Any way to prevent rear view camera from getting wet ?
- Thread starter ahmadka
- Start date
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- 2009 Mazda CX-9 GT
No. I've gotten in the habit of wiping it with my finger everytime I walk behind the vehicle. That helps a little bit.
Out of curiosity, has anyone experienced an SUV which didn’t have this issue? ( with the exception of VW with their hidden pop up camera).
The reason it gets dirty is because of the aerodynamic backflow caused by the square back of the vehicle. The same reason all hatchbacks need a rear wiper and sedans don’t. You could try a hood, but the water/dirt doesn’t drop on the camera, it flies directly on it. A hood may actually worsen the effect. You could try to have a reverse hood maybe but again it may only be effective at certain speed.
I think this is just the reality of rear view cameras, but if anyone knows of a dirt free design on other cars let me know, i am very curious to see how they do it. Pop up cameras are great except when you live in canada like me and it is frozen shut all the time and is just another potential complexity to break with time.
The reason it gets dirty is because of the aerodynamic backflow caused by the square back of the vehicle. The same reason all hatchbacks need a rear wiper and sedans don’t. You could try a hood, but the water/dirt doesn’t drop on the camera, it flies directly on it. A hood may actually worsen the effect. You could try to have a reverse hood maybe but again it may only be effective at certain speed.
I think this is just the reality of rear view cameras, but if anyone knows of a dirt free design on other cars let me know, i am very curious to see how they do it. Pop up cameras are great except when you live in canada like me and it is frozen shut all the time and is just another potential complexity to break with time.
Don’t drive through water.
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- North of Toronto
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- 2019 CX-9 Sig
I've thought about this issue(prob too much) but I wonder if it's my imagination that the water seems to worsen the view more than other cams. But compared to my CRV, the view DOES seem to become pretty much useless far more often.
I wonder if it's simply the resolution combined with droplets. Better resolution, easier to see "through" droplets. Better resolution, still usable view.
I also find the CRV has a greater fish eye field of vision. So perhaps when water dries, it leads to dirt around the edge of the cam (sort of like a coffee spot drying on a counter). This is less noticeable with the fish eye as the center view still usable. I only lose the fish eye advantage left and right so I ignore it and just view straight back.
Edge of CX9 cam being lost would mean part of actual direct rear view being lost.
Again, I could be way off on this and I've prob spent too much energy thinking about it.
My solution is also wipe it as habit, on all cars I've had, then to be more honest than I should be...I wipe the dirt on my pants. I'm not a hanky guy. Also not a suit guy, thankfully.
I wonder if it's simply the resolution combined with droplets. Better resolution, easier to see "through" droplets. Better resolution, still usable view.
I also find the CRV has a greater fish eye field of vision. So perhaps when water dries, it leads to dirt around the edge of the cam (sort of like a coffee spot drying on a counter). This is less noticeable with the fish eye as the center view still usable. I only lose the fish eye advantage left and right so I ignore it and just view straight back.
Edge of CX9 cam being lost would mean part of actual direct rear view being lost.
Again, I could be way off on this and I've prob spent too much energy thinking about it.
My solution is also wipe it as habit, on all cars I've had, then to be more honest than I should be...I wipe the dirt on my pants. I'm not a hanky guy. Also not a suit guy, thankfully.
This looks like a mazda problem to me.. I never had an issue with my 2013 sonata, 2016 CLA 45, 2013 GLK 350 and the company BMW 528I.
Mazda cameras have the worst resolution in the industry "except for the new mazda 3" and the dumbest design. I think the blurry issue is also exaggerated by the early 2000s barbie camera resolution.
Well most of these are sedans or coupe, except the GLK. Mercedes as been using backup cameras that roll to hide themselves when not in use to not get dirty ( not sure if it was on the GLK though. ) BMW may have followed suit. I just wanna make sure we compare apple to apple. No arguments about the quality of the camera on the mazda though.
Resolution probably doesn’t have much of an impact, but the fish eye effect would. So that may be a factor for the mazda that exacerbates the problem.
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- Canada
I do the same. Rain-X and other repellents like car wax or ceramic coating, etc. won't work. Because of the aerodynamics of the car, any "mist" that is created by the rear tires moving over a wet road flows onto the camera lens and starts forming droplets. This "mist" is dirty, and once it dries, future droplets are more likely to form on the dirty lens. I tried using car wax and BeadMaker on the lens and I still had the issue. Same thing happens to my dad's Equinox and my brother-in-law's Murano, so I just live with it and wipe it off when I need to.
