Ford dealer installed the Thinkware dash cam. AITA for thinking this wasn't a great job?

[d19dotca]

Hello! ? Been a long-time reader, finally created my account the other day. Finally purchased the 2023 Mustang Mach-E eAWD ER model on August 2nd. Super happy with it! Eventually I'll upload a neat photo of it like everyone else does, haha.

Anyways earlier today I had the Ford dealership install the Thinkware dash cam since I knew it'd be a bit outside my comfort zone with it being so new and all to install it myself, especially with the rear camera too. Just didn't want to ruin something so soon after purchasing it, would rather Ford be on the hook instead. ? Also wanted to use the FordPass Rewards on the accessory + install.

While I appreciate the work they did, I am seeing some irritating/concerning things, but not sure if all is really enough to bother raising it to them, so wanted to ask for your thoughts on this. Would this install job be acceptable to you or does it require some more work from the dealer to correct it? What is a reasonable expectation of the results from the install?

Issue #1: The front dash cam takes up more of my windshield than anticipated, assuming this would also have been as high up as possible behind the mirror, but it seems this was misplaced a bit. I've seen some references that this should actually be to the side of the mirror on the black dots area, and others saying it should not be on the black dots part. Assuming they wanted t centre it though beneath the mirror, it still seems like a miss.

Issue #2: This is likely the biggest one IMO... the rear camera video is very unlevel. The angle is not evenly level at all. What irritates me too is these adhesive connectors seem to be a single-use, and pulling it off will mean I need to use a brand new one rather than being able to simply move it with the same adhesive connector. What I'm thinking is I should be going back to the dealer to have them fix this up, but since I know I can also be a bit particular about these things too I'm thinking maybe it'd be easier if they just provided me with replacement adhesive connectors and I can do that part myself to position it.

Issue #3: This may be more of my own OCD so this may be a non-issue, but the A-pillar on the drivers side since the install seems to be a bit too loose. While it physically looks normal at a glance, if the roof part of the A-pillar is pushed at all, it seems like it goes in too much compared to the passenger side for example. I guess I'm wondering... for those who have either had it installed professionally from Ford or those who followed a DIY guide... are you seeing the same kind of behaviour? In other words is this normal for the A-pillar after a dash cam install or is this something that should be corrected?

There are other items like a messy interior after they did it (left a lot of what appeared to be shavings of some plastic or something, not sure what exactly), greasy prints on the plastics in the car from the installer, dirty spots on the A-pillar roof portion. But this was just a quick vacuum and soap/water from a microfibre, not a big deal just an extra annoyance is all.

Am I being too picky here though? I guess because the car is so new and it being installed by the Ford dealer, I worry I may have had higher expectations than is reasonable. I expected it to be near-perfect for the price and since it’s being done by Ford as opposed to myself.

Would be curious if there are any photos of the install jobs for the same dash cam that I can compare with.

PS - I think this is the Thinkware F200 Pro from what I had been reading online, but it seems the model number is DC-M2-FG, but not sure if that's just the model that is sold to Ford or something. It's this one though: https://accessories.ford.ca/shop/en...with-rear-facing-camera-bundle-vhl3z-19g490-k

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[ctenidae]

NFW.
That is going back to get redone. I wouldn't have made it off the lot - I would have given that a giant "NOPE" as soon as I saw the placement from outside.

100% looks like a terrible job.

 

[Vulnox]

Nah, that's not worth a paid install price. I am anything but an expert when it comes to working with vehicle trim and all that, but I just installed an a139 Pro 2Ch in my wife's MME, and I think I did a significantly better job, and I say that knowing that there are definitely others that could probably make it even nicer. The thing is this car is incredibly easy to work with, especially if you have the glass roof. Portions of the headliner aren't even clipped in, they are just strong magnets and with a decent pull you can get yourself tons of room to nicely hide wires.

I also used the Dongar 5 Pin adapter to just wire to the rearview mirror power. The dashcam is out of the way, the power wire is only visible where it meets the dash cam, and same for the rear camera. Install took about a half hour or so, with most of that time just making sure everything was tucked away nicely.

No excuse for a paid install to be that visible. I put mine to the right of the rear view mirror and just pointed it a little to the left. There is nothing that requires a dash cam to have a direct straight ahead view, as long as it has good sight lines for what's ahead and your fenders.

