Dr. E in TN

Yes, please let us know how things turn out. Also, do we have any way of knowing when Acura will officially sanction the addition of a backup camera with complete easy instructions for the techs so that we don't have to suffer thru what you guys have had to? My service department manager is supposed to let me know when he hears the o.k. from Acura regarding being able to adapt the 06 backup camera accessory into the 05 RL. I will let everyone know when and if he does because I will be his first customer.

stingerbtry

Here is an email from my acura dealership:

"Contrary to my last email and phone call to National yesterday....NO the
'06 RL back up camera will NOT work on the '05 RL.
I got an email tonight stating although everything will connect and turn on, the camera will NOT work since the 05 NAVI lacks the correct internal electronics to operate the camera. Also, swapping an 06 controller into an
05 WILL NOT work either and that will also kill the audio system, so please don't try.

Sorry for all the confusion."

vp911

That is too bad.

I will await to see what happens with qatars and x4evers car

Dr. E in TN

That's too bad. Please keep us upto date on any other details/changes.

Qatar

Bad news guys.
The rear view camera will NOT work on the 05 RL and that is official from Honda/Acura. Thats really F.cked up.
The district manager was misinformed and that information was relayed to the delaers. even Acura tech help was not aware of that, so WTF!!!
Acura screwed up by doing this.
At least you guys with 05 don't have to waste your money and try it.
Bad luck for everyone.

Qatar

X4ever Your dealer will have to send your car to a body shop and have the whole truck repainted. Mine is going in soon after tha parts are ordered.

acurafox

Can the Acura camera be used with an aftermarket plug & play video interface unit (AVElectronics, TVandNavtogo, etc)? Is the camera available separately from the rest of the camera install kit? It occurs to me that there might be a compromise solution here that would preserve some of Qatar's hard work for those that still want a rear camera (and those that have already had the camera installed).

Qatar

* I meant trunk repainted

acurafox

For those still wanting a rear camera, it might be a good time to jump on this GB:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...3&page=1&pp=25

Looks like the plug & play version will be around $225-$250

acurafox

I found a previous posting (from AndrewGG) that quoted a price of $320 for the Acura camera, but I don't know if that includes the mounting bracket or if it is just the camera itself.

vp911

I have heard great things about his product from the guys in the 3GTL forum.

And, Qatar - sorry to hear about this. I hope you get a refund on the camera and the dealer pays for the body work.

acurafox

Based on the instructions I have seen, the camera price is probably for just the camera. The brackets and other misc hardware are in the attachment package, which is additional. So assuming that the camera will work the the Nav GB i/f, the price for parts alone looks to be at least $725 ($225+$495), not counting any additional stuff to connect up the whole shebang. Not bad considering that the official Acura version was looking like $1000 with labor, and you get the ability to add an entertainment system to boot (n/a with the OEM approach).

andrewgg2

$320 - it is only for the camera.

Qatar

Excluding 05 RL isn't a smart move at all, and it's even worse Acura didn't decide so until after they've confirmed its fittment on 05.

Dr. E in TN

I am so sorry for all of your trouble. I had a similar experience when I had my DVD player installed aftermarket and lost the use of my RL for approx. 10 days before things were "fixed" to my satisfaction. I hope someday Acura comes up with a viable solution to the camera problem. I truly sympathize with you.

andrewgg2

Qatar & X4ever why not to try this plug & play adapter. It is $225 and they guarante to work with 05 RL. It looks like you just plug it on the back to the nav unit
Here is more info:
"We are the original designers of these unit.
The units have 2 video inputs 1 for DVD and 1 for backup camera, auto switches to backups camera when the car is put in reverse.
Powder Coated Black Case, No engine noise with a metal case
No Moving Parts All Solid State. (No relays, video can't jump air Gap.)
Unit does RGsB, RGBS, inverted Sync and Positive sync
Not a "do it your self kit", factory made unit.
1 Year NO QUESTIONS ASKED WARRANTY.
Picture Quality and Price is the best available on the market. We will beat any price on any RGB unit
Full instructions provided." www.TvandNav2go.com

Since you have the camera installed, and this will save your car from being repainted.

