Front & Rear Dash Cam Installation (2004 B6 A4 Avant)
Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you cause damage to your vehicle following these steps. This is simply to detail my experience while installing in my vehicle, in hopes of helping others. Be very careful when removing the trim discussed in this thread, as the side curtain air bag runs the entire length of the vehicle and can potentially be easily damaged.
I recently purchased a Thinkware F770 2-channel Full HD Dash Cam (http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F770 ). This model at the time of purchase was Thinkware's top of the line model which includes the main front camera unit and a rear camera both producing Full HD video.
The intent of this post is not to promote the actual dash cam, but to provide others my experience installing the cameras in my 2004 A4 Avant.
The Dash Cam kit includes:
- Main Front Dash Cam Unit with 3M double sided mounting plate
- Rear Camera Unit with 3M double sided tape and 21ft USB cable
- 10ft Hardwire Cable (Ground, +12V, accessory power)
- 32GB MicroSD memory card with SD card adapter
- USB MicroSD Card Reader
- 12V socket/power cable (not required with hardwire kit)
- 3M double sided wire mount clips (not used in my installation)
Tools Required for this DIY:
- Large flat head screwdriver (or long flat pry bar)
- Regular flat head screwdriver
- Small (mini) flat head screwdriver
- Torx drivers (T15, T25, T40)
- Small flat pry bar
The kit I purchased includes a hardwire cable and is highly recommended as it allows for extra functionality by the camera. From the main camera unit, the 3-conductor power cable needs to connect to a ground source, +12V battery power and a switched accessory power circuit. The best place to connect this was the fuse panel on the driver’s side dash panel.
As this is a dual camera system, a USB cable also needs to be run from the front camera unit that provides both power to, and data transfer from the rear camera unit.
The path I used to run the cables was from the rear view mirror area across the upper windshield to the driver’s side A-Pillar and down to the fuse panel. From here, the rear camera cable was bundled in behind the fuse box with the extra length (determined after the full run is complete), then back tracked up the A-Pillar again and along the driver’s side headliner edge behind the upper trim panels. At the rear hatch the cable was run behind the top trim piece to the center of the roofline, where it connects to the rear camera at the top of the window. You can see the cables in this photo tied with green tie wraps to an existing OEM wiring harness, away from the airbags.
First I removed the middle sun visor flap above the rear view mirror as this will be where the bundled power and rear camera USB cables enter the headliner at the windshield. This flap is held in by a single T15 Torx screw.
In order to remove the A-pillar panel you need to first remove the sun visor and the grab handle.
Swing the sun visor to the side, using a very small flat blade screwdriver, pop the small circle screw cover off then remove the T25 Torx screw. After the screw is fully removed, pull gently down on the visor and swing towards the rear of the vehicle as it is held in place by a 90 degree bend. Don’t pull out too hard as there is a small wiring harness for the sun visor. Wiggle the harness connection loose or use a small flat blade screwdriver to separate the harness.
Remove the grab handle by pulling the spring loaded handle downwards, then using a regular flat blade screwdriver to pry down, the two small square caps which cover the screws. This handle is a great design, with the square caps serving a dual purpose, also holding the grab handle in the down position for ease of installation/removal. Now with easy access to the screws you can remove them using a T25 Torx driver.
Use a small flat blade screwdriver to carefully pop off the plastic "Airbag" label. This is simply a plastic cap to cover a screw that holds the A-pillar trim panel in place. It is attached by a tether so it should just hang there after you pop it off. In behind you will see a T25 Torx screw which you need to remove.
The A-pillar trim can now be pulled off carefully. The horizontal section above the door should pull away easily. On the diagonal section along the windshield, there are 3 clips that need to be popped out one at a time, starting at the top. After these 3 clips are popped out, the trim needs to be wiggled carefully up and down to loosen the last connection at the dash which is a pressure fit. It looks almost like the clips that hold the door cards to the door. The trim panel is fairly snug between the dash and the A-pillar so be patient and after a bit of back and forth wiggling, you will feel it loosen up to the point you can completely remove it from the car.
Originally I followed this YouTube video to get an idea of what was needed to remove the A-pillar trim panel: https://youtu.be/8JAdQCxBI6w
At this point I needed to loosen some panels beginning with the rear hatch upper trim panel. This is required to remove the D-pillar trim panel, and in turn, the panel above the rear passenger driver’s side door between the B and C-pillar’s. The rear hatch upper trim panel is held in place by four pressure clips, two of which can be seen in this photo.
I used a long flat pry bar to reach in and pop the two leftmost clips. Removing the full panel was not required for my purposes as the cable just needs to be fed through and accessible at the center point where it will come out to connect to the rear camera.
Next, to loosen the D-pillar trim panel, look for the rear most partition grill hanger opening pictured here. Push the flap in and you will see a T40 Torx screw, which needs to be removed to loosen the panel.
After the screw is removed, pull the D-pillar trim panel down gently inwards towards the center of the hatch area to pop out the clips holding the D-pillar trim in place. I used a long flat pry bar to pop out the upper most clips. The panel also snaps into the frame around the side rear hatch window. I found that I did not need to remove the panel completely, as I only needed to feed the USB cable through.
This photo shows one of the clips. This is the only clip that I needed to pop out, the other clips lower down I didn’t remove. In order to remove the upper panel completely, I believe you need to remove the lower side hatch panel first.
I was now able to remove the trim panel above the rear door between B & C-pillars. With the rear most panel loosened, I pulled it down and remove the T25 Torx screw (size to be confirmed) that is holding the center trim piece in place. Similar to the front grab handle, I removed the two T25 Torx mounting screws by popping down the square caps. As was done for the D-pillar, remove the T40 Torx screw from behind the partition grill hanger. With all four screws removed, there is one more clip holding the panel in place towards the front. This can be a little tricky to get off, but after a bit of panel flexing and fiddling, it removed without issue. The black part is the clip, and the left most silver metal piece is a hook that the panel needs to be dislodged from.
With all of the panels removed or loosened, I was able to continue to run the cable to the rear of the car. At the grab handle mounting points I ran the cable in behind metal brackets, and at other points I used small green tie wraps to hold the cable up and out of the way of any fasteners and the air bags. You can see the green tie wraps I used in some of the photos. (These photos were taken before I pulled the excess rear USB cable down the A-pillar to bundle in behind the fuse box, then back tracked up and to the rear.)
Lastly some photos of the Front and Rear Dash Cam’s from outside and inside the vehicle.
When I mounted the rear camera with the 3M tape, it was slightly crooked. When the weather warms up, I will remove it and reapply with some new 3M tape.
One thing I didn’t look into was if it is possible to run the USB cable through the rear hatch lid hinge, and then across the rear window behind the plastic trim. This would have been the cleanest installation to avoid the cable being as visible as it is currently. I will look into this further later this year when it gets a little warmer out.
** [Pending Front Camera Screenshot will be added here] **
** [Pending Rear Camera Screenshot will be added here] **
Feel free to provide any comments, feedback, or criticism's as you see fit.
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