 

[intensifi]

From a professional installer.

I have actually moved it higher by removing my gate RFID sticker.

 

[AtomicInternet]

Agree with Dongar 5 pin.

Get whatever they did out of your a-pillar and pull power from your mirror. Much cleaner

https://a.co/d/2JbRXp3

 

[ChasingCoral]

There's only so much you can do to hide some dash cams. That's why I have the FitcamX in my Lightning and will go with it in my Mach E at some point, too. It replaces existing camera/mirror mount cowling and looks like OEM.
https://a.co/d/29JmUuy

 

[AtomicInternet]

It's unfortunate we can't pull feed from the existing vehicle cameras like Tesla allows. Maybe in a future update.

 

[YunniorO]

There's only so much you can do to hide some dash cams. That's why I have the FitcamX in my Lightning and will go with it in my Mach E at some point, too. It replaces existing camera/mirror mount cowling and looks like OEM.
https://a.co/d/29JmUuy

I second this. I have a FITCAMX and it looks as OEM as it gets. I honestly forget it’s there most of the time. The funny part is that I thought the install was going to be considerably worse than a regular dashcam install, but nope, just pull the mount down, plug in and push back in.

 

[d19dotca]

There's only so much you can do to hide some dash cams. That's why I have the FitcamX in my Lightning and will go with it in my Mach E at some point, too. It replaces existing camera/mirror mount cowling and looks like OEM.
https://a.co/d/29JmUuy

Maybe that’s what I should have done (although that only is front, right? Not a rear camera?). But it’s probably too late now, extremely unlikely they’d remove it and refund me. So I’m stuck with this for now. It’s at least a Ford-approved model even though I know plenty of others work just fine too (if not even better), so I have a bit of comfort knowing that it’s up to Ford to fix and be responsible for its install as opposed to be messing it up. ?

 

[d19dotca]

From a professional installer.

I have actually moved it higher by removing my gate RFID sticker.

Is it recommended that it goes in that area over the black dots? I feel like I see conflicting information on it. I’m not even really sure what the black dots are meant for, if I’m being totally honest. If it’s better to install on that area though then maybe that’s what I’ll get Ford to do.

 

[d19dotca]

NFW.
That is going back to get redone. I wouldn't have made it off the lot - I would have given that a giant "NOPE" as soon as I saw the placement from outside.

100% looks like a terrible job.

Haha, yeah I wish I had reviewed it more thoroughly when I was on-site picking it up. I hadn’t had the app downloaded yet so had to get it connected with my phone when I got home later in the day, and that’s when I noticed how off the rear camera was. Strangely it does sort of look level when looking at the rear door so I am also wondering if it’s more of a defective unit or something too. Or just something that isn’t obvious, although they should be aware of those things too since they install them somewhat regularly I’m guessing. I definitely will be contacting them to fix this install.

 

[Vulnox]

Is it recommended that it goes in that area over the black dots? I feel like I see conflicting information on it. I’m not even really sure what the black dots are meant for, if I’m being totally honest. If it’s better to install on that area though then maybe that’s what I’ll get Ford to do.

The windshield is treated and the result is it can disrupt some signals to a point. They put the black dot section to indicate where it isn't treated, so you can place something like the device for going through toll areas there to ensure it is read.

I don't believe for a dash cam it will be as critical, but if you want to have the dash cam log GPS data, it can be better for it to be mounted there. I haven't had issues getting GPS data to my cell phone so I don't believe the windshield significantly impacts GPS RF, but if you want to be safe may as well put it there.

 

[Mrn]

I installed a Rove R3. The instructions are specific about not mounting the camera over the dot matrix pattern. The dots are raised and the adhesive film won't stick well.

I found it relatively easy to do a self install and hide the wires under trim around the door and roof area. It was also relatively easy to continue the power wire under the glove box to the USB ports at the front of the center console.

 

[ChasingCoral]

(although that only is front, right? Not a rear camera?).

No, my FitcamX came with both front and rear cameras.

 

[intensifi]

Is it recommended that it goes in that area over the black dots? I feel like I see conflicting information on it. I’m not even really sure what the black dots are meant for, if I’m being totally honest. If it’s better to install on that area though then maybe that’s what I’ll get Ford to do.

Yes.
needed to install there for GPS and RADAR to work.

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