Considering Thinkware U3000 Pro

[dicegames]

Hi all,

Looking for a quick sanity check on my planned setup for a 2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid.

Use case: the car is street parked fairly often, so my priorities are strong front/rear video, reliable parking coverage, and minimizing 12V battery drain.

Current plan:

• Thinkware U3000 Pro 2CH
• Professional hardwire install
• Radar Parking Mode with battery protection
• LTE module, mainly for parking impact alerts
• Aftermarket microSD card (SanDisk High Endurance 512GB for $120) rather than Thinkware’s $200 512GB card
• Existing aftermarket wireless CarPlay system already installed (ZZ2 ZZPlay)

Anything you’d change or watch out for with this setup, especially on a Lexus/Toyota hybrid?

Also interested in any real-world experience with the U3000 Pro LTE module or third-party SD cards.

Thanks in advance

 

[Vortex Radar]

Yeah the radar part is definitely the key feature. If you're street parked, the radar will probably wake up the dashcam more frequently and lead to more battery drain that you might expect. Still better than traditional parking mode, but don't expect the 40 days or whatever the claims are in optimal conditions.

Video quality is better than the regular U3000, but not as good as the competition who are also using the same sensors.

LTE is great, but it's shut off in the energy saving modes. You'll get an image uploaded to the cloud showing what the dashcam saw before it switched to parking mode, but the parking impact alerts don't work in the radar mode.

Third party SD cards seem to work fine. I've got a SanDisk Max Endurance card in mine and it's working without issue. Thinkwares do seem to be less picky about cards than some other brands.

 

[dicegames]

Yeah the radar part is definitely the key feature. If you're street parked, the radar will probably wake up the dashcam more frequently and lead to more battery drain that you might expect. Still better than traditional parking mode, but don't expect the 40 days or whatever the claims are in optimal conditions.

Video quality is better than the regular U3000, but not as good as the competition who are also using the same sensors.

LTE is great, but it's shut off in the energy saving modes. You'll get an image uploaded to the cloud showing what the dashcam saw before it switched to parking mode, but the parking impact alerts don't work in the radar mode.

Third party SD cards seem to work fine. I've got a SanDisk Max Endurance card in mine and it's working without issue. Thinkwares do seem to be less picky about cards than some other brands.

Awesome, thanks @Vortex Radar.

It looks my total cost for hardware and installation will be $1,106 (breakdown below). A hefty tag, but good peace of mind.

1. $608 Thinkware U3000Pro + hardwiring cable
2. $128 SanDisk MicroSD Ultra Endurance
3. $369 Installation (from Absolute Electronix in Maryland