Peak PKC0RG Small Rearview Mirror with 3.5-Inch Backup Camera

I purchased this product for a 2006 Toyota Highlander.

What's included:

Camera & video cord

Transmitter & power cord

Mirror with LCD

2 bolts, nuts and washers

4 wire splicers (nice!)

2 velcro straps for mounting the mirror

2 power cords for the mirror (1 cigarette lighter and one to be hard wired into the existing wiring, whichever install you choose)

The Good:

1. The install was relatively easy and the product comes with every part you need to install it successfully on the vehicle

2. The camera is good quality

3. The instructions are straight forward and easy to follow

The Bad:

1. The wireless LCD mirror is a good idea, but gets interference as you're driving through neighborhoods, so the screen turns on randomly to a blue screen

2. The mirror is HEAVY, so every bump you hit in the road has the potential to swivel the mirror down

3. The mirror is pretty dark (that's the patented tinting they describe in their product overview), which makes it difficult to see anything at night and even in the day time

4. They don't offer any wiring tips in their instructions, so it's up to you to figure out which wire is the 'reverse light wire'.

Overall, due to the wireless interference and mirror issues, I wouldn't be able to recommend this product and will probably be returning mine for a model that is wired and has a mirror without tinting.

If you do decide to purchase this product for a similar vehicle, here's some pointers:

You may have to drill a 7/16" hole behind your license plate to feed the camera cord through. I tried to find a different location (license plate lights) to feed the wires through, but it would have ruined the weather stripping. After you feed the wire, you can use some epoxy, caulking or even hot glue (in cooler climates) to seal the hole.

To conceal the wires for the camera, remove the panel of the back door before you begin, this way you have more room to work with and can tape the camera wire to the existing wires running through the door.

The power for the reverse light on the Highlander (all Toyota's?) is the dark pink wire. The ground is the thicker white/black strip wire

On the Highlander, the wireless transmitter fits nicely next to the tail light housing inside the vehicle. Almost like it was built for it!

Initial worries I had before buying:-

1) Quality of video turned out acceptable

2) Wireless interference turned out acceptable

3) Installation 1 hour and no drilling, cutting needed on my 2010 corolla

4) Quality of rear-view mirror acceptable

Problems in usage now :-

1) On bright day, video brightness is very less. Definitely can't use sunglasses while backing up. Mostly can't use it in Sunny days

2) When there is alight source right behind you (street light or sun behind you) the display is all hazed-up and not usable.

Overall acceptable. Not returning.

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Install comments: Awkward using lighter power plug for mirror since it hangs down so I direct wired to compass power feed and works fine. Little tricky clipping the light gauge wiring of the transmitter to the automotive wiring of the backup light.

Works well and signal clear. Great for spotting and aligning to trailer hitch. Only one incident of radio interference triggering mirror view. At work a wireless security camera triggers camera interference, but when transmitter powers the signal is stronger and backup camera clears up.

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It's a great system. I rated it a 4 star only because it doesn't have night vision (but I knew that when I bought it), and the power wire could be a little longer had to splice 2 wires together. It took a bit more than a few minutes to install (took about an hour).All in all, I would recomend this to anybody that was looking for an enexpensive backup camera system.

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I installed this unit in a 2004 Subaru Forester for my wife. The mirror unit uses 4 clamps plus 2 Velcro straps to attach to the front of the factory mirror. The factory mirror does not droop with the additional weight of this mirror. There is a power connector at the top center of the mirror. You have a choice of 2 different power cords. One plugs into a standard 12v outlet. The other has leads to hard wire into the backup lighting circuit. I like the design of the mounting bracket that the camera is attached to. It allows you to remove the top 2 bolts from the rear license plate and slip the bracket behind the plate. The camera slips over the front of the plate and clicks into 4 or 5 different positions.

This paragraph is for anyone that might have this car. On the Subaru there is somewhat limited clearance between the camera and the hatch release. I bent the bracket down slightly and there is enough room to get your hand in and release the hatch. I was able to avoid drilling the 1/2 inch hole required to feed the wire inside. You need to remove the plastic trim inside the hatch and the plastic trim piece outside that has the Subaru letters across the back. The 2 lamps for the license plate feed through a molded rubber coupling to the inside. By unplugging the lighting connector and removing the wiring I was able to trim enough rubber away from the coupling to slip in the camera wire. The camera plugs into the wireless transmitter which I attached to the inside of the hatch using the supplied wire ties. The power wire to the wireless transmitter needs to be routed to one of the backup lamps. This took some doing as the wire had to be fished through the rubber accordion coupling from the hatch to the upper body of the car. I used the right tail lamp and partially removed trim along the top and right rear of the hatch area.

Initially I used the 12v outlet for the mirror assembly. As others have noted the wireless receiver can pick up stray wireless signals as you drive around. Not too bad in the burbs but when I was driving around Queens, N.Y. the unit was flashing the parking guidelines on every block. I was amused to see images from wireless security cameras but after a while it gets distracting. You would really need to tap the power button and turn off the unit in congested surroundings. The image is decent and clear most of the time. I don't see a lot of static although I could certainly envision situations where the wireless might have interference. You do have to wait a few seconds after putting the car in reverse for the image to appear.

In the end I decided to hard wire the mirror unit to the backup lighting circuit so it would be fully automated like a factory unit. I was unable to locate the wire up front for the backup lighting so I extended the wire they supplied and ran it back to the same tail light. Definitely a lot more work. It also negates the advantage of the wireless setup as I had to run a wire the length of the car anyhow. If you don't mind turning the power on and off at the mirror or if you are in wide open spaces this is probably a non-issue.

My wife is satisfied with the unit. It's definitely an add-on safety feature and not really a substitute for looking behind you. For us, the mirror tint is OK for both daytime and nighttime driving. I think that given the low cost the manufacturer has done a pretty good job of assembling this package. The camera bracket design, the mirror clamp, the wire splices and wire wraps pretty much take care of it. A longer power wire to the mirror would have been nice and they might consider a fully wired unit as well where power and camera are integrated in a single long cable.

Update: 4-30-12. Water must have gotten in the camera as it stopped working. Now all I get is red-blue-green splotches on the screen. Will try to get a replacement. What a pain. Have lowered rating.

Update: 11-2-12. Since replacing camera it has been working just fine with no further issues. Added back star.

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