So I have worked out those round plastic fastners on the interior roof can be popped out if you gently pry them with a flat head screw driver. As for the tailgate there seems to be a center clip holding it in place and still not sure of how to pop it out without breaking it.

 

Pulling your new car to bits? Shocking. What took you so long ;-)

I installed a rear camera too. I ran the USB cable round the back door and through the right side trunking to hide it. If you wriggle it loose you will be able to feed the cable out through the top of the door and under the roof liner. I think I put a bit of stiff wire through then taped the small end to it. Warm soapy water will help lubricate it. As for the trim, you can get that centre clip out as Ive done it on the front A pillars for the front camera install. You just get a small pick tool or screwdriver and squeeze the little legs in each side at a time but for the rear, I didn’t bother, I just left it hanging;

My camera came with a 10ft lead so I also had to run a power supply to the back of the car. I thought there must be a 12V ignition feed but unless the US spec is different to the UK, don’t waste your time looking - there isn’t. I ran a wire form front to back under the sill capping;

I terminated it at a lighter socket inside the cavity where the jack is so I didn’t need to butcher the camera lead. You then need to consider the location of the camera as the first sign of rain and that back window gets filthy. It needs to be high enough so it falls inside the sweep of the wiper.

and this shows the location of the mount of an 0805 camera;

Keep in mind, when the back door is open, the bottom is at the top. Also remember that the trim at the top of the door is razor sharp so take care with it.

 

Thanks Anchorman those pictures were very helpful. Yes it is kinda fun when you pluck up the courage to start pulling a brand new CX3 to bits. Took me about 4 weeks to convince myself if I have a real think about how to pull things apart it won't break. It is almost like discovering a new car underneath and understanding why the engineers have put things in certain places.

That is interesting that you have worked out the camera is better towards the bottom I might have to try different positions than right at the top. My cam is powered by the front dash cam and the manufacturer seems to have given just enough cable so it will be tight fit. Because of those curtain airbags I had to route my wires at the bottom like in your pictures which uses slightly more cable.

 

I wanted to install a rear as well, but when I did the same to my 2011 Mazda 3, the trim pieces started to rattle over time despite the clips and everything still bring very snug. I vowed to never remove a Mazda trim piece again. I sound deadened the doors and the doors over time also started to rattle! I'll only install a front facing dash cam and maybe a rear one if I can find a way to ceiling mount it and just tuck the wires in the headliner

 

I’d like to say your concerns are unfounded but in particular, that bit of trim at the top of the back door did start to rattle after I disturbed it (well never noticed it before, put it that way!). Now maybe I could have sorted that out by opening the clips but what I did was to pop the trim off and pack in some very soft foam which placed slight outward pressure and the noise stopped.

 

While I was mucking about in the boot (trunk!) today, I took a photo of my extension socket in the jack enclosure. It is stuck to the side panel with mega strong double sided sticky and it solves another little CX-3 weakness by giving me a spare accessory socket and some USBs in the back;

 

I'm glad all US cars got rear cams. CX-3 really needs them.

 

Err, I think you might be talking about something else

 

They take a beating from weather changes and always being on when driving. Most dash cam's internal batteries cant hold much of a charge after a while ( some a few months but usually a year+ kills it off) which is important for saving the data when the power cuts off and the unit wants a few seconds to finalize and save the file. It would most likely be a high failure part which would have to be warrantied since its not a "wear and tear" item per say. Then again a manufacturer might be able to invest significantly into creating a functional long lasting cam but the other issue which stops everyone from installing it from the factory is privacy concerns. In the US recording anyone without their knowledge of you doing so or without their consent is illegal which would be a pretty big issue for manufactures unfortunately. :\

 

In the US recording anyone without their knowledge of you doing so or without their consent is illegal which would be a pretty big issue for manufactures unfortunately. :\

In the US we can conduct silent video recordings legally (video cameras are everywhere!). Its when you introduce sound to the recording that it is illegal - unless you are part of the conversation, have provided notification of the recording or received consent.

 

Thats what I used to think until I caught a mechanic joy riding my old car at a dealership. Its one thing that they take it out for a test drive, but another when they are doing burnouts in a shopping center parking lot down the road. Presented the video to the dealer and they went through so much bs to try to get me to delete it and when I posted it online, threats of a lawsuit came flying in which I had to take down since no lawyer around here wanted to take a privacy case of that nature. Even though the camera was in plain view, and was hardwired into the car, they tried to claim that I illegally recorded an employee(which they fired anyway) and were going to press charges unless it was removed. Not that anything like this is going to happen to anyone else but its a touchy subject with people and businesses once individuals start questioning their privacy. Surveillance on private property is allowed by the owner of that property but since dash cameras can be pointed anywhere (as the car moves) and travel, thats where the gray area begins. Imagine warming up your car in your driveway on a cold winter morning and the camera just happens to be aiming at your neighbors bedroom window by chance and they begin to notice it. Easily turns into an issue unfortunatly.

 

Yes I forgot Americans love suing each other for the smallest ridiculous sort of things. Australian's are picking up that pastime too but we are still allowed to record as long as we do not take the law into our own hands and hand any footage of major criminal acts to police.

Although I think it is strange that police are allowed to have dash cams in U.S but it can open a legal minefield for the everyday American. I can't see how you could record audio unless you have a mic on the outside of your car and I am sure anyone you have inside your car should be informed by you that you have a dash cam with mic or even family members could sue the owner of the CX3

My intention for the Dash Cam is to simply record any damage to my car and record of car license plates which is public information already once you drive your car on public roads. My Dash cam even announces recording is starting so unless I have any passengers who are deaf there is no excuse for not knowing events are being recorded.

Personally I would try to avoid the dealership mechanics wherever possible I don't know what the rules in the United States are but in Australia your warranty is still covered as long as you service the car at registered motor mechanic and they follow the directions in the service manual. Any price the dealership quotes you is generally marked up 100% to 200% in my opinion and as you said you pay this money for most times an apprentice mechanic to quick the guts out of your car joy ridding.

 

I'm having a bit of struggle removing the trim where the trunk cover string/hook hangs. It seems that the hook is separate from the trim. Do you remove the hook first or do you take of the trim and then the hook comes off together with it? I tried to pry the hook off using plastic tools, but it seems it might break if I give it any more force. Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

I attached a photo of the plastic trim below.

 

I'm having a bit of struggle removing the trim where the trunk cover string/hook hangs. It seems that the hook is separate from the trim. Do you remove the hook first or do you take of the trim and then the hook comes off together with it? I tried to pry the hook off using plastic tools, but it seems it might break if I give it any more force. Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

I attached a photo of the plastic trim below.

BTW, the photo is only to show the trimming. Just wanted to clarify since the photo shows a fully intact interior.
I did remove the center trim first, which then revealed the plastic fastener that holds the plastic trim in question.

 

Finally figured it out. The hook acts as a fastener and must be removed first.