Dash Cams Eating SD Cards

[impulsivetravelerguy]

It seems like I can only use my SD cards for a few road trips and they are bad. My road trips usually involve me driving sometimes 18-20 hours straight, so it's recording the whole time. I just notice that after a little bit, the SD cards are bad. I've had this issue with my Garmin VIRB and also Garmin Drive Assist51.

I'm thinking my main issue is overheating, since it's on the dash in the sunlight and gets very hots, as well as recording that long probably does a wonder on the SD cards. My question to you guys is do you experience this too with long road trips? Does it seem like your dash cam will eat through SD cards? How much life do you usually get out of an SD card before it's failing?

 

[dash riposki]

Which cards are you using?

I generally run my cams 24 hours a day, for a month at a time. I accept I'll have to replace the cards maybe twice a year, but that time period is only possible when starting with the 'right' card.

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

Which cards are you using?

I generally run my cams 24 hours a day, for a month at a time. I accept I'll have to replace the cards maybe twice a year, but that time period is only possible when starting with the 'right' card.

I've been using anything from Sandisk, Unirest, Samsung, and Transcend. It does seem like I get the same result with each one. They work great, but then after a while just randomly fail. It's getting a bit expensive to keep doing this.

 

[dash riposki]

Unless you're getting the cards are fake/clones you're buying online, they should last longer. I've mostly used samsung evo cards I buy on Amazon for the last couple of years with good results.

 

[SawMaster]

I've kept a Mobius recording 24/7 for around 3 years now. Though my cards have gotten mixed up, I am certain that at one point a Transcend 400X in Mobius had seen 1200X or more cycles, and I think I'm still using that card which still tests 100%. And this with upstate SC summer heat in a closed workvan. An old Samsung Evo card has seen similar duty. So IMHO it's not the heat killing your cards; something else is happening here

For dashcam usage you need robust high-speed cards which have a known history of good performance in your model of cam. Anything less is very likely to fail. Cheap cams maybe; cheap cards never

Phil

 

[2000rpm]

I would suspect the cause is one of:

1. Fake memory cards.
2. Under-spec/cheap memory cards
3. Faulty camera.
4. Unsuitable power supply.

I cover around 20000-25000 miles per year and I'd expect a couple of years of use from a quality card. Like any product, a small proportion of memory cards do fail prematurely - in my case the worst card failed after about six months and 10000 miles but that's the exception rather than the rule because I also have some cards that are several years old and still going strong.

As @dash riposki said: the average life expectancy of a memory card ought to be a couple of years.

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

I would suspect the cause is one of:

1. Fake memory cards.
2. Under-spec/cheap memory cards
3. Faulty camera.
4. Unsuitable power supply.

I cover around 20000-25000 miles per year and I'd expect a couple of years of use from a quality card. Like any product, a small proportion of memory cards do fail prematurely - in my case the worst card failed after about six months and 10000 miles but that's the exception rather than the rule because I also have some cards that are several years old and still going strong.

As @dash riposki said: the average life expectancy of a memory card ought to be a couple of years.

I've bought all of mine at Walmart so I'd hope most of them are legit. They're also class 10 and more of the name brand. This is happening on 2 different cameras and in 2 different cars. I'm almost thinking it's just the heat. The things get so hot all the time, especially in the Texas sun and it's frying them eventually. Like I said, I get a few months out of a memory card.

 

[Cessna CJ4]

It seems like I can only use my SD cards for a few road trips and they are bad. My road trips usually involve me driving sometimes 18-20 hours straight, so it's recording the whole time. I just notice that after a little bit, the SD cards are bad. I've had this issue with my Garmin VIRB and also Garmin Drive Assist51.

I'm thinking my main issue is overheating, since it's on the dash in the sunlight and gets very hots, as well as recording that long probably does a wonder on the SD cards. My question to you guys is do you experience this too with long road trips? Does it seem like your dash cam will eat through SD cards? How much life do you usually get out of an SD card before it's failing?

I am discovering that many people are overlooking the way the go about formatting their larger than 32GB SD card and overlooking the need for a good Class 10, UHS-I/U3, SDXC card. That type of card is 4K capable and should be plenty enough card to handle even the most demanding "dash cam" Read/Write procedures. However, if an area of the card had corrupt formatting (somehow) or incorrect formatting, that could present a problem for an always on dash cam of any kind continuously trying to Write to areas that are potentially corrupt.

In addition, it is a good idea to make sure the SD card's max temperature rating is higher than (greater than) that of the camera it will be installed into. In other words, try to pick a card that exceeds the capabilities of the dash cam itself (Read/Write/Temp). That will provide some capability margin in favor of the card - which is what you want - not the other way around.

Basic Computing 101: Storage should be more stable, outperform and outlast everything else inside the system.

