Software update to make camera much more useful

[Anonymous]

I would love to see a software update which will automatically (or have as a user-selectable option) turn on the front camera every time the car is driving at less than 5 miles an hour. The reason is that there are 2 possible situations where this would be highly useful:
1) When I'm driving forward in a parking space or my garage, so I can see on the camera how close I am to any object or car in front of me.
2) When I'm slowly driving in traffic, so I can ensure I'm not getting too close to the car in front of me.

When I shift into reverse, the rear camera automatically comes on for the same two reasons I listed above, so why not do the same thing for the front camera??

When I pull into my garage now, I first have to stop, switch the display to the front camera, and then slowly drive forward to the desired position. Having this an automatic feature would save me time during every day's drive.

 

[devbolt]

I would love to see a software update which will automatically (or have as a user-selectable option) turn on the front camera every time the car is driving at less than 5 miles an hour. The reason is that there are 2 possible situations where this would be highly useful:
1) When I'm driving forward in a parking space or my garage, so I can see on the camera how close I am to any object or car in front of me.
2) When I'm slowly driving in traffic, so I can ensure I'm not getting too close to the car in front of me.

When I shift into reverse, the rear camera automatically comes on for the same two reasons I listed above, so why not do the same thing for the front camera??

When I pull into my garage now, I first have to stop, switch the display to the front camera, and then slowly drive forward to the desired position. Having this an automatic feature would save me time during every day's drive.

Excellent idea. I'd like the same thing. Either that or a button on the dash.

 

[SparkE]

IMO, if you are driving (not parking) and can't tell whether or not you are too close to the car in front of you by looking out through the windshield, you are doing something wrong.

 

[devbolt]

IMO, if you are driving (not parking) and can't tell whether or not you are too close to the car in front of you by looking out through the windshield, you are doing something wrong.

Yes, you should not rely on the camera system to know if you are too close to the car in front of you at a stop light, but that's not what we're asking for. Having to hit multiple buttons to get the camera to come on is a bit bothersome. Alternately you can throw the car in reverse and then back to drive to toggle the camera on, but that's just as cumbersome as having to hit "Home" and then find the "Camera" icon. What the OP and I want is for the camera to come on automatically when we slow down to less than 5 MPH. Toyota's system does this in the RAV4 and the Highlander, so it's not like other manufacturers don't offer this capability. At least give us the option...

 

[SparkE]

My point was (IMO) the #2 reason isn't valid (frankly, you shouldn't be looking at your screen when moving forward in traffic).

#1 makes a lot of sense.

 

[SparkE]

Chevrolet / Lauren :

Could you please pass along the request to "official persons at Chevy who look at feature requests"?

Please add a user-selectable option to turn on the front camera every time the car is driving at less than 5 miles an hour. This would be highly useful when driving forward while parking space to be able to see on the camera how close the vehicle is to any object or car in front.

When shifting into reverse, the rear camera automatically comes on already, so why not do the same thing for the front camera??

Note that Toyota's system does this in both the RAV4 and the Highlander, so it's not like other manufacturers don't offer this capability.

Thank you!

(Please post here when you have passed along the request. )

 

[SeanNelson]

IMO, if you are driving (not parking) and can't tell whether or not you are too close to the car in front of you by looking out through the windshield, you are doing something wrong.

Yeah, I agree. It's good to remember that insurance companies like to blame you for any damage you cause to the car in front of you when someone runs into you from behind. Trying to squeeze close to the car in front of you in traffic is unwise.

That having been said, I'd love to have a hard button to turn on the camera, or failing that the OP's suggestion of having it come on automatically. Another possibility would be a soft button on the screen that would always appear in the same place at low speed.

