[HouseApe]

Just got a 2013 Volt. The rear camera seems to have very poor image and is dark. It also has lots of blue grain to it. The road (black top) is full of blue grain.
Is this normal?

I’ll try and get a better photo

 

[DonC]

Congrats on the car.

I got this when backing out of the garage. The sensor is in the front of the car so it thinks everything is dark but the car is coming out into the sunlight. Can't see if this is your situation.

My fix was to turn the image up to the brightest setting and just leave it there. Now it's OK. (The image isn't the greatest in the best of circumstances). FYI the dimmer is on the thumbwheel next to the steering column. It brightens everything but that hasn't bothered me.

 

[HouseApe]

Its the same in or out of the garage. The 2013 equinox I had last week in Boston I thought the camera sucked too but it did not have all this blue grain pixels.

This is a better photo. (the bug screen effect is just from my iphone its not on the screen)
Just want to know if this is normal and just live with it.

 

[David B. Kelting]

You can adjust the brightness and the contrast.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Just got a 2013 Volt. The rear camera seems to have very poor image and is dark. It also has lots of blue grain to it. The road (black top) is full of blue grain.
Is this normal?

I’ll try and get a better photo

If there is one thing that sucks on the Volt, it is the BackUp (BU) camera system, and "sucks" is an engineering term!

First, shifting into reverse and using the BU camera does not override the dimmer. So, if you have the console set for proper nighttime illumination, i.e., dim, then the BU display is too dim to see anything. (That doesn't happen with the Prius system.)

Second, if you turn the rheostat to maximum illumination, the BU display doesn't show any detail. Why is that? In my judgement, it is because the system lacks any dynamic range (that is, dim to bright is 1 to 10, when it should be 1 to 10,000). The camera view can't show things that are dark because there is no dynamic range, so they are lost in the black background. (That doesn't happen with the Prius system.)

Third, the resolution is poor (comparable to VHS at 480 Interlaced lines of resolution vs HDMI with 1080 Progressive lines of resolution). The result of this lack of resolution, in the best of circumstances, is a not-very-detailed view of what is behind you. (That doesn't happen with the Prius system.)

Fourth, the shutter speed (sorry, I can't think of the proper term for video) is 25 when it should be 500 or better. When you back up, the scene becomes blurred because the system can't process the scene fast enough. (That doesn't happen with the Prius system.)

There are probably other parameters that come into play that make the Volt BackUp camera system "suck" in comparison to what the Prius has. What were the Powers-That-Be thinking when they Ok'd this system for the Volt. Were the bean-counters twisting arms? I can't believe that the Prius system could cost so much more to implement than the Volt system.

The question is WHY? Why does the Volt have such a lousy BackUp camera system? None of the failings listed above are evident in the Prius BU system. I know, I owned one and my son own's one.

To respond to your other question, I don't know why you see blue grains in the dark background. I had my BU camera replaced under a "customer satisfaction action" (or so I was told) without a change because of the complaints I wrote of above. In addition, I often see anomalies, for example, a bright vertical line caused be too bright a reflection from something in the field of view of the BU camera. Your seeing blue grainy fill-in in dark areas of the viewing scene doesn't surprise me, with the experience I have had with the system.

The Volt BU camera system "sucks"! However, I do love my Volt!

GM, will you please upgrade the BackUp camera system in the Volt?

 

[Ferg]

I've had my Volt for a week. I also have a 2012 Chrysler Town & Country. The Chrysler has a much superior BU camera and sensors. It isn't grainy. It has great contrast and the sensors are much more accurate. Love the Volt - not the BU system.

Ferg

 

[HouseApe]

You can adjust the brightness and the contrast.

Can you tell me how to do it. I've got a 2013 with Nav and I don't see any settings for contrast or brightness.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Can you tell me how to do it. I've got a 2013 with Nav and I don't see any settings for contrast or brightness.

