup and remote live access (with no fees).
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 431
Likes: 64
From: Delray Beach, Fl
GLC SUV 350e4 Verde Silver Metallic
I have a factory-installed dashcam in my GLC (X254, manufactured 2022, received 2023), but unfortunately I’m quite disappointed with its performance, especially considering that it was an extra-cost option.
Although the car has the 360° camera package, the built-in dashcam records only from the front camera, which is quite limiting.
The video quality itself feels outdated by today’s standards: 1920×1280 at 25 fps using H.264. The 3:2 aspect ratio also doesn’t seem very practical for a dashcam, as it captures a lot of sky while offering limited horizontal coverage.
I recently experienced a parking incident at a shopping mall where another car caused a visible dent (~3 cm) in the door, while my car was parked. Unfortunately, the G-sensor did not trigger any recording, so there is no footage of the event.
Additionally, the overall image quality makes it difficult to reliably read license plates, especially in real-world driving conditions.
What makes this more frustrating is that for less than the price of this factory dashcam option, one can currently buy a high-quality aftermarket dashcam offering:
Although the car has the 360° camera package, the built-in dashcam records only from the front camera, which is quite limiting.
The video quality itself feels outdated by today’s standards: 1920×1280 at 25 fps using H.264. The 3:2 aspect ratio also doesn’t seem very practical for a dashcam, as it captures a lot of sky while offering limited horizontal coverage.
I recently experienced a parking incident at a shopping mall where another car caused a visible dent (~3 cm) in the door, while my car was parked. Unfortunately, the G-sensor did not trigger any recording, so there is no footage of the event.
Additionally, the overall image quality makes it difficult to reliably read license plates, especially in real-world driving conditions.
What makes this more frustrating is that for less than the price of this factory dashcam option, one can currently buy a high-quality aftermarket dashcam offering:
- 2-3 cameras (front, rear, interior - partially covering the sides),
- 4K 30 fps HDR or 4K 60 fps recording,
- 16:9 aspect ratio,
- good lenses (e.g. f/1.7),
- modern sensors (e.g. big 1/1.8‑inch Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678)
- H.265 encoding,
- advanced parking modes,
- cloud backup and remote live access (with no fees).
One interesting point which I learned the hard way on MY23 is each profile that is saved needs to have the camera turned on otherwise it’s not recording. Fortunately my daughter’s fender bender (camera not on) was only $500 and the insurance covered the other car.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2025
Posts: 11
Likes: 1
W211, X254, W177
Another thing I noticed is that the default profile had recording disabled after an over-the-air software update of the car. :-/
So basically, every time you start driving, you need to check whether the red “recording on” dot icon is present on the central console. That’s pretty annoying.
