Man, I think the garage screwed up my dashcam :(

Ste7en

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Location
Durham
Country
United Kingdom
Dash Cam
Thinkware F770 front & rear (hardwired).
Well, we took our car to get new brake pads and discs fitted earlier today.

When we went back and started the car up the dashcam alerted us with a "Memory card not inserted".
I looked and it had been ejected and was sticking out.

My wife rang the garage (I was driving in standstill traffic) and asked why they had ejected the memory card.
"For privacy" was the reply. Now, I'm fuming. Could they not have just switched the bloody thing off?

Now when I look at the 'live view' it is all blocky and there are thick green bands on it.

Anyone come across this before? I'm hoping to get it resolved soon as it should still be under warranty.

Thanks.
 
Ejecting a memory card while it is in use can ruin it, in the camera or in a card reader, you must always turn off the devise or safely eject it before removal.
Have you tried to format the memory card and reset camera to default.
 
Ejecting a memory card while it is in use can ruin it, in the camera or in a card reader, you must always turn off the devise or safely eject it before removal.
Have you tried to format the memory card and reset camera to default.
Well, it threatens the integrity of the file system and files but those are software/data concerns. The hardware and firmware should tolerate it fine. If the SD card gets corrupted and won't format you generally just get a new one and it'll all be fine. I'm not saying it's not an issue since the SD card can have important stuff and ThinkWare expects you to pay a premium for their card...
 
The memory card seems fine. I have reformatted it and it has recorded our trip back from the garage.

But would the memory card affect the live view? It is the live view that is all screwy.
 
The memory card seems fine. I have reformatted it and it has recorded our trip back from the garage.

But would the memory card affect the live view? It is the live view that is all screwy.
It shouldn't but who knows if they messed something else up. Are you sure it's the same memory card? The retro gaming world recently discovered that Transcend 256GB cards don't put off as much interference as SanDisk 256GB cards in a device where you could hear pops in the analog audio output. The camera and everything here is digital start to finish so I wouldn't expect interference to be the issue but maybe it's worth checking that they didn't lose yours. It may have shot out who-knows-where!
 
I haven't looked at the memory card but I'm assuming it'll be Thinkware branded if I check it?
 
I've checked the footage and it is recording fine. It is just the live view that has screwed up.

I think some idiot mashed the buttons and tried to turn it off before they gave it a road test after fitting the pads / discs.

You can see them working on it in the garage but there is no footage of any road test.

Makes me wonder what they didn't want me to see.
 
I'd honestly complain to the manager and tell them you won't be visiting their shop again.

If they're uncomfortable being recorded (they're the professionals supposedly...) then I'd be uncomfortable with them working on my car.

The dashcam is to protect you, not them. F**'em.
 
I think some idiot mashed the buttons and tried to turn it off before they gave it a road test after fitting the pads / discs.
Not normal to do a road test just for new brakes...
 
Not normal to do a road test just for new brakes...
not sure what kind of world you live in there, there's no chance we'd ever get a brake job done without a road test after, pretty much any servicing has a road test at the end of the process, I worked as a mechanic in a Ford dealership and everything got road tested, these days I doubt you'd even get public liability insurance if you didn't road test after doing brakes
 
not sure what kind of world you live in there, there's no chance we'd ever get a brake job done without a road test after, pretty much any servicing has a road test at the end of the process, I worked as a mechanic in a Ford dealership and everything got road tested, these days I doubt you'd even get public liability insurance if you didn't road test after doing brakes
Well the OP lives in the same country as me, what happens in Oz is irrelevant!

A brake system fault is potentially dangerous, it should not be taken out on public roads until the mechanic is certain that it is safe, and if it is definitely safe then there is no need for a road test. If the brakes are not working correctly then they will put it on the brake test machine, which is much better than a road test since it can accurately measure braking force on each wheel, check for imbalances, check for correct front-rear proportioning as the braking level changes etc. Even our annual inspection (MOT) does not include a road test, although it does go on the brake test machine and suspension test machine (wheel shaking rig) to check all the suspension bushes - very effective at detecting which bushes are worn even when I can't feel anything wrong when driving.
 
