Rear Backup Camera Kit for Toyota Camry, Corolla, Prius and More (2012-2014) - (Color: Black)

This is on a 2012 Camry LE. The XLE/SE are slightly different--easier. Let's face it! Toyota COULD HAVE put this in free. They wouldn't need the supplied wiring and adapters, so it would have cost them what?? $25-35??I bought this March 31st, but only got good weather recently to install it. I made a couple of mods from the way people install, but nothing to change your outcome if you do it the standard way.First, if you don't have the set of orange body panel removers, buy them now. Less than $15-20, but a god-send!Beware!! I am a ham radio operator and I do overkill on installs.Removal of the trunk trim panel is the scariest. I cleaned everything and replaced any worn rubber washers at the hardware store. I mounted the camera dead center under the emblem. I don't know what all the left and right mounting hoopla is about. This is an 8mm hole, not that huge 3/4" others use. Don't over tighten! If you go too much the camera will left from the edge of the trim panel. Not much and it's no big deal, but that will put it ever so slightly tilted up. Just for insurance I used a tootpick to add some black silicone sealant in a fine line around the base.I did not want to go shoving wires (though thin) in through one of the license plate lamp assemblies. The top center of the trim (behind the logo) has a plastic trim clip off center. I drilled a hole in the trunk about an inch left and slighter lower than that. I cleaned off any burrs, then coated the edge and inside and out with black silicone. Then I put a 1/4" rubber washer over the silcone. Twenty minutes later I inserted the small connector from the camera (covered with tape!) through the hole, replaced the trim and tightened it down. The inside of the hole was then fully coated withe more silicone. I also added the security of some tape around the cable before inserting. It is very safe!!Overkill: I added split PET braid loom over the cable and secured the ends with loom tape. The rest of the routing/tie down was normal.Instead of going through the rubber grommet on the upper passenger side, I put the cable down that wall behind the carpet and ran it under th back seat. Just personal. I didn't want to get near that airbag. I had the bottom of the seat out for seat covers anyway, but it is NOT difficult to remove. I tied off to the wiring that goes back to left door sill plate. There is a large metal bracket there that I put the black camera ground wire to. I only popped off the two left door sill plates and tied down. I fished the cable from back to front under the B pillar.The front kick panel is a little uppity, but once it is off things get tougher. Routing behind it can be crazy, but doable. Right above the pedals is the hardest to reach and stay well away from pedal assemblies or anything that moves.Once the radio is out, you will see an opening you can bring the cable up through. I have all of this in PET braid but still stay away from sharp edges.My test turned out perfect, so I started final attachment. First I soldered and shrink-tubed the red wires together. Then covered with SILICONE tape as a buffer. Also, I put silicone tape around the yellow video connectors. This stuff has no adhesive and only sticks to itself; but, it will seal a pipe! SO nothing will come apart later. This stuff: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HWROKAK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1The only glitch I had was dropping one of the lower bolts into the console. Pulling it apart was nothing I wanted to mess with. I took one of the bolts to the hardware store and had the same flange bolt and washer for $ .60. Some things aren't worth a hassle.I left the lines ON, though you can disable them by cutting a little green wire loop (I think it is).I measured, measured, and remeasured the setback for the camera. I wanted it about 2-3mm back from the edge and that's where it wound up. Those lines bear some paying attention to. The first time I turned this on for a test (key on, not started) my dog was about 10 ft back. If there were another line behind the green one, it might have touched him. Sooooo, yellow MEANS caution, and red is flirting with damage.Impressions:I would like to see a slightly darker screen in the daytime, but it is truly viewable.The camera is 170-deg and it sees sidewalk to sidewalk on a two lane + parking street.I put projector white LED backup bulbs in months ago. I cannot wait until tonight to see how this does.Tech support from the seller is EXCELLENT (I had a pre-purchase question) and fast.