vp911

andrewgg2 - that will only work IF the acura camera has the same type of connection as the adapter you are talking about.

andrewgg2

I believe the camera has 6 pin connector. I will email them to find out if it will work with his adapter.

ck37

I bet in the next few months once word is out that this is an option on the RL, Acura will have to come up with a fix or an adapter to utilize the Camera on the 05's. This is just poor business practice otherwise. Whats next, we can't use the ipod connection either?

hondamore

I agree with ck37, they will come up with a conversion kit for the backup camera to work in the 05 RL. I can't believe that Acura wants all of it's 05 RL owners running to buy aftermarket cameras. Patience is still the key word here.

stingerbtry

That's another thing I've been thinking lately and since the camera for the 06 will kill the radio in the 05, there may be something different for it as well that would cause it not to work. I will be truly disappointed if this happens especially since the dealer kinda dropped the idea of the ipod adapter to me when I was considering the car like it would be an option and it's defintely something that I am really interested in as I'm sure a lot of people are.

x4ever

i'm very disappointed about this situation. However, Acura said that they will give full refund after they take off the camera without any cost. Tech sait camera never gonna work at all on '05.

Nocturnal

This is one of those rare cases where it's good that the average tech doesn't know what he's talking about

It could be that he's right but that would be dumb luck. I doubt that he has the technical insight to make a real assessment.

acurafox

X4ever, You may want to wait and see if the aftermarket video solution will work with your camera before you have it removed. If the only impediment is the connector between the i/f unit and the camera, that will probably be an easy fix to make. You already have the hardest part finished, ie, integrating the camera into the rear of your car in an asthetically pleasing manner.

acurafox

I would guess that two of the leads are power (+12 and ground), with the remaining four used for the video signal, assuming that all 6 pins are used. TYhat means an adapter would have to be a wye at the other end: one for power, the other for the video i/f unit.

andrewgg2

I did hear back. You need a RCA hook up camera in order for the adapter to work. Does anyone know if RL's camera is capable to handle RCA converter? Maybe there is extra converter that can convert RCA connection.

stingerbtry

I really dig this idea with the license plate frame mount: http://www.mobilevideo4less.com/Merc...egory_Code=MCC . This would be nice and easy to install without modding anything. I wonder if it would work with the nav2vid attachment?

stingerbtry

Here's another one at half that price: http://www.autoanything.com/products..._backup_camera

ck37

In order for us and other customers to change this, we need to voice our opinions to Acura. Trust me they do listen and take our VALID complaints seriously.

vp911

I had the plate cam on my TSX - it was crap. Just my

stingerbtry

Ah, that sucks. Oh well I'm sure we'll find something good that works if Acura doesn't get the OEM cam retrofitted to our 05's.

Dr. E in TN

I spoke to my Acura parts manager today while getting another service done and he told me that their dealership had received several requests for the backup camera and was expecting Acura to release a 05 solution sometime in the near future. None is available now however unfortunately.

Acura_RL

Its great to hear that. Hopefully it will be sooner than expected.

vicneo

slightly off topic but my 06 is to be delivered tomorrow
will be driven in by salesman from 170 miles away

i am geeting rear cam
called today
installation went flawlessly apparantly

vp911

Glad to hear yours works well!

Qatar

I picked up my car yesterday to take it personally to the bodyshop, and noticed somethig weird.
My navi system is setup on female voice, apprently now there are two different female voices, one for navi commands and the other for turns and scrolling through the menu, i don't know if its a new feature in the 06 updated DVD disc, assuming its whats in my DVD unit, but i'll be honest with my uncomfort with the two different voices, one sounds so normal and human, and the other has this robotic ring.
i'll try to change the DVD disc and see if there is anyt change.
X4ever, can you check yours?

vicneo

i will find that out tomorrow am. all i know so far is that it is installed without a hitch

Dr. E in TN

Qatar- Are you having to pay for body repairs yourself that Acura caused?

vp911

I sure hope he is not.

Qatar

no, Acura is paying for everything, but i prefer driving the car my self to the body shop, because i've seen how the dealer poeple drive customer cars, and i didn't like it.