Reverse Rear Camera View Blurry After Body Shop Work

[FordMachEGo]

I just had some minor body work done to repair a garage-door versus hatchback mishap. The next day I noticed that my rear view through the reverse camera is blurry. Obviously, they had to sand, paint and clear coat the area around the camera, so I assumed some of the clear coat got on the lens. The body shop also thought so and asked that I bring it back so they could buff it out to repair the blurriness. Unfortunately, they were not able to clear up the view with a buffer. Please see both images of the camera view and the camera lens itself.

One of the guys at the body shop thinks something (maybe moisture), got between the lens and the outside glass and asked me to check with the dealer to see if this is a known problem, and if so, repair under warranty. He assured me that after buffing, nothing was on the lens. Has anyone had this type of problem? What do you think could have caused this?

The body shop said they will stand behind their work and asked that I bring it back in a week or so, after doing some research (including this forum post, dealer query and online searches), and maybe trying to be more aggressive with the buffer. They were concerned that being more aggressive today could have caused damage to the newly painted repair work.

So, what do you all think? Also, just thinking ahead, does anyone know the part number and/or cost of a replacement rear camera?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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[AliRafiee]

Are those scratches on the lens?

 

[Mach-Lee]

They need to pony up and replace the camera they damaged during paint prep. Sorry but "buffing it out" isn't going to work. There are thin coatings on the lens, it's not clear coat.

The part # is LJ8Z-19G490-A and the MSRP is $340. Camera needs to be aligned with FDRS after replacement.

 

[FordMachEGo]

Lee are you saying that the original lens had some type of thin coatings on it, like UV coating or the like, or the body shop somehow put thin coatings on it via some chemical or sanding process? Can you tell ?

 

[Mach-Lee]

No they probably sanded off the coatings when they were using sandpaper for paint prep. The camera should have been removed before they sanded

 

[FordMachEGo]

OK. Thanks for the reply. Appreciate it.

 

[Falcon53]

I

No they probably sanded off the coatings when they were using sandpaper for paint prep. The camera should have been removed before they sanded

I clayed our GT and scratched the camera. Wasn’t thinking.

 

[FordMachEGo]

Lee. One final question. He shop just replaced the camera and they said it looks fine and they see no need for calibration. If it looks okay am I good or should I be concerned? Thanks.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Lee. One final question. He shop just replaced the camera and they said it looks fine and they see no need for calibration. If it looks okay am I good or should I be concerned? Thanks.

It might be okay, but the service manual calls for calibration whenever a camera is replaced. There may be slight angle variations from one install to the next.

 

[FordMachEGo]

Ok. Thanks again for the quick replies. Really appreciate it. It seems to be very well aligned. I tested it pretty carefully and compared it with the top-down camera view between lines in a parking space. It seems spot on. I even tried the automatic parking feature and backed into a space next to another vehicle and it also seems fine. The only thing I 'm not sure about is the reverse emergency braking. It has actived for me a few times when I backed out of my garage and veered too close to my hedges, but I could not duplicate that just now. Not a great test, but the car is not complaining about emergency reverse braking, so it seems okay. Also, reverse braking remains selected.

 

[FordMachEGo]

Oh oh, spoke too soon. My car now displays “ reverse brake assist not available see manual” whenever I shift into reverse. So Apparently calibration is definitely required.

 

[AliRafiee]

Oh oh, spoke too soon. My car now displays “ reverse brake assist not available see manual” whenever I shift into reverse. So Apparently calibration is definitely required.

That happens to me when I shift into reverse when the door is open.

 

[FordMachEGo]

That happens to me when I shift into reverse when the door is open.

Really? That's a bid odd. But I guess the car is telling you that if you want to back up with the door open, it’s not going to save you. But seriously, on second thought, this makes some sense because it probably uses the side cameras for the stitched-together top-down view along with the backup camera to decide whether to apply the emergency brake assist, and opening the door interfers with that view.

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