Front windshield camera

[300cDave]

Does anyone else with an SRT8 have the front windshield camera that sits just under the rear view mirror? I was told it records 20 seconds of an accident. Are you guys covering the camera lens? Seems that it could be used both as a good thing and a bad, depending on who's at fault during a crash. I have one on my 300 SRT8 but I have never seen it mentioned here.

[ricardo]

Originally Posted by 300cDave

Does anyone else with an SRT8 have the front windshield camera that sits just under the rear view mirror? I was told it records 20 seconds of an accident. Are you guys covering the camera lens? Seems that it could be used both as a good thing and a bad, depending on who's at fault during a crash. I have one on my 300 SRT8 but I have never seen it mentioned here.

how do you know it is the camera? there is a rain sensor there and uconnect.

[300cDave]

The rain sensors are built into the windshield and the U-connect doesn't utilize a camera lens.. I was told by my dealership that it is connected to a recorder that can be accessed after a crash if needed. It is a box about 3" high by 4" wide with a camera lens in the middle. It sits right under the rear view mirror. I'm starting to think this is a rare feature because I have never seen it mentioned on the forum. Just wondering if anyone else has it.

[ricardo]

Well, if the manual says so... I cannot argue with the manual. Gotta to read it.

Rain sensor is there as well. It is inside this box and analyzes glass surface outside to detect when rain started.

If you say it is the real camera there, how would it be possible to tap into this resource? It should be possible to get video feed from it and manage on/ off state. It would be a neat feature, is not it?

[300cDave]

Apparantly I spoke to a clown at the dealership. Found out it is for the Smart Beam function. Makes better sense.

[tx_bandit]

Just FYI, most new cars do have a "black box" for recording information about accidents. But unless you tear your car down to the frame to look for it you don't know if your car has one or not. Back in 2005 The National Transportation and Saftey Board recommended that manufacturers begin installing these devices in cars. As of right now there is no law that would require you to provide this information if involved in an accident, but that may change in 2011. Read on:

Drivers to be notified of vehicular black boxes in 2011

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 22nd 2006 at 2:40PM
Since the National Transportation Safety Board "recommended" that all new vehicles be equipped with some form of black box -- more appropriately known as an Event Data Recorder (EDR) -- manufacturers have slowly but surely been sneaking them in. Deliberately or otherwise, a vast majority of automakers have neglected to inform customers that their vehicle has such a device installed in it, and as you'd probably expect, it's driving privacy advocates up the wall. As these EDR boxes become more popular, some form of control and notification system apparently needed to be devised, thus the NTSB stepped in and threw down some uniform regulations. Beginning in 2011, all automakers must include "information in the owner's manual" about the specific data that the EDR collects. Fortunately for car companies, the mandate goes a step further by standardizing the data collected by each box, so everyone's privacy is invaded equally. We'll just have to wait and see if those newly disclosed deets include a step by step guide to de-activating the incriminating evidence data collection, but we don't have a good feeling about all that.

Drivers to be notified of vehicular black boxes in 2011 - Engadget

[charlie D]

Originally Posted by 300cDave

Does anyone else with an SRT8 have the front windshield camera that sits just under the rear view mirror? I was told it records 20 seconds of an accident. Are you guys covering the camera lens? Seems that it could be used both as a good thing and a bad, depending on who's at fault during a crash. I have one on my 300 SRT8 but I have never seen it mentioned here.

What you're referencing is a " drive cam",which is clearly labeled.It is a downloadable device that is constantly active.If there is an "incident"that affects the G-forces such as an accident,hard breaking,hard cornering and the likes this would create an incident.The camera would hold 10 secs.prior to the incident and 10 secs. after the incident.When the camera is downloaded, the film clip can be reviewed for whatever purpose.These are commonly used on fleet vehicles.

[bruno]

It's no secret where that 'black box' is located. Look under the front passenger seat in your 300.

bruno

[davidtx]

Originally Posted by 300cDave

Apparantly I spoke to a clown at the dealership. Found out it is for the Smart Beam function. Makes better sense.

Yep - sounds like SmartBeam. SmartBeam uses a digital camera and pattern recognition s/w to detect oncoming headlights or that you are approaching taillights. My wife's Grand Cherokee has the system and we both love it - wish I had it in the SRT. (also wish it was a little less obtrusive)

-david