Instead of suction cups, it seems that everyone is supplying dashcams with the ubiquitous 3M double sided tape.  This is obviously a semi-permanent solution rather than having the suction fail, and so I have a slight concern about removing the cam when I want to change.

My dear old day always warned me about damaging the heating elements in the back window when I had my first car, something that has always been in the back of my mind till this day.

Now it seems that many cars have some mesh pattern at the top of the front window, the purpose of which I have no idea (maybe to stop sun glare in certain positions????).

I have watched some Youtube videos and people seem very happy to stick front and rear cameras wherever the please, including over the elements and mesh.

Can anyone tell me if this is advised/will the elements or 'mesh' become damaged when forcibly removing cams in the future?

 

Many thanks

Chris

The edges of the glass have a black ceramic coating that is baked into the glass. This has 3 purposes:

1: The ceramic coating forms a perfect bond to the adhesive that is used. The adhesion on the ceramic coating is much better than it would be on glass.
2: The ceramic coating on the edges covers the adhesive. Uneven application of the adhesive is not visible from the outside.
3: The ceramic material covers the adhesive from UV light. Even after many Years the adhesion will not be affected.

The dots are actually called frits. They form an aesthetically appealing transition from the thick black lines to the transparency of the window. Many car manufacturers create a "third sun visor" by applying the frits in a pattern near the rear view mirror.

Since the ceramic coating is baked into the glass there is virtually no chance that the frits become damaged by removing an adhesive pad.

Ironically, a suction cup will be pretty useless if stuck over the 'mesh' on the front screen as the dots prevent a perfect air tight seal. I too would be reticent to 'stick' double sided tape over the heating element on the rear screen.  (However, I'm sure I'm over protective as the tape would likely be easily removed by some heat from a hair dryer, and some isopropyl alcohol to remove any sticky residue.) Though you still lose the ability to alter the position as easily as a good old fashioned suction cup!

17 hours ago, JW1982 said:

Since the ceramic coating is baked into the glass there is virtually no chance that the frits become damaged by removing an adhesive pad.

Thank you for such a detailed and informative answer to the front window (and also the edge of the back).  I think I will end up partially sticking over the frits.

Any thoughts on the heating elements?  Would you agree with @StephenFord (and dad!)?

The back seems more challenging. Being a 'pin' camera, the element could partially block the view, but also the taped mount is quite wide.  I guess I could mount between the elements, but that would look a bit silly/obvious.  It looks like the bottom of the window is angled and so it may not be a suitable alternative.  If anyone has mounted a rear camera in a Kuga (2016), I would be interested to hear any advice.

 

Thanks again

I've lost count of the number of dashcams that I have both fitted and removed from all makes of vehicles. Never once has there been any sort of issue with the rear heated screen element.

If and when you want to remove the rear camera from the screen all you need is some strong thread or fishing line and slip it under the camera mount and use the thread like a a saw to cut through the sticky pad. It takes less than a couple of minutes, then just using your fingers roll whats left of the pad off the screen. Any sticky that's left can be removed with acetone or IPA.

On 12/11/2022 at 1:41 PM, unofix said:

If and when you want to remove the rear camera from the screen all you need is some strong thread or fishing line and slip it under the camera mount and use the thread like a a saw to cut through the sticky pad. It takes less than a couple of minutes, then just using your fingers roll whats left of the pad off the screen. Any sticky that's left can be removed with acetone or IPA.

On the basis that this method works when the sticky pad is applied over the heating element, I will vote this as the answer (being my main concern).

Many thanks for the advice.

(but thanks again to @JW1982 as I appreciated the detail 😀)