How To: Backup camera for S model with OE parts

[jelloslug]

As many of you might know the backup camera for the S trim level is only avalible with the high speed charger option. Since the entire radio is completely different in the S trim than in the SV and SL I decided to see how to install it in my S model. It turns out that not only is it almost completely plug and play that parts are significantly less than they used to be. Here are the parts that are needed to upgrade you S trim level leaf:

Body to hatch harness: 24051-3NF0B





Hatch harness: 24052-3NF0C






Camera: 28442-3NH0A






Camera housing (Cayenne Red): 90606-3NF3B (change the last number to change the color, see below)





Camera mounting screws (2x): 01454-N5021

I purchased the parts from Parts.com for a total of about $210

Edit:

Camera housing color part numbers (verify with your dealer before ordering):

90606-3NF1B.....Blue Ocean
90606-3NF2B.....Super Black
90606-3NF3B.....Cayenne Red
90606-3NF4B.....Brilliant Silver
90606-3NF5B.....Pearl White
90606-3NF6B.....Glacier While
90606-3NF7B.....Metallic Slate

[jelloslug]

Here are the instructions:

Remove the cargo carpet panel, hatch weather stripping, and the middle cargo trim:






Next pull the rear drivers door weather stripping away from the rear edge and then pull the lower drivers side cargo trim away (you don't have to remove it)





Next remove the "C" pillar trim. There is a hook in the middle of the top edge of the trim panel that holds the trim panel to the headliner. Be careful to not damage the headliner.






Now disconnect the two white connectors and remove the black bolt that holds the ground lug.





Now remove the old body to hatch harness through the hatch jam area and install the new harness in it's place.






Connect the two white connectors, and attach the ground lug with the black bolt. Notice that the new harness has more wires on the large white connector and an extra terminal on the grounding lug.






Reinstall all the interior panels in the reverse order.

[jelloslug]

Now you need to remove the trim from the hatch. Start with the upper middle trim piece.






Next remove the side trim pieces.








Now remove the two lower trim clips from the bottom edge of the lower trim panel.






Pull the lower panel away being careful to not break the area around the pull handle cup. Here is the back of the lower panel so you can see the locations of the fasteners.







Disconnect the two large white connectors, pull the old body to hatch harness out of the hatch, and then pull the new harness back through the hatch.






Remove the hatch harness starting at the passenger side defroster junction. The best way to make sure everything is back where it needs to go is to pull two or three connectors or clips from the old harness and then replace them with the new harness.






Disconnect the drivers side defroster connection before you attempt to remove the clips that run up the drivers side of the hatch. These clip can be difficult to remove and you don't want to damage the defroster connection.





Now you can remove the two nuts that hold the hatch handle.






Pop the wiring harness grommet through the body.






And remove the the old handle from the car.

[jelloslug]

Before you start the next part put a towel over the latch so you won't accidental latch the hatch.






Next is to mount the camera in the new trim plate.






And screw it in. I actually forgot to order the screws so I had to find some that would fit.






Now for the hard part. On the cars without the camera there is no hole for the camera wiring to go through the hatch. There are two choices, either drill the hole or combine the wiring for the latch release and the camera into one grommet. I chose to combine the wiring.

Start off by removing the white connector housing and then pull the large grommet off the harness.












Spray a little WD-40 inside the large grommet and them pull it over the gray connector.








Carefully cut the smaller grommet off the harness.







Tape up the pins of the white connector wiring and then pull it through the back of the large grommet.









Untape the pins and reinsert them in the white housing.







Pop the new grommet through the hole in the hatch and bolt the new housing to the hatch with the two nuts.








Connect the new new camera wiring to the new hatch harness and pop the harness retainer into the holes on the hatch.





Connect the two large white connectors from the body to hatch harness to the sockets on the hatch harness and then reinstall the hatch trim in reverse order.

Now when you put your car in reverse you should see this:

[leafmealone]

That looks great!

[planet4ever]

So ... how happy are you with the results? I just got an S with the charge package, and I am very disappointed in the backup camera. It is nowhere close to as good as what was in the 2011-2012 SL.

• Of course the screen size is much smaller, but I knew that ahead of time.
• The display is extremely dark. The only control I could find that might affect that was the radio display brightness and contrast. Turning those all the way up didn't seem to help.
• There are no predictive guide lines - the lines that curved left and right as you turned the steering wheel. This was the one huge feature that made me an enthusiast for the 2011-12 backup system.

Bottom line: I loved the one in my 2011 SL, but I may never bother even trying to use the one in the 2013 S.

Ray

[DanCar]

Wow, thanks for those detailed instructions! Wondering what it would take to install that on an SL model.

[BlackLeaf13]

Or SV model.

[jelloslug]

So ... how happy are you with the results? I just got an S with the charge package, and I am very disappointed in the backup camera. It is nowhere close to as good as what was in the 2011-2012 SL.

• Of course the screen size is much smaller, but I knew that ahead of time.
• The display is extremely dark. The only control I could find that might affect that was the radio display brightness and contrast. Turning those all the way up didn't seem to help.
• There are no predictive guide lines - the lines that curved left and right as you turned the steering wheel. This was the one huge feature that made me an enthusiast for the 2011-12 backup system.

Bottom line: I loved the one in my 2011 SL, but I may never bother even trying to use the one in the 2013 S.

Ray

I seems to be fine for what I wanted. Sure, I would like to have the around view setup and a larger screen but this is better than the nothing I had.

[jelloslug]

Wow, thanks for those detailed instructions! Wondering what it would take to install that on an SL model.

Or SV model.

The SL and SV have different harnesses leading up to the body to hatch harness so I don't think it would be plug and play like it is in the S (at least in the 2013 models). The '11 and '12 models may be different.