High heat warnings across much of the United States this summer are putting a spotlight on a lesser known vulnerability in dash cams: extreme cabin temperatures can shut the devices down entirely.
Ben Del Grosso of Safe Drive Solutions, a mobile electronics installer based in the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto areas, said dash cams commonly run hotter while parked than while driving.
“Dash cameras do get hot in your vehicle,” Del Grosso said. “While driving, a lot of vehicles have air conditioning or the window cracked, which typically makes most dash cameras cool off a bit compared to while parked when the windows are closed.”
Del Grosso said some dash cams, including Vueroid and Thinkware models, address this by entering an energy saving or extreme low power mode while parked. In that mode, the camera stops continuous recording and instead monitors for impacts only, reducing the heat the device generates.
Independent testing backs up the concern. Safe Drive Solutions ran a controlled heat test on several popular dash cam brands, including Viofo, Thinkware, Vueroid, BlackVue, FineView, and Vantrue, using a calibrated oven and temperature probes to simulate a parked vehicle in extreme heat. Results varied significantly by brand and model:
- The Viofo A229 Pro shut off at approximately 171 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The Viofo A229 Plus continued running past 183 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The BlackVue DR970X Plus LTE shut off at approximately 189 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The FineView GX 4K shut off in the range of 178 to 182 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The Vueroid D21 4K did not shut off even after cabin temperatures exceeded 210 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The Thinkware U3000 did not shut off at 196 degrees Fahrenheit, instead switching to a smart parking mode.
Safe Drive Solutions noted two units fell from their test mount during the process, so those results were treated as inconclusive. Del Grosso documented the full test in a video posted to the Safe Drive Solutions YouTube channel, available at YouTube, where viewers can see the methodology and real-time results.
These temperatures are not theoretical. According to State Farm engineers, dark dashboards in parked vehicles exposed to direct sunlight can reach 195 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, while interior cabin air temperatures can exceed 145 degrees Fahrenheit on a typical summer day. The numbers Del Grosso measured in his controlled test align with real-world conditions that occur routinely during heat waves across North America.
The stakes go beyond a blank memory card. A dash cam that shuts down during a heat wave will not capture footage if a parked vehicle is broken into, vandalized, or hit. For vehicle owners and fleet operators relying on dash cams for insurance claims or security, a camera that fails silently in the heat defeats the purpose of having one installed.
Del Grosso’s comments come as installers and retailers field more questions about product reliability in extreme conditions, a factor increasingly relevant as heat waves become more frequent and severe across North America.
