Customer Reviews

Audiovox CAMSBAR 2-Sensor Back-up Obstacle Sensing System and Camera

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this because it has both a back up camera and sensors. I also liked the fact that it attaches to the license plate so I didn't have to drill any holes in my car. Other nice features are that it isn't wireless so you always get a nice clean picture on the backup camera and you don't have to separately wire the monitor to a power source because it gets its power from the backup light wire connection. Note that you have to chase a wire from the back of the trunk to the dash where you intend to install the monitor. I accomplished this by removing the door sill kick plates, which were attached with plastic push pins.

I had several minor install problems when attaching the sensor bar to my license plate. First, in my state (MA) you can't attach anything to the license plate that hides any part of the plate. The kit supplies some brackets but they weren't the right size to hang the sensor bar below my license plate. I made some brackets from aluminum bar stock that I got from Home Depot. The brackets were fairly easy to make and only required a hack saw and a drill. Once installed I found that I was getting a false signal because the license plate is slightly recessed on my '09 Camry, which caused the sensors to pick up my stop light housings. This was easily corrected by simply bending the brackets that I made to stand off the senor bar far enough so that the sensors wouldn't pick up my stop light housings.

One installed the back up sensors and camera worked great! The back up camera is clear both day and night. The sensors start picking up objects when you are about 5' away. The monitor starts beeping and the display shows some hash marks indicating how far you are away. As you get closer the beeping increases in frequency until you get a steady beep and the display says STOP. On average this happens about 2' from an object. The camera has a wide angle lens so objects appear farther away than they really are. However, with a few uses I can now back up to within 1' from an object using the sensors and the back up camera.

If you own a SUV, truck, van or car with limited rear visibility this is a great safety device. I highly recommend it. The quality is top notch.

This product works great, even at night. However, the plastic of the monitor is cheap and the monitor itself too bulky considering today's screen technology. The beeping is too loud, so I covered the speaker to reduce the volume. Also, the chrome bar has developed some bubbles, a sign that it will peel off. This adds weight and mass to the license plate, so make sure it isn't loose.

This was easily the least cost combo backup/rear-View Camera with sensors I could find on the internet. I purchased it for ease of install and use. While it did take me about 3 hours to install, that was a function of the plastic clips on my Venza hatch. The actual install is very simple. Just hook up two power wires to your backup light wires and run the long s-video like wire to the dash and plug into the monitor. Yes the monitor is tiny at 2.5 inches, but good enough to see if there is anything in the way and works just fine in the dark, except for some glare if there are lights shining from behind the car from another source. The sensors beep slowly from about a 4 foot distance to an obstacle and sounds continuously at about 3 feet, so it works as promised when there is a solid object, or just a pole, behind the car. If you are beside n object, it gives a much shorter range of warning, only about a foot or two, depending on the severity of the angle. Overall I can't imagine a simpler solution, unless you are willing to spend more than twice as much to get the video and range detection.

This works as advertised but: If you are installing this unit on a 2002 Ford Explore this what you can expect: The system will not boot due to a voltage drop to great for the unit to work. When an incandescent light turns on, the system sees this as a near dead short. I believe that the Ford wires to the reverse light are too small and allow the voltage to drop bellow the minimum boot voltage. Using a variable voltage power supply, I was able to run the unit reliably down to seven volts. The easiest fix is to install LED lamps. The unit has reliably worked since I installed the led lamps. Second problem: On the Explore, this unit will block the tail gate lever if installed on top of the license plate, if installed on the bottom of the plate, the unit will detect the bumper. My solution was to mount the unit on the bumper. To do this you must remove the bumper. These problems are not due to the design of the unit but the application. I still think this was a worth while installation.

The only problem I have with is the tiny screen. I'm in my 30's and I still think the screen is too small.

Installation wasn't too bad but that is where the joy ended. Despite sealing the connections with dielectric grease and wrapping them securely with a special self sealing tape, the connections still came loose. Fixed that and then the camera housing started to pit. That quickly turned into the camera lense loosing it's seal and fogging up. Then the connection got loose again and now the thing is junk. The concept of combining a camera and back up sensor is great but their execution is poor. Lesson...buy the $10 version and just accept that they are disposable.

The Audiovox CAMSBAR 2 back-up obstacle sensor is very accurate and covers only the area of the width of the vehicle behind so there are no false alarms.

I was able to successfully install this in about 45min but with a less than glamorous configuration: camera/sensor bar on the lower bumper and the hatch closing on the cord itself. The rubber seal around the hatch door is thick enough that I'm confident it's not going to damage it - the cord can slide easily even when the hatch is closed.

Why this configuration? It's impossible to mount the camera onto the license plate and route the cord through license plate lights, snake it through where all the vehicle's electrical cords run and get it to where you can tap the reverse lights. Even if you were able to remove the interior harnesses, the camera bar cord just isn't long enough for you to snake it around length of the hatch, over to the side, and then down to where the vehicle lights are. So this really is the only option.

On the bumper itself, the easiest place is the lower bumper. My Highlander's bumper is actually two pieces, a glossy piece on the top that covers about the top 2/3 of the entire bumper, and a non-glossy piece that covers the bottom 1/3. I chose the bottom because you don't need to remove it and you can access behind the bumper because it's a screw and nut that holds the camera, you need to hold the nut from behind the bumper when you're tightening it.

Tapping the reverse lights is really easy, Toyota designed two access panels (so you can easily replace burnt-out rear bulbs) that are easy to pop off and your owners manual have instructons to do that. You can pop out the reverse light, trim off the black protecting sheeth a little so you can access the cords. White was the ground wire and Blue was the voltage wire on mine. I tested it before putting everything back together. Worked!

The camera is pretty clear, the image is in color during day time. The proximity sensors have a short detection distance. I only started getting beeps when I was about 2 ft away from an object.

The instructions that came with this kit sucks. It's mostly text (I recall only seeing two diagrams and the diagrams had errors, practially useless. So my long review here - hope this helps.

Installation requires removing a tail light to tap into the reverse light circuit. You run a wire to the screen in your vehicle. The quality of the video is poor and the quality of the chrome is cheap and pitted right away. The backup sensor is the only reason I keep it on my truck. Not worth the money.