My front camera of the panoramic view monitor had quite a few scratches over it's life so far. Replacement camera is only around $300, I got it around $250 from Bell Lexus with their sale. Part 86790-06280. Only need to take off the top plastic trim piece and then you can reach the camera, unplug the connector and unscrew the 2 screws holding it in place. I also took off the negative terminal of the battery beforehand. Everything looks crisp again, no calibration needed, which I was afraid of. Everything looks all good as before.

I think I will try to put on some XPEL film this time...anyone else have any other suggestions to protect the lens?

Pictures are the old camera.

 

Nice!

When I had my car's full front Xpel installed, I asked for the installer to put a disc on the front camera just in case. They did and it seems to have been a good idea as I already have a knick in the Xpel where something directly hit it, lots of pickups where I live.

 

What’s that camera used for?

 

What’s that camera used for?

 

Never mind I see it’s part of the panoramic system

 

Thanks! Took it off again and put the XPEL on, used an oversized piece and just stretched it over the camera dome and ended on the sides. The camera goes through a hole so all the excess XPEL doesn't show up. Fit nicely will no bubbles, camera is still clear, there might be a teeny bit of detail loss as I can't read license plates without really getting close but I'm just nitpicking now...the sacrifice of detail for protection of chips is worth it for me

 

This should be a DIY sticky thread.

 

Why did you replace it? was your view obstructed when parking? i'm fairly certain that lens is made of plastic and can be polished easily. even if it's glass it can be polished.

i doubt that camera is integral to any safety/driving functions other than a view when parking, if so, even if left alone i wouldn't see it as a big deal, especially @ $300.

i have some other thoughts on this, but we can start there. just curious why replaced. just aesthetics when viewed up close?

 

The camera had small pits that caught my finger nail, I tried using polish but didn't do much, I'm sure I wasn't doing it hard enough for fear of marring it. The view on the screen was also quite ugly as every time light hit it, it distorted the image, causing flares, basically as if there was dirt on it all the time. At nighttime it was the worst~~ the 3 other cameras are crisp and front was crappy...

I should've taken some pics before and after...Initially I didn't want to change it since the last time I looked the price was around $600 or $700 or some ridiculous amount but the prices have gone down significantly I didn't mind to just replace it.

I'm going to take the old one to a camera shop to see if they can polish it out using their skills so then I can have a backup if I ever need to change it again.

 

not much skill is needed. you just sand it starting coarse to smooth then polish it. i could probably knock that out in 90 seconds or less. try it yourself. something smaller than a fingernail would be incredibly fast to do.

get some 600 grit, 1000 grit, and 2000 grit and polish by hand. you could even one step it since it's so small, a finger tip would make quick work out of any sanding necessary.

could even try a microfiber and toothpaste and your finger. might take some elbow grease.

 

I shall try this method ! Thanks.

 

An eyeglass shop that makes prescription lenses will have a buffer for rolling and polishing the milled finish on the edge of plastic lenses. They will be able to polish the camera plastic without melting or scratching it.

But, if the clear plastic on the front of the camera is an actual optical lens, polishing will change the curvature and the optical properties.