Dash Cam Adhesive Pads Continually Failing--What's Worked for Yours?

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USA
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2023 CX-50 PPT
I have a Blackvue dash cam that started in my 2016 and is now in my 2019. I have it mounted in the same place--on the sensor cover below the mirror. Due to different angle of the windshield or then the sensor cover in the 2019, I had to mount the front cam a bit lower than I did in my 2016 to avoid the cover being in the view.

I am now on my second (OEM Blackvue) adhesive pad in 3 months due to slow but sure failure over time. I'm sure the heat here in FL doesn't help. I had similar issues in my 2016, but not as frequently (maybe one replacement in a year of owning the cam). Both times in the new car, I carefully cleaned the sensor cover and cam mount surface with isopropanol and let both fully dry before application. Failure side each time in both cars is from the adhesive to the sensor cover, not the cam mount. The one for the rear cam is on the glass itself and that's been rock solid in both vehicles.

I have now discovered that these pads are not designed for my application: "These sticky adhesive mounting pads are designed to be mounted on glass or metal surfaces. It is not recommended to place these sticky pads on plastic or rubber surfaces inside your vehicle." This is from the BV website info for these pads, but the Amazon listing from which I purchased them didn't have that additional info.

For anyone with a cam mounted in the same place in your Mazda, what type of adhesive pads have you used successfully? Would an adhesion promoter help, regardless?

I like the cam located where I have it--it is out of my line of sight, and is more protected from direct sunlight than it would be on the front glass, and it is essentially centered.
 
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I have used the 3M command strips on my dash cam recently. Have been on 9 mon. Have seen extreme cold and some hot weather. Will know for sure at the end of this summer. I think cleaning is critical, last step is wiping with 90+% alcohol.

Used these all over in our camper. Wall is not as smooth a surface as glass and they have lasted 2 yrs which includes 4 mon in Az, rest of the year in Mn.
 
I have used the 3M command strips on my dash cam recently. Have been on 9 mon. Have seen extreme cold and some hot weather. Will know for sure at the end of this summer. I think cleaning is critical, last step is wiping with 90+% alcohol.

Wow...never even thought about Command Strips working for this application, even though I use some of the hooks around my house. Thank you for the suggestion! Surprised that your experience is so positive, in particular with the temp gradients, but I guess I shouldn't be if I think about it.

I know that various 3M double sided tape will likely work, including the gray ones often used for external car accessories (think spoilers and bumper guards), and also their VHB foam tapes, but those both tend to be rather thick and I'd want something lower profile. Command strips are pretty thin.
 
I'll second the 3M Command strip suggestion. When I was living in Alberta, I used them to mount curtain rods that had heavy thermal curtains on them (didn't want to drill into the wall). The strips were mounted to the matte latex paint, and held up for the 3 years that we were in the house. They should work fine for your dashcam.
 
Even better --- The mounting strips used for EZ-PASS Transponders. They'll never come off!

Thanks! Actually thought about those. I recall how nicely those worked on my NJ EZ-Pass and original FL Sunpass, but at least FL now has moved to only offering suction cup boxes or flat permanent adhesive transponders. I forget what the product is called--kinda a cousin to Velcro, but both sides I think have "arms" that intermesh into each other. I think the product is pretty thick, however.

Aha--it is called Dual Lock Tape. And they make a low profile version!
 
Amazon has a number of versions.



Thanks! Actually thought about those. I recall how nicely those worked on my NJ EZ-Pass and original FL Sunpass, but at least FL now has moved to only offering suction cup boxes or flat permanent adhesive transponders. I forget what the product is called--kinda a cousin to Velcro, but both sides I think have "arms" that intermesh into each other. I think the product is pretty thick, however.

Aha--it is called Dual Lock Tape. And they make a low profile version!
 
And thanks to sm1ke for backing up the Command Strips suggestion!

pcardoza, Amazon and I are very well acquainted. (laugh)
 
3m dual lock from walmart. Withstands even Arizona' heat and direct sunlight.
They have black and transparent versions.
 
3m dual lock from walmart. Withstands even Arizona' heat and direct sunlight.
They have black and transparent versions.

Thank you for another confirmation on the Dual Lock product being a good option! I'm leaning heavily in that direction.
 
Bought a Fortin Remove starter. I later added their remote key fob which came with an antenna with 3m double sided tape. That thing was stuck unto the windshield like crazy.
 
Thanks, CX-5um!

Went with the 3M dual lock low profile. Was going to do clear, but decided black would be less visible since this product has a thicker profile than the dashcam adhesive pads. Black was the correct choice.

