The Lowdown
I’m very impressed and happy with the FITCAMX dash cam. Aside from the rear camera, absolutely nothing else is visible. The picture quality is excellent. The SD card is easily accessible. Customer service was helpful and responsive. The kit even came with an SD adaptor to easily connect the SD card to the computer.
Pros
- Relatively easy installation
- Seamless integration
- Excellent picture quality
Cons
- Removing my car’s plastic camera cover was a challenge
- Competition between CarPlay and the FITCAMX’s WiFi was annoying but easily overcome by disconnecting the car from it
What’s more exciting than getting a shiny new car? Well, what’s NOT exciting is the stress of keeping the vehicle as spotless as possible. I park far away from the crowds in parking lots, but what else could I do? Wrapping the car in bubble wrap is impractical, so I’m entrusting it to the newly installed, integrated FITCAMX dash cam and rear camera.
The FITCAMX stands out from other dash cams because it integrates seamlessly into the car. The front camera clicks directly into the camera system behind the rearview mirror. It even comes with a replacement cover that looks almost identical to the factory-installed cover.
This photo was taken before the FITCAMX Dash Cam installation.
The rear camera adheres to the trim in the back of the car, and the wires from the front camera to the back camera can be easily tucked away into the trim. The FITCAMX truly looks like a factory-installed camera, even when compared to the actual factory-installed dash cam.
The FITCAMX Dash Cam and included accessories.
Toyota Highlander’s front camera system is on the left, and the FITCAMX Dash Cam for Toyota Highlander is on the right.
This is what Toyota’s factory-installed dash cam looks like. Notice how it’s not as integrated as the FITCAMX Dash Cam?
The FITCAMX’s front camera has excellent clarity, recording at 2160P, while the rear camera records at 1080P. It also comes equipped with a CMOS Sensor and WDR technology, which automatically adjusts the exposure to eliminate blind spots. It works well in bright daylight as well as at night.
FITCAMX Dash Cam installed in a Toyota Highlander
Additionally, the FITCAMX features loop recording and emergency accident locks. The dash cam has a 128GB microSD card and can support a 256GB card. As new footage is created, it will overwrite the old footage.
The gravity sensor can detect a sudden collision and immediately lock the footage to a dedicated folder, ensuring the evidence clips will not be overwritten. When the car starts, the dash cam automatically turns on, and when the vehicle turns off, the dash cam automatically turns off.
It’s important to note that if you want a rear camera, you must purchase a front camera that is compatible with the rear camera. If you purchase only the front camera, you cannot add on the rear camera since it will not have the proper wiring.
The rear camera does not need its own power source as it connects and pulls power from the adaptive cruise control sensor.
The FITCAMX offers a parking mode that captures a recording if the car is hit while turned off. Installation of the parking mode add-on requires an extra harness and connection to the fuse box in order to be powered while the car is off. The company recommends professional installation for the parking mode add-on.
Overall, the installation was very basic and straightforward. Two of my biggest challenges involved the black plastic cover. Removing the factory-installed cover was my first challenge; I was afraid of using too much force to remove it. However, after watching a few YouTube videos, I learned that the trick was to apply even downward pressure until the cover released. Then, you remove the center black piece, and the cover slides out easily.
Once I had access to the wires, I realized I wasn’t quite sure which wire I needed to remove to hook up to the camera. I did a live chat with FITCAMX, and they sent me a mocked-up picture of my car showing me exactly which wire I needed to use.
Once everything was hooked up, the next challenge, which probably took the most amount of time, was tucking all the wires in and placing the new black panel over the top. After many attempts, I got it seated properly with all the wires hidden.
Next, I used the included pry tool to tuck the wires into the panels all the way around the car to the trunk. Once I reached the trunk, I had the option of using the included clips with adhesive to run the wire along the surface to the center of the trunk or removing the trim inside the trunk to hide the wires.
I like a good challenge, so I took the extra steps and hid the wires. The final results came out fantastic. There are many YouTube videos on installations, so that you can search specific instructions for your particular make and model.
Once the cameras are installed, you’ll need to download the FITCAMX app and connect to its WiFi. Once connected, you can view live footage (which is not recommended because then the recordings will pause) and all recorded videos.
The only tricky part in connecting to the FITCAMX’s WiFi was that the car’s CarPlay kept getting jealous and reconnecting to my phone. I needed to completely turn off my phone’s connection to the vehicle to stay connected to the FITCAMX app.
Overall, I’m very impressed and happy with the FITCAMX dash cam. Aside from the rear camera, absolutely nothing else is visible. The picture quality is excellent. The SD card is easily accessible. Customer service was helpful and responsive. The kit even came with an SD adaptor to connect the SD card to the computer easily.
Hopefully, I’ll never actually need to access the dash cam footage, but I feel better knowing that it’s there if I need it. And did I mention that FITCAMX has compatible cameras for many different vehicle makes and models? It’s absolutely perfect for almost every car.
The FITCAMX Dashboard Cam starts at $189 (currently on sale starting at $169); it is available directly from the manufacturer. Use the code gear10 for an additional 10% off.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample
What I Like: Relatively easy installation; Seamless integration; Excellent picture quality
What Needs Improvement: Removing my car’s plastic camera cover was a challenge; Competition between CarPlay and the FITCAMX’s WiFi was annoying but easily overcome by disconnecting the car from it