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- North of Toronto
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- 2019 CX-9 Sig
A couple posters have mentioned the hatch/suv shape effect and the resulting need for back wiper. I get that, since a sedan's rear windshield is protected by the trunk it doesn't need rear wipers.
But not sure that sedan/suv contrast is relevant to these cams. These cams are not where the windshield is on sedans, they are in plate area - just like an suv. So sedan cams could in theory be just as susceptible to dirt as suv cams as both are in same area and right in the aerodynamic spray zone. So comparing sedan cam clarity could still be valid.
My 14 Camry was much less prone to dirt, for what it's worth.
Rear overhang is probably more relevant than being sedan/suv. Pickups seem to have long rear overhangs. Any owners here that can report on the tendency for their pickup cams to be dirty, or not to be?
And would mud flaps help? Less spittle into the air could mean less caught in the flow back to the car? I've thought about trying those, for the other benefits as well.
But not sure that sedan/suv contrast is relevant to these cams. These cams are not where the windshield is on sedans, they are in plate area - just like an suv. So sedan cams could in theory be just as susceptible to dirt as suv cams as both are in same area and right in the aerodynamic spray zone. So comparing sedan cam clarity could still be valid.
My 14 Camry was much less prone to dirt, for what it's worth.
Rear overhang is probably more relevant than being sedan/suv. Pickups seem to have long rear overhangs. Any owners here that can report on the tendency for their pickup cams to be dirty, or not to be?
And would mud flaps help? Less spittle into the air could mean less caught in the flow back to the car? I've thought about trying those, for the other benefits as well.
You are correct that sedans have the same turbulence at the back of the trunk where the camera normally is, but the turbulence area is smaller because distance between the top of the trunk and the bottom of the car is shorter than on SUVs and minivans. For that reason it is very likely that the turbulence area ends earlier and doesn’t reach as far back as SUVs and doesn’t pick up as much dirt. It is a bit of an oversimplification though, and the rear camera on sedans may see just as much dirt as on SUVs, but there are enough potential variations to say that we shouldn’t really compare the two together.
That being said, you bring up a good point that most manufacturers just tucks the camera in the license plate area . I think it’s because it is is convenient, it is out of sight and provide a good view down. Mazda may be guilty of just putting the camera in the same place as it does on it’s sedans, instead of finding a better location (although I doubt there would be any).
That being said, you bring up a good point that most manufacturers just tucks the camera in the license plate area . I think it’s because it is is convenient, it is out of sight and provide a good view down. Mazda may be guilty of just putting the camera in the same place as it does on it’s sedans, instead of finding a better location (although I doubt there would be any).
Ronzuki
South Central PA
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- 2018 CX5 Touring
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- w/ Pref Pkg
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- Central CT
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- 2016 CX-9 GT
Our old 2011 Odyssey had the same problem as does my wife's '17 Highlander. Anything that's located where these cameras are is going to get gunked up - water, dirt, etc. get kicked up and through a venturi effect/turbulence gets splattered to the back of the car and the camera.
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- Canada
Yeah, this seems to happen on all SUVs (and probably hatchbacks as well).
These cameras should have a motorized shield that moves out of the way when the car is put into reverse, and moves back into place when the car is in any other gear. Seems like such a simple solution.
I am planning on getting a door protector transparent plastic of some sort just under the Mazda logo above the backup camera to see if it would bead water directly away from the camera and to the ground. Other than that Rain X etc are temp solutions. If its misty rain - my backup camera is useless.
How about your eyes and the rear windshield? The back up camera is just an "aid" to assist with backing up; the warning says not to rely on it. This is just physics.
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- North of Toronto
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- 2019 CX-9 Sig
Well, it's also physics that there is a huge spot behind the rear of a vehicle that is blind to someone looking over shoulder from drivers seat. If a kid is there and hit, it's called a backover. In front...frontover. Kids are killed. These cams reduce that chance.
kidsandcars.org
In front, blind spot can be up to ten ft out. A ten ft blind spot can hide several kids hiding in a game of hide and seek.
If I used my eyes, even if I get out before reversing, and look behind my car, then rush back into seat and go into reverse and look over shoulder, a kid could still run there. The cam can see them when I can't.
No one is going to like every technology. But some have clear advantages.
I have started bringing up the front cam before pulling out of garage, my garage is in a laneway and kids play there. I like to check that one hasn't scampered there before I pull out.
