Hey guys,

So I usually don't care about gimicky technology in cars, to me the engine is the heart first and foremost.

I've spent some time in a C205 C300 Coupe recently, I got a great deal on it and am selling it but have driven it a fair bit.

One feature that I didn't think would affect me as much as it did was the 360 degree camera. Holy **** this thing is useful and very addictive. I feel like I was missing something in life

Is there a way to retrofit this in a W212? I know it would be complex and what not but man it's just too good, way better than self park, steering assist etc.

I have seen aftermarket ones on YouTube but I'm not sure they're as good as the OEM one.

I know the CLS got this in the facelift but the W212 didn't get it so I think it never featured on a W212 at all.

INB4 "anything can be done if you spend enough" "sell and get a W213".....

Anyone love it as much as I do?

 

I'm not sure what you are talking about. The W212 also received the 360 degree camera on facelift. It is an excellent feature and I use it everyday.

 

+1 My 2014 has it and i can't live without it now.

 

My 2016 E63 has the surround view. I don't know if a retrofit could be done, but at minimum you would need to add the cameras in the mirrorsX2 and grill (hopefully the trunk would work) maybe some module and coding as well.

Just an FYI - Something broke the lens on my grill camera and I had to get it replaced - I think it was about $1000 to fix.

 

I am now starting to use the camera to judge how far I am away when backing up. Its OK but more HP and faster shifts would be better.

 

It’s not gunna be easy to do the oem one

parts would be on the scale of $2000, then programming and wiring ... someone would have to have excellent knowledge of the SAM etc ... some have done it but based on their posts they seem to be European and have run into many issues before figuring it out

you May consider a high end aftermarket car tech shop installing third party in your car to achieve the same goal ... just won’t feel the same as oem

 

WOW I didn't realize the facelift got the 360 degree camera

This is with the NTG 5 though right?

To be honest it shouldn't be too expensive, it's more finding out which parts are involved as I have alot of parts contacts and can get parts cheap, not gonna buy them brand new that's for sure.

I think it's worth it, I used to think it was a gimmick when I first heard about it, just another little useless gadget but GOOD LORD is it useless. It's invaluable I would say haha. It makes parking way too easy.

In that case I'm going to do more research to see what is involved. I honestly had no idea the W212 came with it from the factory. I'm sure it's only the NTG 5 though, not NTG 4.5

The NTG 5 has also grown on me as I hated it before but I do love the NTG 4.5 design, it's so classy.

 

It's absolutely expensive. Figure about $3K in parts, much of which you have to buy new, unless you have an excellent condition car to pull parts from - and I mean including harnesses, ribbons, controllers, the whole 9. And about another $3K on installation. The entire car gets gutted. Dash, pillars, center console/trans tunnel, trunk, etc. It's a HUGE job. I know; I retrofitted the OEM 360 camera on my C63 Edition One Coupe cuz the US market only receives pre-speced Edition Ones with the P2 package; no opportunity to upgrade to the P3 package.

Oh, and the car MUST be taken to Mercedes for the final programming. They have to update the vehicle coding information with Germany (Netstar I think?) to enable the menus, calibrate the cameras, and adjust the lighting (at least on the W205 C63, the exterior courtesy lights are used to light up your surroundings at night while the camera is on, providing AMAZING night visibility).

I did a LOT of research on the retrofitters out there, and ended up going with http://www.comand.co.uk/index.php/home. By far THE BEST to go with. In addition to the info on why to go with them found here: http://www.comand.co.uk/index.php/why-use-us--faq, I can tell you based on the VIN, they provided a COMPLETE plug 'n play kit with FACTORY service manual instructions on the installation (not some handmade PDF instruction manual). Basically the tech had factory info to follow, and everything went without a hitch.

It was a TON of money to spend, but I use it EVERY day, especially to help protect my wheels (which have factory yellow vinyl on them), and because the Edition One doesn't come with parking senors either (yea...sucks).