I had the camera installed at the dealer on Thursday and I have to say that it's much better than I thought it would be. They did a great job on the install - it's very clean and the relocated trunk release button is easy to locate blindly and works fine. The camera resolution is the biggest surprise - IMO it's much better than the factory-installed camera on my wife's 2006 MDX. I got it because I couldn't really see behind me when I back out of my garage due to the high trunk lid and the slope of the driveway. I paid $360 shipped for the camera from an Acura dealer on Ebay, and my local dealer charged me $230 for the install. Definitely recommended if anyone's considering getting one.

 

I had the backup camera installed as part of my purchase. I cannot imagine not having one now. It was a huge gripe with my former TL, not having the backup cam and tined windows.

I did have an MDX for a weekend not long ago and I think the resolution on the new MDX camera is even better, or perhaps lower LUX.

Th camera is reasonably light sensitive as I notice the screen brightens as I back into my garage. Sometimes in daylight, the reflection of sunlight off the rear bumper washes out the screen view (too much waxing!? ) At night, you can see the backup lights creating 'arcs' behind you from the light they cast.

I like that the camera will engage when reversing, even if you have not accepted the NAVI Nanny 'OK'. But sometimes it is a bit slow engaging if the NAVI is still booting up. So I generally backi nto my parking spaces now and never really have that issue. Better for my speedy getaways anyway.

 

Can i install this on my 2005, I have the sensors already?

 

No - the camera won't work with the 2005 RL. It's been tried and it doesn't work. The 2005 lacks a wiring harness or something. It's one of the reasons I traded up to the 2006 from the 2005 RL.

You can add an aftermarket camera using something like a TVandNav2Go unit.

 

it says it in the manual, but I missed it the first, second, maybe 3rd read... but

You can adjust the brightness of the screen for the camera by turning the control dial while the camera is on.

Just thought some others might have missed that too....

 

I also had it installed in my '06 as part of the purchase. After having one in my '04 MDX, I won't buy another car without one.

LL

 

Agreed. I have it in my '06 RL, one of the selling points on the purchase. I think it's extremely helpful.

 

I'm hoping to buy a base 08 RL.. Thanks to you folks, talking about this, if I buy the base RL, I'm going to have it included in the purchase..

 

It would be very interesting to see what they fit on the base RL.

I am assuming they would use the 06 kit, but I would really love it if there were an 07/08 base rear camera kit that makes the install look like the stock 07/08 Tech Package installations, camera offset and trunk release position preserved.

The 06 option places the camera where the trunk release is, and has the technician drill a new hole to the right of the original trunk release opening for a new trunk release button.

 

Im sure you read...if you buy a base model, if you find a NAV DVD unit(prehaps out of a wreck), it will give you Nav in your base model. It is a relatively easy changeout and the steps are documented by "2007AcuraRL" This changeout doesn't give you XM traffic but gives you full feature NAV. If your Nav unit is from an 06 or newer, it is supposed to be compatible with a rear camera. (I don't know that for sure) My Nav unit is from an 05 so I can't do the camera...oh well.

 

Yeah, I don't think I can pull off a $3000 uptick to get the tech package. I'd love to get the AFH, wood trim, camera, and nav but wife would probably hang me. The killer is if I get the camera and nav unit, I bet it will cost almost $1500-$2000..

 

I guess I would look at this carefully. The tech package is $3K more, but you may in fact not have to pay $3K more. Maybe $1.5-2K more is a possibility. Times are certainly different than when I bought, but look at the entire package, and a tech pack may only be that little bit more overall, not the full list $3K. Same goes with the ACC/CMBS. From my experience, end of the month, end of the quarter tactics also seem to loosen the dealer a little, so timing may be worth a lot for a model not selling well, especially if you shop several dealers.

 

When I bought my car, all of the dealers wanted an extra 4k for the standard vehicle over the non-tech.

If you want more info on what two of us have done to add nav, do a site search of "non-tech nav"...you may be surprised by what we have done.

 

Wow, $4k is a huge differential. Navi=$2500, camera=$650, profit=$950. That, just like anything on a car, can be negotiated down.

 

bob,

the local dealers told me that they discounted the non-tech more because they don't sell as well

 

isn't that funny? They, the dealers, were the ones clamoring for the non tech.

 

I see. Makes sense. Most people opt for the navi.

+1 on what Chas2 said.

 

Would anyone know if the camera is installable in the Canadian '06 RLs? Sometimes there are little differences between US and Canadian model and I am wondering if that could be one of them.

 

I just got a new TL for a day, while my RL got serviced and the new TL BU cam is the best that I have seen. There is no reason that they all cant be that good but it seems that they are still changing camera sensitivity and focal length to get it right. I.E. the consumer is the R&D Dept! For this kind of car wouldn't color cameras be normal, even 16 by 9 should be standard.