[sen2693]

I own a Skoda Rapid, so you know how important the warranty is for me. I still have 5 years of warranty left on the car.

Today, I called my dealer up to check with him if they have Dashcams. They only had a DVR (did not clearly explain what is the difference) and quoted an amount which felt a little on higher side.

So, I asked him if I can get a dashcam of my own and set it up from outside and if that would void any warranty. He mentioned that if there are any electrical/wiring issues in future, then it can be attributed to the Dashcam and warranty might get voided in such case. Is this true or he is just saying that so I end up making the purchase from him?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by sen2693

I own a Skoda Rapid, so you know how important the warranty is for me. I still have 5 years of warranty left on the car.

Today, I called my dealer up to check with him if they have Dashcams. They only had a DVR (did not clearly explain what is the difference) and quoted an amount which felt a little on higher side.

So, I asked him if I can get a dashcam of my own and set it up from outside and if that would void any warranty. He mentioned that if there are any electrical/wiring issues in future, then it can be attributed to the Dashcam and warranty might get voided in such case. Is this true or he is just saying that so I end up making the purchase from him?

Dashcam using the 12v socket- Will not void warranty.
Dashcam hardwired- will void warranty if they notice it.

[GTO]

Will add a 3rd point to Tharian's post. If you do get it installed from the authorised dealer, then you will get a lot of leeway with warranty. If you absolutely want the dashcam, that's the way to go.

[deep_bang]

If you connect a dashcam to the 12v adapter, I don't see how in any way the warranty can be void.

It's pretty much the same as connect going a mobile charger.

However - it's ugly. Wires hanging around, and possibly not foolproof too as the connectors may get loose and disconnected and we may not notice.

That's why people hardwire (still not cutting wires, just connecting a fuse tap) so it looks nice and reliable, not to mention frees up the 12v port also.

If the cost difference is around 10/15% I would suggest not to worry and get it from the dealer.

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by sen2693

So, I asked him if I can get a dashcam of my own and set it up from outside and if that would void any warranty. He mentioned that if there are any electrical/wiring issues in future, then it can be attributed to the Dashcam and warranty might get voided in such case. Is this true or he is just saying that so I end up making the purchase from him?

Why share this info with your dealer ? They gain nothing from your DIY activity and responses will always be in their interest and never yours.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by tharian

Dashcam using the 12v socket- Will not void warranty.
Dashcam hardwired- will void warranty if they notice it.

Since this thread is going to be common as an FAQ and clearly not manufacturer specific, I'd like to share that Mahindra dealerships in two different cities confirmed that hardwiring dashcams will not void warranty. Even if fitted from outside. Their only point was to use fusetaps and not splice any wire. Also not to tinker with any fuses of importance.

I was thoroughly impressed with their reasonable approach to this. I hope they stand by their word.

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Why share this info with your dealer ? They gain nothing from your DIY activity and responses will always be in their interest and never yours.

True! But interestingly the technical manager at my Mahindra dealership is the one who helped me with some fusebox related queries when I declared I'm doing a DIY.

I was happy he did, saved me a ton of time and didn't have to tinker with it too much. Also, the XUV300 comes with a lot of spare fuses which actually draw current. So my fusetaps are essentially on empty slots.

[BoneCollector]

Both my car's have a DashCam taking power from a 12V socket. Infact my Wagon R has a DashCam since last 8 years. It's connected to a 12V socket which was installed at the dealership. Brezza also uses the 12V socket. I never tried to hardwire them. It hardly takes a second to check if your DashCam has powered on or not. The local Maruti dealership never has had any issues with my electrical fitments till the time I have showed them that all my fitments are plug and play and no wires have been spliced.

Basically it all boils down to your relationship with the dealer. If you're in good books, you'll not face any issue.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by sen2693

So, I asked him if I can get a dashcam of my own and set it up from outside and if that would void any warranty. He mentioned that if there are any electrical/wiring issues in future, then it can be attributed to the Dashcam and warranty might get voided in such case. Is this true or he is just saying that so I end up making the purchase from him?

Total BS. I have DIY hardwired dashcams in all my current and previous cars (Ford, Hyundai, VW) and never have anyone said anything about warranty. And what's stopping you from removing the dashcam when going for any electrical warranty claim?

