NHTSA complaint #11405844

Owner complaint summary

BACK UP CAMERA DOES NOT WORK AS INTENDED IN THE DARK. ON CHANGING GEAR SELECTOR TO REVERSE, THE BACK UP IMAGE IS ALMOST COMPLETELY BLACK WITH A SLIGHT REFLECTION OF THE REVERSE LIGHTS ON THE BLACK TOP. ONCE A PROXIMITY SENSOR IS TRIGGERED (E.G. PEDESTRIAN WALKS UP CLOSE TO THE CAR), THEN THE CAMERA SWITCHES INTO DARK MODE, AND THE IMAGE IS APPROPRIATELY ILLUMINATED FOR ADEQUATE VISUALIZATION OF SURROUNDINGS. IN ATTACHED PICTURES IT IS NOTED THAT A PROXIMITY SENSOR HAS TO BE TRIGGERED BY A PERSON WALKING CLOSE TO THE CAR, BEFORE WHICH THEY ARE NOT VISIBLE. THE SIDE AND FRONT CAMERA ARE FINE AS SEEN IN THE SCOUT VIEW AS WELL ON THE SCREEN, THE REAR ONE IS THE ONLY THAT REQUIRES A SENSOR TO GO OFF TO TRIGGER THE DARK MODE. THE CAMERA WORKS FINE IN BRIGHT AREAS. FROM A GARAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, SURROUNDED BY CLOSE OBJECTS, WHICH INVARIABLY TRIGGER A PROXIMITY SENSOR, THE BACK UP CAMERA WORKS FINE. FROM A DRIVEWAY, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE THE CAR IS SWITCHED ON WITHOUT ANY OBJECT TO TRIGGER A PROXIMITY SENSOR, THE BACK UP REAR CAMERA WILL NOT WORK UNTIL A PROXIMITY SENSOR IS TRIGGERED. SEEMS TO BE A RANDOM OCCURRENCE, AS SOME OWNERS OF SIMILAR TRIM LEVELS HAVE BEEN HAVING THE SAME ISSUE, WHILE OTHERS HAVE NO ISSUES, AND CAMERA WORKS AS IT SHOULD. THE DEALER REPORTS THAT THE CAMERA SYSTEM IS WORKING WITHIN SPEC. GIVEN THAT THE REAR WINDOWS ARE ALL TINTED, THIS POSES AN UNACCEPTABLE, AND EASILY AVOIDABLE HAZARD FOR BACKING UP ONTO A STREET WITH PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC IN THE DARK. ATTACHED FILES: IMG_7298 BEFORE SOMEONE APPROACHES. SCREEN IS TOO DARK. IMG_7299 AS SOMEONE APPROACHES - YOU CAN SEE THE SENSOR STARTS GOING OFF, BUT SCREEN IS STILL DARK. IMG_7300 THE SENSOR CONTINUES TO GO OFF, BUT NOW THE CAMERA IS BETTER ILLUMINATED. IMG_7302 AND IMG_7303 AFTER PEDESTRIAN HAS MOVED AWAY, THE CAMERA STAYS BETTER ILLUMINATED, AND ON PAR WITH OTHER BACK UP CAMERA SYSTEMS.