I just installed this kit in a 2013 Corolla tonight using the factory "display audio" (touchscreen) without navigation. My gf's sister has been wanting one for a while and will be driving her visiting friends all over everywhere next week, so she ordered this kit and I installed it for her. We live in the city so parking stalls are scarce, tiny, and everyone parks crooked so it can be a chore maneuvering out of parking stalls. She just wanted it installed as extra peace of mind. I have a reverse camera (and reverse sensors) on my own car and it definitely comes in handy. There are lots of little kids who speed down the sidewalk on their scooters so above all else, it will be safer to be able to see exactly what is behind our cars when parking them while the little kids are out.That said - I am impressed! The instructions and YouTube video were helpful but some of the steps and wiring were different from what was sent to me. I've installed several other reverse cameras so I knew my way around but it may be a bit challenging if you have not worked on your car before. Taking apart the door trim to route the wires and taking apart the dash to take the radio out takes the most time. I hooked everything up prior to tucking the wires in and drilling a hole for the camera just to make sure it worked, and it worked great.Tips:- I mounted it on the left side of the trunk trim (like many other Toyota/Lexus factory backup cameras) because the middle part on the 2013 Corolla is slanted and would give an overly large view of the bumper if I mounted it there. I also drilled the hole closer to the rear of the trim, not the center, otherwise the camera would stick out and not be flush.- Buy trim removal tools! That makes everything much easier and prevents damage to the plastic trim. I know my way around Toyotas so it isn't as hard for me, but having trim removal tools are definitely worth it considering how cheap they are.- Take your time. You want to do it right the first time without breaking anything.All in all, an excellent kit. I feel it's a little expensive but you're paying for the convenience factor with this kit and I think it's worth it. My gf's sister is THRILLED. This is the one thing she regretted.. the 2014 Corolla had the backup camera standard but her 2013 did not come with it. Now she has it! A friend of mine has trouble seeing out the back of her 2013 Corolla S (the back is very high) so I'm going to tell her to order this kit and I will install it for her.I should point out that you absolutely need to physically turn your head back and use your mirrors even if you have a reverse camera. It won't catch everything, and you should practice with it. I started installing reverse cameras on all our cars (four now, about to do a fifth) and I ALWAYS stress to whoever owns the car that you cannot just stare at the screen and reverse. It's an aid, not a replacement for using your mirrors and looking around. I think it's an excellent safety feature if used properly. Luckily I'm "the car guy" to my friends/family so they all listen to my spiel about using common sense even if they now have a camera, and I sit in the car with them for a while as they practice and lay out objects behind the car and check to see how far away they actually are compared to what they see on the screen.My routine:1. Shift into reverse, with my foot on the brake and the vehicle stopped2. Look at the camera screen to see what is behind me3. Physically turn my head toward the right rear of the vehicle so I can see as I'm reversing4. Glance at the camera screen as needed5. Shift into drive and goI am attaching a picture to this review. The first part is me testing the camera (that's why it's pointed at the roof), the next part is a view of the back with the camera installed, and the last part is a close up of the camera installed.EDIT, 3 months later: I attached a nice daytime picture of what the backup camera looks like. It has a nice wide angle (not quite as wide as a factory Toyota camera, but much better than the Esky camera on my own car), and it has been working extremely well. The Corolla is a small car but the back end is still kinda high and like I said, the added safety and convenience has no price. Still very satisfied!EDIT 2: The wide angle of the lens on this camera makes it very useful backing out of parking stalls. It lets you see around the cars next to you into the aisle so you can see if cars are coming. Tonight the van next to us was parked far back in its stall so as I was reversing out, it was very difficult to see since the stalls were slanted. Thanks to this camera, I very slowly inched out and even if I couldn't turn my head and see the oncoming cars, the camera let me see that there was a car waiting for our spot. I used to be one of those people who thought having a backup camera was just a neat toy but it's much more than that. Do you know how many people I can see stroll behind me texting on their phones, not even realizing I'm reversing? A lot! The camera also comes in handy when I need to parallel park. I've always been decent at parallel parking but the camera allows me to see exactly how much space I have.EDIT 3: It's been almost 7 months now and the camera continues to work flawlessly. I will update this review if anything changes but as of now, I consider this a great purchase and hope to get many years of use!EDIT 4 (2016): Just bought another one of these kits, this time for my mom's "new" 2013 Corolla. This time I was much faster, a little over an hour to install. This kit works amazingly well and I really would not hesitate to recommend it. As with any backup camera, bright sun or rain/fog will reduce its functionality but it works very well. Paired with backup sensors, it takes the stress out of any parking situation. As long as both of these cameras hold up, I'm happy :)EDIT 5: Had to have the camera on my mom's 2013 Corolla replaced after 4 months as it began to fog up. The seller was VERY responsive, and the replacement has been on the car for 7 months now and is still crystal clear. Because everything was already wired, it was quick to replace. I wash our cars once a week, so the weather seal is definitely tested - and so far so good with the replacement.EDIT 6 (2/25/18): Cameras are still working well! In fact, I purchased the standalone replacement camera (not the kit) to have on hand just in case. I asked the seller for a replacement piece of foam he includes, and he replied immediately and said he would. I definitely appreciate that he is still responsive after three years, and I've continued to recommend this kit. My mom said although she has backup sensors, she loves her backup camera and definitely uses it. My neighbor doesn't even look at his backup camera (to each their own) but we certainly use them :)

I wanted to wait about a month before writing a review just to see how it would perform, and I can say it’s still working great! Got the whole thing installed in my 2012 Corolla in about an hour and a half. It’s great for backing into spaces and seeing behind me when backing up adds a great safety feature! Definitely worth the money. One other thing I’d like to point out is once the adapter is hooked up, it allows you to adjust the brightness and contrast of the camera as shown in pictures 2 and 3 if you go under “setup” and then “display” which I thought was really cool. The only “con” I would point out is the lines aren’t fully lined up with the screen as shown in the first picture, it’s just slightly off as I am parked perfectly in the center of the parking spot, but that’s because the camera is mounted just off to the side. Other than that, no complaints here! Will update if any problems arise.