Anyone ever installed a rear camera?

I bought the front/back FITXCAM for the EV6. Installing the front camera looks super easy—most videos are like 2 minutes long and seem straightforward. But I found only one YouTube video for the rear camera, and it was an hour long! The guy had to take off panels and everything.

So, three big questions for you all:

  1. Seriously, is that how it’s done? It looks tricky and a lot of work. Has anyone here actually done it?

  2. Will this—or even just installing the front camera—affect my warranty? What’s Kia’s stance on aftermarket cameras that plug into the power system, especially when adding wiring through the rear like that?

  3. Does anyone have a good referral in the Toronto area who can install it for me (and I’ll gladly pay!)?

I did it. Installing the rear cam is fairly simple if you’re familiar with removing some trim. This was my 4th dash cam install and 3rd on a hatch. The trickiest part was tucking the cable near the small rear windows, but the rest was pretty quick. You do need to remove some trim in the back to route the cable through the hatch area, but it’s not too bad. I’ve got some pics from my install—let me put an album together.

@Mark
Here’s the album - https://imgur.com/a/UKtnjR0

I used the cable ties that came with it to keep things neat in the hatch area. You can pull the rubber grommet on each side to help route the cable. I suggest starting from the front and leaving any extra slack in the back. The included trim tool helped a lot when tucking the cable in around the edges.

It’s actually pretty easy. The only panel I removed was the one in the hatch, which just pops off with clips. I tucked the wires under the roof lining and taped up the excess wire in the hatch. It took about 25 minutes total for the rear camera. The hardest part was dealing with the excess cable.

And no, it won’t affect your warranty—it doesn’t mess with any core vehicle functions.

I haven’t done it personally, but any reputable car electronics installer should be able to handle it.

It definitely won’t void your warranty unless Kia can prove the camera directly caused a problem. Also, unless you wire the camera directly to the fuse box, it’ll lose power when the car shuts off, so electrical issues aren’t a concern.

I haven’t done this on an EV6, but I’ve done it on a couple of Kia Sportages. It’s not too bad if you know how to remove trim clips (having a trim clip remover helps, but a small screwdriver works too). You’ll also need a Phillips screwdriver.

The hardest part is feeding the camera wire through the rubber tube between the body and the hatch. If you’re mounting the camera on the plastic trim, use ScotchBrite to scuff the surface first or use 3M Adhesion Promoter 94 so the tape sticks better.

One tip: Kia has ‘SPARE’ fuse slots you can use for power without messing with the factory wiring. And as long as you don’t wire it in front of the airbags, you’re good. I also recommend picking up new fasteners if you take off the A-pillar trim—it’s a one-time-use thing.

Kia discourages aftermarket electronics, especially ones that interfere with the OBDII port or CANbus wiring, but using fuse taps should be fine. If Kia gives you trouble, just remind them of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. They can’t void your warranty unless they can prove the camera caused the problem.

I installed a Thinkware front/rear setup. It’s not as hard as it looks but not for the faint of heart either. You don’t have to remove panels, just some door trim, and a wire fish will help a lot.

I installed a backup camera in my old 2005 Chrysler Town and Country. It took a while and involved removing panels and splicing wires. Clips did get broken along the way, but I didn’t care much since it was an old car.

For a newer vehicle that I actually care about, I’d probably go to a professional.

I just plugged a second camera in the back window and powered it using the 12V socket in the cargo area. No need to take panels off or run cables through the whole car like that YouTube guy did.

I had it installed for under $100.

Yep, I did it. Watched the same video, and it saved me a lot of time. Took about 20 minutes and looks super clean.

One tip: make sure to tape up the cables in the trunk door. Otherwise, you’ll hear rattling!

Alternative idea: Get two cheaper dashcams and run the rear camera’s cable to the 12V socket in the trunk. The video won’t be synced, but it’s much easier and cheaper to set up. Two Garmin Dashcam Minis will do the job for $149 each, and it’s really simple to wire.

@izael
That’s still more expensive than the FITXCAM with the rear camera included.

@izael
That’s a good idea, but I already have the camera I bought sitting right here.