My question, too. +1

 

[David B. Kelting]

My question, too. +1

Put the Volt in reverse, press the mode (? - The big one on the center stack) button. The adjustment screen should show the two adjustments along the left and right edges of the screen.

 

[HouseApe]

I tried the menu button in reverse and nothing happened. Even held it for about 5 seconds and nothing.
So I don't think this works on a 2013 with nav.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Put the Volt in reverse, press the mode (? - The big one on the center stack) button. The adjustment screen should show the two adjustments along the left and right edges of the screen.

I tried this in my MY2012 - no response when shifter placed in Reverse and pressing the large Tune/Menu button. I tried the Config button also without success. Would you kindly verify your suggested procedure on your car, telling us what MY you have? Thanks.

edit: My car has NAV also.

 

[David B. Kelting]

I tried this in my MY2012 - no response when shifter placed in Reverse and pressing the large Tune/Menu button. I tried the Config button also without success. Would you kindly verify your suggested procedure on your car, telling us what MY you have? Thanks.

edit: My car has NAV also.

I have a MY 2012 with a standard radio and no Nav. I have verified that this procedure works for me.

 

[Darren Donovan]

As someone suggested above, turn up the brightness and see how it is. I have a few cars with rear camera, and the volt camera is neither the best nor the worst. It's all about where the camera is mounted, how it's angled, and more importantly, the lights that provide illumination for the camera. Believe it or not, my 2003 Acura mdx is the best. Next is the aftermarket camera that I installed in the Corvette. Then the volt, last place goes to the 2011 Acura.mdx.

 

[HouseApe]

Its at the max. The issue is really not the brightness it's the artifacts in the image, the blue grain. This probably is interfarance in the video signal. Ill have the dealer look at it although I'm probably far better equipped to test this than the dealer.

 

[rmcmast]

I just got my Volt last week and the quality of the rear view camera is one of the few disappointments. The system in our Ford C-Max has a lot more resolution and has guides the show the current and projected path of the car based on the steering.

-- Rick

 

[Joekc]

Another issue at night is the reflection from the license plate light onto the lens which "stops down" the lens and makes it too dark to see much of anything behind you. This is probably more pronounced on white cars like mine. If you turn off your lights while in reverse (not really recommended) you'll see the image get much brighter. This is very poor design.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

I have a MY 2012 with a standard radio and no Nav. I have verified that this procedure works for me.

Thank you for your feed-back. Apparently the procedure that works in a car without NAV will not work with one that has NAV.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Another issue at night is the reflection from the license plate light onto the lens which "stops down" the lens and makes it too dark to see much of anything behind you. This is probably more pronounced on white cars like mine. If you turn off your lights while in reverse (not really recommended) you'll see the image get much brighter. This is very poor design.

I agree with your assessment that the BU camera system in the Volt is a poor design.

I experimented last year to understand what the problem was with the BU camera system. My car is a Diamond White. To see if the hypothesis regarding the system stopping down due to reflected light off of the bumper was valid, I shrouded the entire rear in matte black cloth. There was a little bit of improvement, but not anywhere enough to bring out detail in the rear view. The system lacks dynamic range - just one of its many poor characteristics.

If I had the smarts, I would replace the BU camera system with that used in the Priius - in a heartbeat!

Come on GM, put in a decent BU camera in the Volt!

 

[jbakerjonathan]

I just got my Volt last week and the quality of the rear view camera is one of the few disappointments. The system in our Ford C-Max has a lot more resolution and has guides the show the current and projected path of the car based on the steering.

-- Rick

My MY2012 has guide lines showing the projected path of the car, as well as the distance away from things in the car's projected path - in one foot increments I believe. I'm not sure why you don't have the same presentation. I agree that the picture quality of the BU system is very lacking.

 

[HouseApe]

Seems the 2013's don't have grid lines there was a thread about this.
The image brightness (although to dark) is on par with a 2013 Equinox I dove for a week. It did not have the poor image with blue grain pixels in it thought.