 

[SawMaster]

Texas does get hot- are your cams exposed to direct sunlight? If so there's part of the problem. The only Garmin model I've been keeping up with closely is the 55 and in that one's early over-temp shutdown problems, it's clear by Garmin's response that they don't have the best grip on dashcam operations in the hotter climates yet

Dashcams run hotter than most other electronics. The usual overheat failures are first LiPo batteries (which Garmin uses) then focus problems and after that dead cams In 3+ years of being an avid DCT reader I've not seen the first instance of a heat-related card failure but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. What it does mean is that extra measures should be taken to help keep dashcams cool when you live in hotter climates and LiPo batteries should be avoided in those places

Walmart has been known to sell fake items unintentionally. Given their penchant for bottom-dollar purchase pricing their suppliers barely eke out a profit and if they think they can get by selling a cheapened product then many suppliers will do that Most card manufacturer's websites will have a verification method listed and any time you suspect a card problem that is a step you should take in your diagnosis process just to be certain that you got what you paid for. You should also use h2testw to monitor your SD cards health http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/H2testw.shtml
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/H2testw.shtml
Phil

 

[Deleted member 37895]

Build a shade for your camera

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

I am discovering that many people are overlooking the way the go about formatting their larger than 32GB SD card and overlooking the need for a good Class 10, UHS-I/U3, SDXC card. That type of card is 4K capable and should be plenty enough card to handle even the most demanding "dash cam" Read/Write procedures. However, if an area of the card had corrupt formatting (somehow) or incorrect formatting, that could present a problem for an always on dash cam of any kind continuously trying to Write to areas that are potentially corrupt.

In addition, it is a good idea to make sure the SD card's max temperature rating is higher than (greater than) that of the camera it will be installed into. In other words, try to pick a card that exceeds the capabilities of the dash cam itself (Read/Write/Temp). That will provide some capability margin in favor of the card - which is what you want - not the other way around.

Basic Computing 101: Storage should be more stable, outperform and outlast everything else inside the system.

And that could be it. It seems this issue is exclusive to 64GB cards. I think you may have pinpointed it and maybe I just need to go to 32GB cards and switch them out more often. In regards to temperature, I'll have to look into that rating. I know it's not hot enough to shut down the dash cam, but it is very hot to the touch and Garmin does make their products black, which doesn't help at all.

Texas does get hot- are your cams exposed to direct sunlight? If so there's part of the problem. The only Garmin model I've been keeping up with closely is the 55 and in that one's early over-temp shutdown problems, it's clear by Garmin's response that they don't have the best grip on dashcam operations in the hotter climates yet

I put my dash cam right under the rear view mirror, so it's exposed to direct sunlight. Also, I've never had the dash cam shut down or give heat warnings so I'm thinking you're on to something with Garmin not being suited for hotter climates. I know they are based out of the Kansas City area.[/QUOTE]

 

[Lola]

I've been using anything from Sandisk, Unirest, Samsung, and Transcend. It does seem like I get the same result with each one. They work great, but then after a while just randomly fail. It's getting a bit expensive to keep doing this.

It might be a good idea for you to verify your cards (something I should be doing !) I forget the link for doing this, but maybe one of the guys will chime in here that knows. In fact that would be a good idea for this site DCT to have.

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

It might be a good idea for you to verify your cards (something I should be doing !) I forget the link for doing this, but maybe one of the guys will chime in here that knows. In fact that would be a good idea for this site DCT to have.

I'll definitely have to look into this. I was also thinking of building my own custom system with web cams and then have it hooked to a raspberry pi or mac mini depending on the processing power I needed so I can record it. I'll basically record my cross-country drives or when I go to Canada and then put the real time videos online and also the sped up videos and time lapses:

 

[Deleted member 46308]

It might be a good idea for you to verify your cards (something I should be doing !) I forget the link for doing this, but maybe one of the guys will chime in here that knows. In fact that would be a good idea for this site DCT to have.

+1

 

[Lola]

It seems like I can only use my SD cards for a few road trips and they are bad. My road trips usually involve me driving sometimes 18-20 hours straight, so it's recording the whole time. I just notice that after a little bit, the SD cards are bad. I've had this issue with my Garmin VIRB and also Garmin Drive Assist51.

I'm thinking my main issue is overheating, since it's on the dash in the sunlight and gets very hots, as well as recording that long probably does a wonder on the SD cards. My question to you guys is do you experience this too with long road trips? Does it seem like your dash cam will eat through SD cards? How much life do you usually get out of an SD card before it's failing?

Hello. I just posted on correcting a bad SD card, you might want to take a look at it, good luck and write back one way or another on your experience.

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

Hello. I just posted on correcting a bad SD card, you might want to take a look at it, good luck and write back one way or another on your experience.

Where did you post it or do you have a link so I can get to it easier? I'll definitely look into this.

 

[Lola]

Where did you post it or do you have a link so I can get to it easier? I'll definitely look into this.

Here you go: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/fix-a-corrupted-sd-card.31245/

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

Here you go: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/fix-a-corrupted-sd-card.31245/

It does look like this can work in some cases, although the comments appear to say people get a, "Data error (cyclic redundancy check)." I'm guessing only if the partition table gets blown away, this will work, but if there's any corruption it won't work. The problem I have is the dash cam reads and writes fine and then when I insert it into the computer, it corrupts and I lose a bunch of footage. While this is definitely useful in some cases, I'm looking more for a root cause to prevent this in the first place so I don't end up losing footage. I'm almost thinking I need 32GB or lower SD cards and also make sure they're of the highest quality to make absolute sure.

I'd mess with this a bit, but I also only have a Mac, so the tools I need to use are a bit different. Thanks for sharing, because this could definitely help in some cases.

 

[DT MI]

...and then when I insert it into the computer, it corrupts and I lose a bunch of footage.....

What kind of computer, card reader, etc.?

 

[impulsivetravelerguy]

What kind of computer, card reader, etc.?

Macbook Air with the built in card reader. For the most part it works fine and recognizes the card right away and then I'm able to copy the footage off of it. It's just after a while of using the card it then appears to corrupt and then says it can't read the card and asks me to initialize it.