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Installing my XUV700 AX5 with AX7's reverse camera unit: Other updates

9th September 2022, 15:36 by Rahul Nagaraj

Say hello to, arguably and possibly, India's first Mahindra XUV7OO AX5 MT fitted with the OEM AX7 reverse camera unit!

BHPian RavenAvi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The first (long) pending update for Icarus (my AX5 MT) finally gets completed last weekend - say hello to, arguably and possibly, India's first Mahindra XUV7OO AX5 MT fitted with the OEM AX7 reverse camera unit!

Visited the Paramount dealership last weekend to get this successfully completed. The camera works like a charm and the display from it is very decent under all conditions tested so far - bright sunlight, overcast conditions, under pouring rains and after dusk time. I am yet to check the visual output in completely dark areas or at night but the display output so far gives me confidence that it should be decently good with noise levels well-controlled. Though not at Hyundai-esque levels of reverse camera visual output, the AX7 camera's output is still quite decent. Clear enough during the daytime, minimal noise under overcast conditions or through pouring rain and quite clear during evenings. Clarity is better in comparison to the Blaupunkt DH05 or the official accessory reverse camera.

The OEM AX7 reverse camera.

The first image of the reversing display from the OEM unit prompted a triumphant "Woohoo!" from Rizwan, the accessory fitter.

Deemed impossible by many, made possible by us!

Apologies for the picture quality of the samples here. They don't do justice to the display output shown. Shall get better quality pics taken soon, preferably outdoors.

Daytime with the boot lid up. That's the roof.

Under pouring, lashing rains.

On the move in the rain.

Car standstill in front of our gate under pouring rain - full zoom.

The required parts, their part numbers and the prices:

Pay attention to that last image. Yes, you will need to buy the accessory reverse camera kit too, because that contains the extra-long RVC cable wire which is needed to connect the reverse camera mounted on the boot lid near the number plate to the coupler junction behind the A-pillar under the front passenger side (just below the glovebox on the left). (A big shoutout to fellow Team-BHPian sbm for this tip!)

Travelling below the front and rear door scuff plates.

Needs to be connected to the coupler behind the passenger side D-pillar.

OEM AX7 reverse camera unit on left, accessory reverse camera (AW60118) on right. Kept the accessory.

After lunch, they started on getting the power-folding ORVMs enabled but even after doing a lot of wiring work, it was concluded that the door harnesses of both front doors of the AX7 variant are required to enable this. Both of the AX7 ORVMs were mounted and the switch was fitted on the driver door panel. They showed me the power-folding feature after connecting a ton of wires all around the switch and the panel (opening and closing both) but for that to properly happen, the couplers which extend from the front doors into the body of the AX5 did not have enough connectors inside them.

One option was to connect it to the 7OO's locking system, but that would result in the ORVMs folding inwards automatically as soon as the auto-lock of all doors at 20 km/h kicked in, making them useless. So, the final conclusion - the entire door harnesses of the AX7 (which have the couplers with all the necessary connectors in them) are required. I asked them to place an order for the same.

The door panel was removed.

Driver door control panel of the AX5.

The same panel is now fitted with the piano black AX7 switch.

The button on the right is now a dummy until the door harnesses arrive.

Also, sealed the deal for a brand new 235/65/R17 MRF Wanderer Ecotred for the spare alloy at 11,500/- at a local MRF dealership just beside the service centre.

New full-sized OEM AX5 spare alloy wheel on left, older (and dumped) 155/90/R18 steel wheel on right.

Also bought home the OEM Black Art Leather with Deco Stitch seat cover set (for a 7-seater) from Mahindra. Shall get it fitted as bucket fitting at my local seat cover fitter soon

Final bill details. Total expenses came to Rs 48,718.

Went past the 2,000-km mark just before commencing my trip.

Got the soot deposit levels checked at the service centre, and it was at 23 grams! The warnings for DPF clogging pop up at 25 grams, so I was at the threshold. The CoTek said that it should clear halfway through during my return journey, provided I drove above 65kmph. I expect the current soot deposit levels to be near the 13 grams mark.

Mahindra should provide a soot deposit level indicator in the XUV700's diesel models too so that it's easier to keep track of the exact levels of soot deposit in the emission system and to drive accordingly so as to keep the DPF clogging issue at bay as much as possible.

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