Well the OP lives in the same country as me, what happens in Oz is irrelevant!

A brake system fault is potentially dangerous, it should not be taken out on public roads until the mechanic is certain that it is safe, and if it is definitely safe then there is no need for a road test. If the brakes are not working correctly then they will put it on the brake test machine, which is much better than a road test since it can accurately measure braking force on each wheel, check for imbalances, check for correct front-rear proportioning as the braking level changes etc. Even our annual inspection (MOT) does not include a road test, although it does go on the brake test machine and suspension test machine (wheel shaking rig) to check all the suspension bushes - very effective at detecting which bushes are worn even when I can't feel anything wrong when driving.
Trucks, motorcycles, cars... every service manual I have ever seen says to take it out and do a few stops. Point isn't just to make sure they work, it's also to bed them into the rotors proper before the user glazes them or drives off expecting them to perform like brakes that have already bedded into the rotors.

Maybe there's some legal liability reason they might do it differently in Oz, but this is how the manufacturer expects it to be done.
 
it's also to bed them into the rotors proper before the user glazes them or drives off expecting them to perform like brakes that have already bedded into the rotors.
That requires 500Km to do it properly! The garage should give you a warning to brake gently and instructions for bedding them in before you leave.

They do need to apply the brakes a few times to ensure that the pads are properly in place up against the disks, but they need to do that before they drive it out of the bay, and here a customer would not be allowed to drive it out of the service bay.
 
Maybe there's some legal liability reason they might do it differently in Oz, but this is how the manufacturer expects it to be done.
these days I expect liability would come into it, was not the issue back when I worked in the field, all cars were road tested but for a brake job a road test was compulsory as you would do the initial bed in process as a part of the road test
 
Due to the GDPR data law they have to disable a Dash Cam really as they don't know what it's recording Audio / Video they could be on phone calls, Card details being read over the phone etc it's a pain but life unfortunately! I have had several people call me the last couple of years saying their camera doesn't work anymore i ask if the car has been to a garage (or had a new windscreen) and several have been and then been reconnected incorrectly at the fuse box.

Not quite sure why they disconnect fuse box end and not at the camera though.....

P.S. If you have an android phone try turning off the 'mobile data' before connecting to the Dash Cam and see if the Live View is better.....
 
I don't know about elsewhere, but in my USA State a private property owner can allow or deny audio or video recording at will. When my van goes to the shop, I don't want anyone messing with things so I explicitly tell them I've got the cams turned off. Many times they don't even know they exist prior to that :rolleyes: I do have several cams though, and I "might forget" to turn them ALL off ;)

In my mechanic days (cars, trucks, and motorcycles) a test-drive for brake, suspension, drivetrain, or steering work was mandatory. As major safety items you had to be positive that things were working correctly before handing the vehicle back to the owner so that the shop had a legitimate defense if someone claimed your work was negligent. I would never use a shop who didn't test like this. My own vehicles with me doing things gets that test-drive right away while everything is fresh in my mind, even when I'm positive all is well. It's not that I don't trust me- it's that it never hurts to test and to be absolutely certain :cool:

Phil
 
I've checked the 'live view' with another phone and it looks fine. The phone I used yesterday still looks screwy so I've taken grabs from each mobile.

I think in future I'll be turning it off before I check it into a garage.
 
I have note MOT stations also don't like the dash cam working whilst they carry out the test, in fact on my wives car which has a Transcend 220 they unplugged it and removed it from the screen and left on the front passenger seat, when I took my own vehicle in for a MOT I just switched it off then unplugged it at the cellink B, and told them it had been disconnected, that way it avoids them touching it in the first place.
 
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