Some dealers/service centers (irrespective of brand) are just morons and you just need to avoid them. Once I accompanied a friend to a VW service center for them to compare his car and mine to debug an issue he was facing. Even before sitting in my car, the arrogant SA calls out that I had upgraded the tyres and my warranty is void Mind you, I was just there helping my friend and had no issues in my car. We just went to a different authorized service center which had no problems whatsoever.

[SuperSuri]

I have hardwired a Dashcam on my VW Ameo. If the car needs to be sent to the ASC, I would make sure to remove the dashcam. They won’t notice until you tell them yourself.

Check out some images of the installed dashcam as following:

This is the only wire visible.






And I agree to the point of making a good relationship with your ASC. It definitely helps.

[naveen.raju]

Run the cable via the A pillar, footwell on to the 12v socket. I have been doing this on our cars. The cable that comes with the dashcam is pretty long.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by sen2693

Is this true or he is just saying that so I end up making the purchase from him?

If you power a dashcam via the ciggy socket, I don't think that is reason enough for warranty to be void. Why do manufacturers provide that power port anyway?

Now, you cannot use parking mode features of a dashcam unless you hardwire it, and for that, all the common methods involve cutting or splicing wires - this may void the warranty.

Is there a way to get around this? Yes. I have done a unique hard wiring in my car, by tapping power from the OBD port. This cannot void your warranty because you are not cutting a single wire (of the car).

Here's my post about it:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...ml#post5042787 (The Dashcam / Car Video Recorder (DVR) Thread)



You can even do a slight improvisation of my method, if you can accommodate this in your fuse box (or wherever the OBD port is located):

https://www.amazon.com/iKKEGOL-Conne.../dp/B07F16GPMB

If someone tells you that this can void the warranty, then plugging in an OBD dongle also will!

[Osteon206]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Run the cable via the A pillar, footwell on to the 12v socket. I have been doing this on our cars. The cable that comes with the dashcam is pretty long.

I've also done a similar thing on the Taigun. Sharing pics of the same. So the wire runs into the roof liner, a behind the A pillar in the passenger side, underneath and behind the dashboard, into the center Console and through the gear boot. So the only exposed wire is between the dashcam (Blueskysea B1W) and the roofliner, between the gear boot and 12V socket.
Earlier in the i10 nios also it was done in a similar way, but i10 came with a 12V socket below the rear AC vents as well, so from the center Console the wire was taken all the way to that socket. Back then Advaith Hyundai service had done the concealing of the wire.
Before that the same dashcam did duty on the CRV where something very similar to that in the Taigun was done.
Both Hyundai and VW said hardwiring will void warranty. VW had a blaupunkt dashcam as an accessory which had an in built battery, but the cam was too big and not discrete, also cost was high.
As for the honda CRV, considering the high maintenance costs i was facing, i was too scared to hardwire it even though the vehicle was well past the warranty period.
But in the Taigun, there is one problem, the 12V socket is ON always, so i have to disconnect/reconnect the power supply everytime I stop/start the vehicle. VW service said the always ON power socket can't be modified, and if done will void warranty. I'm just hoping that the spring mechanism of the adapter doesn't fail because of having to remove the adapter daily at least 4 to 5 times (also considering the dashcam is over 4 years old and has done duties in 3 cars now).

[sunikkat]

Warranty is a tricky thing - it all depends on your relation with your service center and based on specific situations.
So as few others mentioned, hard wired will definitely void warranty. If you are really worried about warranty and still wants to install dashcam you have to i) Get it fitted from the dealer, couple of thousands should not matter for a more peaceful solution or ii) Get it done with 12v socket from outside and remove it every time to take to the service center

[Rshrey22]

Why don't you use a fuse tap to wire the Dash Cam, that way there won't be any wires cut and your 12v socket will be free too. Fuse is safe and reliable while helps in providing a factory finish.

[Bigzero]

I have set up the dashcam the ugly way. Wires hanging down the middle, and bunching up in a coil near the charging socket. Had never really thought about hardwiring, but I always had this question on why carmakers are not choosing to make front + rear dashcams standard. In my view it is an important safety feature especially from an evidence perspective in case of incidents. Of course it may jack up the price by another 30-40K, but I am sure many car buyers will buy it, if it is sold well. Heck, features like Sunroofs and auto-dimming RVMs get lapped up by the car-buying public.

If having dashcams as standard is too much to ask for, at least provide the wiring as standard!!