 

[drdiesel1]

You can turn the camera on in the infotainment screen while moving under 5 mph. Go to the main menu and select the camera :mrgreen:

 

[devbolt]

You can turn the camera on in the infotainment screen while moving under 5 mph. Go to the main menu and select the camera :mrgreen:

The problem with that is that you have to potentially hit three button presses to get to that point:
Home Screen button -> Icon buttons -> Camera Icon

 

[devbolt]

My point was (IMO) the #2 reason isn't valid (frankly, you shouldn't be looking at your screen when moving forward in traffic).

#1 makes a lot of sense.

Totally agree with you on point #2. I had somehow missed that when reading the original post.

I was taught in driver's education way back in the day how to determine if you are too close to the car in front of you when you come to a stop: look at their rear wheels. You should clearly see the bottom of the tires touching the ground. If you can't see the tires, then you are too close.

 

[SparkE]

You can turn the camera on in the infotainment screen while moving under 5 mph. Go to the main menu and select the camera :mrgreen:

The problem with that is that you have to potentially hit three button presses to get to that point:
Home Screen button -> Icon buttons -> Camera Icon

Yes, when you should be watching where you are driving, instead of your menu screen!

 

[SparkE]

My point was (IMO) the #2 reason isn't valid (frankly, you shouldn't be looking at your screen when moving forward in traffic).

#1 makes a lot of sense.

Totally agree with you on point #2. I had somehow missed that when reading the original post.

I was taught in driver's education way back in the day how to determine if you are too close to the car in front of you when you come to a stop: look at their rear wheels. You should clearly see the bottom of the tires touching the ground. If you can't see the tires, then you are too close.

Yup - me too. Does that mean you are an old fart as well?

The other reason to stay that far back (you can see the bottom of the rear tires) is that if you have to pull around the car in front of you (some stupid shit is texting on their phone, s/he stalled the car, etc.) you have enough room to go around without having to back up your car.

 

[devbolt]

You can turn the camera on in the infotainment screen while moving under 5 mph. Go to the main menu and select the camera :mrgreen:

The problem with that is that you have to potentially hit three button presses to get to that point:
Home Screen button -> Icon buttons -> Camera Icon

Yes, when you should be watching where you are driving, instead of your menu screen!

Totally agree with you here. I'm not advocating looking at the camera screen solely when parking, just that it's useful to have to be able to finetune my parking.

Here's an example:

When I park in my driveway, I have to nose in. I also have to get very close to the garage door so that the cord from the EVSE will reach the car. Using the front camera is necessary for this parking maneuver so that I don't crash into the door. It sucks that I half to pause halfway when pulling into the driveway in order to hit the three "buttons" to turn on the camera display, and then slowly creep forward while looking forward and glancing at the camera display so that I don't smash things. I spend more time stopped and turning on the camera system than I do glancing at the display.

Having the camera system come on automatically in that situation would help a lot.

 

[grestep5621]

I just put the car into reverse and then back in drive. That turns on the camera without the three touch situation.

 

[devbolt]

I just put the car into reverse and then back in drive. That turns on the camera without the three touch situation.

That's just as annoying. Requires at least one button push and two shift selector inputs...

 

[akilkda]

My '13 Leaf SL (w/ the around-view option) has a fixed 'camera' button I can hit anytime while driving under 8mph that I use *all the time* when parking. There are some parking garages around here with very tight spaces - with the birdseye view I can pull into places that I normally would be going back and forth in because I would be 'sure' I would hit something. I can hit the camera button again and get a right front wheel closeup for curb parking instead of the front camera (which is separate from the birds-eye view). The front camera is great when nosing right up to anything - whether it be columns or cars that are obscured in some way or have protrusions (large hitches or low trailers).

Basically, it's surprising how often it's used when it's readily available. I'm hopeful the Bolt isn't too much of a hassle when I get my hands on one. I've got one earmarked in a dealers allotment (just now coming to Indiana) but have never driven it.

 

[SeanNelson]

My '13 Leaf SL (w/ the around-view option) has a fixed 'camera' button I can hit anytime while driving under 8mph that I use *all the time* when parking.

Yeah, I believe every car with cameras should have this. It really is a no-brainer, IMHO.