Has worked perfectly so far and no sign of sagging or adhesive failure, in particular even after 6 hours yesterday parked directly in blazing South FL sun. And love the fact that it can come apart if needed.

Much thanks to everyone's input and for those who recommended this product!
 
Nothing has worked for me and I've tried about 5 or 6 different types of tape. I recently tried this Gorilla tape that is supposed to be heavy duty, for indoor/outdoor use, and able to hold 30 pounds. It lasted all of one week before I came out to find my camera hanging by the cable. And yes, I clean the hell out of the glass with alcohol before mounting it. Very frustrating! I guess my last ditch effort will be to try the EZ velcro strips someone else recommended. It's worth a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
 
Nothing has worked for me and I've tried about 5 or 6 different types of tape. I recently tried this Gorilla tape that is supposed to be heavy duty, for indoor/outdoor use, and able to hold 30 pounds. It lasted all of one week before I came out to find my camera hanging by the cable. And yes, I clean the hell out of the glass with alcohol before mounting it. Very frustrating! I guess my last ditch effort will be to try the EZ velcro strips someone else recommended. It's worth a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)


mox44ah, what brand dashcam do you have? My BlackVue OEM adhesive pads are rock solid on glass, but my front cam is mounted on the plastic sensor cover around/under the rearview mirror and they aren't designed for that. Not sure about base size and weight compatibility with your own cam, but if similar specs you may want to try the BV adhesive pads since you are mounting on glass.
 
I have a Blackvue dash cam that started in my 2016 and is now in my 2019. I have it mounted in the same place--on the sensor cover below the mirror. Due to different angle of the windshield or then the sensor cover in the 2019, I had to mount the front cam a bit lower than I did in my 2016 to avoid the cover being in the view.

I've just started looking at dashcams, and now I'm curious. I hadn't considered mounting on the sensor cover, and I'm not sure which cams would work there. Would it be too much to ask for a picture of your installation?

I saw a recent mention of the Blendmount, but I'm pretty sure that notwithstanding their search tool, they're not going to work on a 2019 CX-5 GT/PP because there's so little room between the mirror and sensor. I'm trying to figure out the best way to have both a camera and my ez-pass mounted while being inconspicuous, and mounting on the sensor cover seems like a great idea.
 
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Thanks, that*s really great. It looks like you have it wired right into the mirror/sensor harness, and didn*t have to run it all the way around the windshield trim, correct?
 
Thanks, that*s really great. It looks like you have it wired right into the mirror/sensor harness, and didn*t have to run it all the way around the windshield trim, correct?

Nope! One of the two wires you see in the pics is for the rear cam (runs through the headliner) and the other is the power, which I ran under the front edge of the liner to the A pillar and down behind and into the driver's footwell area.

Correction from original response: I used a product (Snap N Go) made specifically for Blackvue cams which plugs into the front unit's power outlet, and then the business end plugs into the OBD2 port. That end has a switch, one setting for auto power off I think 4 minutes after when car turns off, or then a parking mode app which keeps power on until the unit senses a drop in car battery power too far below 12v.

A lot easier to get the rear cable installed this time, partially from experience but also there just seemed to be more room to get my wire fishing tool through on the driver's side. Wanted to avoid any potential crossing-over with the curtain airbags.

If you do decide to mount on the sensor cover, just remember to do a test live view before you permanently mount it to ensure it is unobstructed. I had to mount it a bit lower than preferred to keep the sensor cover and the black grid printed on the windshield mostly out of the field of view. I also had to do some surgery on my windshield solar cover to allow the cam to "see" when I use parking mode.

Oh, and while I don't remember who it was, honors go to those who installed cams before me and who posted great instructions and photos on here for the first gen.
 
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Nothing has worked for me and I've tried about 5 or 6 different types of tape. I recently tried this Gorilla tape that is supposed to be heavy duty, for indoor/outdoor use, and able to hold 30 pounds. It lasted all of one week before I came out to find my camera hanging by the cable. And yes, I clean the hell out of the glass with alcohol before mounting it. Very frustrating! I guess my last ditch effort will be to try the EZ velcro strips someone else recommended. It's worth a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

You should clean glass with acetone. alcohol leaves a residue which can hinder adhesion. Regarding double-sided adhesive tapes, I prefer 3M VHB - really aggressive, but only if the surface to which it is adhering is clean!
 
You should clean glass with acetone. alcohol leaves a residue which can hinder adhesion. Regarding double-sided adhesive tapes, I prefer 3M VHB - really aggressive, but only if the surface to which it is adhering is clean!

Acetone might damage any paint/plastic dots/film on the windshield. If there are any chips that were repaired with adhesive, acetone will attack it. I would not recommend.
 
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