Does anyone else's reverse camera stink?

[schleppy]

My 2015 e-Golf is showing pretty bad horizontal "scan lines" when I first go into reverse. I took a video of it:
https://goo.gl/photos/65q2YMWkf1sECGT87

...the worst is between :06 and :10 in the video.

It's odd because it looks the worst when you first go into reverse, then it clears up. If I drive a little bit and go into reverse again, the lines come back, and then fade away. I am taking it to the dealer in the next few days to have them look at it. Some people on VWVortex have said their cameras were replaced under warranty and were much better afterwards.

For being a $30+k car, the camera quality is pretty terrible. I have seen entry level Hondas with a back up camera that look vastly superior.

 

[MervinsOnlineID]

Mine doesn't work sometimes "Parkpilot not available".. I would say it happened 4-5pm times in the past 2 months. Not sure what's triggering it.

 

[JoulesThief]

My 2015 SEL e-Golf cost me $15,200 after rebates and tax credits here in CA. Yes, it's a $15,200 car. It might have a few bells and whistles, but it's not a $36k car. My Touareg TDI Sport in 2013 was a 40k car. It may still be a $40k car once VW settles with me. If you think your SE e-Golf is a 30k car, your perception of value is off, that is why it has to be so heavily subsidized here in CA to get them to sell.

I think you should have bought the Honda.

 

[forbin404]

My 2016 SE camera is good.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Ours is fine, except at night. It is not "sensitive" enough to show much, if the only illumination is the backup lights.

I like the fact that it stays pretty clean - our Leaf has to have the lens cleaned a lot.

 

[johnnylingo]

Mine doesn't work sometimes "Parkpilot not available".. I would say it happened 4-5pm times in the past 2 months. Not sure what's triggering it.

That's a known issue with the 2016 models, maybe isolated just to the SEs. The only true fix it seems is to get them to replace the module. I haven't bothered since I'm on a two-year lease. If I really need to use the camera, I stop and restart the car.

2016 SE back-up camera issues

 

[miimura]

I agree that the low light performance is particularly poor. The camera and screen on my RAV4 EV produce a much better nighttime image.

Our e-Golf was rear-ended and the entire hatch sheetmetal was replaced and all the old parts moved over. When we got it back, the camera image broke up in a similar manner as the OP, but has since become stable. I assumed it was a loose connection and was going to take it back to the body shop, but it is fine how.

If you can consistently demonstrate the image problem, I would have a dealer try to fix it.

 

[schleppy]

If you think your SE e-Golf is a 30k car, your perception of value is off

How is my perception off? My 2015 SEL e-Golf was literally $35k when new. Do I think personally that it is worth that, or even near that? No way. But that is what VW asks for it, and the components should be as least as good as competition in (arguably) lower segments, like Honda and Toyota.

 

[schleppy]

Ours is fine, except at night. It is not "sensitive" enough to show much, if the only illumination is the backup lights.

I would put some brighter LED bulbs in your tail lights. I couldn't see anything on-screen at night, and then I installed these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014OYGQI2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...and it has helped quite a bit. The OEM reverse bulbs are surprisingly dim.