We're wanting to do the dash cam thing for our GLS. Just too many scammers out there, and a shiny blue Mercedes seems like a perfect target.

I see the thread on the FitCam. I looked at their website and like the clean look.

Is the FitCam basically the one to get? Is the rear add-on worth it? Hassle to install the rear version? And lastly, I note the power comes from the rain sensor wiring. That doesn't mean you lose the rain sensor, correct?

Thanks!!

 

You don't lose anything. The nice thing about the Fitcam is that it looks factory and is an easy install. It is a pretty good camera. There are better cameras out there for quality and features. The Fitcam does not have GPS/Speed or other advanced features like that if that is important to you.

While I have "better" cameras for some of my other vehicles, I went with the Fitcam for look/install. It is up to you.

I don't have the rear so can't talk about install, but in generally the rear is good for the scammers that run into you from behind and then claim you backed up. That could happen, but wasn't worried enough about it to do the rear.

 

Link to fitcam? Also does it record while parking the car? Also does it record from the rear as well?

 

I just bought an Insta360 X3 for my dashcam.

 

Thanks guys, I think we'll go the FitCam route for just the front. I thought about the back and the scammers saying I backed into them. But I think the video from the front would work to defend the case, showing the car was not going backwards in general. Just want some level of protection in case an accident ever happened on who did what. Crap world these days!

 

FYI, my fitcamx for the front stopped working after 10 months (or may be shorter than 10 months because i didnt realized it until yesterday.

it doesnt turn on, no light, no response. I messaged the seller and they said they will send me a replacement.

 

are they easy to install?

 

I never used FitCam but I’ve heard good things about them. I use the Mercylion Dashcam for my car. The clean look was important to me too, and the Mercylion delivers on that front. The rear camera is definitely worth it—capturing everything from behind is crucial for added security. I haven’t had any issues with my rain sensor after installing the dashcam.

 

Original Mercedes Dashcam for your reference:

 

I turned on the built in dashcam. Threw a 256gb stick in the center console and it works just fine.

 

The only problem is you have to manually activate the dashcam every time you start the car. Unless you've figured out a way for it to automatically start recording?

 

In EU after latest MBUX software update, you can choose to start automatically recording every time the car is started.

 

Not on the 24. Auto loop recording is built in.

 

I got the Rexing - V1P Flex X4 4K Dual Dash Cam setup from BestBuy. The front camera is 4K, and the design is small and flush with the screen and can be tucked right behind the mirror on the passenger side that you won't notice it much. Of course one other benefit is that it does not cause a fortune to buy... it's 170 USD or 135USD when on sale. Spending a few 100s of dollars for a camera is too much, and also paying couple dollars for any item or seeking cheap/almost-free items from desperate vendors isn't right as well : ). This camera has the right balance but there are better options out there if you'd willing to study what kind of sensors each one has... I like this one enough.. it's 4K-front, reasonably priced, can buy it locally from Bestbuy, comes with a free-app that syncs via Wifi to quickly download all the clips instead of removing the physical memory-card.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rexing-...?skuId=6582494

Pay attention to the live vs ACC fuse slots that you need to tap into. I found two empty slots that were still live (one that is always-powered and another that is ACC-only). There should be a diagram for X167 document in the trunk fuse area tucked right above the fuse box. Study that and then compare it to the physical box fuses you have in your own car because it caries from one X176 to another depending on what options you have. Ideally it's best to leverage the fuse location for a missing option that is still wired in the fuse box so you are not interfering with an actual existing component.

Also, pay attention to how you'd wire the camera from the front all the way to the rear.. I would avoid the ceiling (the roof is too soft around the door jams). I ran the wires (behind and through) the cables around the airbags and made sure they were zip-tied to the wires in that area where they need to be like factory, all the way behind the glove box, towards the foot area, and then under the mats. It's a good idea to buy extended camera cable as well as USB-C cause you'll need additional cable length as you go through the car floor than the ceiling. Maybe I should write a thread with photos when I can about the process when I can.

 

Photos and descriptions are always helpful. I still need to redo my rear camera wiring and I want to move my parking dashcam battery into the spare tire area from the front passenger seat.

 

Will do that soon. And yes, spare tire area is ideal to extend the wires (first to get to the fuse boxes and extend all the way to the front starting from the spare area... but also as you extend the rear camera cable from the front to the rear, you can also fish the cable through the spare tires, then behind the 3rd row air filter (left side of the trunk, opposite of fuse boxes), then fish it further behind the plastic trim all the way through the opening where the 3rd row seat belt is bolted behind the d pillars... that's as close as I was able to get from the spare tire area up to the roof and close to the trunk rear glass where the rear camera is by fishing the rear camera cable behind the side trim panels without causing any damage or removing panels. I'll take a few more photos and post them when I can.

 

Make sure to review these two posts below. Right now my rear cam is up to the headliner but not thru the conduit and into the hatch door molding as shown:
https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class...ml#post7924563

https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class...ml#post7925466

 

Thank you for sharing. I think I came across similar threads before. Honestly, from the beginning, I had no plan whatsoever to fish the cables through the weather/water-lock rubber trim... I just didn't want to risk damaging anything in that area for the sake of hiding 5" cable that I ended up with as it leave the upper D pillar trim to the trunk area. I am not sure it's worth the risk... Am a risk taker in terms of DIY, but I didn't want to end up with water leaking into the car for any reason.

 

When I attempted it, I couldn't find the path from above the headliner to the conduit, and then I ran out of time so I just tucked the excess cord away into the headliner and left it the same as you, just a little bit of cord showing.

 

Yeah just looking at the videos was enough for me to realize it's really hard to find a path from the headliner.... I hate to do that and risk causing permanent sagging in the headliner which was already soft. Really that 5-6 inches handing between the tailgate and roof doesn't bother me nor that I see it at all unless I look up there when I open the tailgate. 3rd row passenger don't see it either. Like I said, I managed to fish the wire through the side panels all the way up to 3rd row seatbelt slit close to the roof. I used cable organizers to make sure the cable doesn't hand down from there up to the tailgate.
I still owe you some pictures - I know.