Lukas/Qvia: improved over the years?

[Google]

Our Lukas 9500 has stopped working.

Many people in my area purchased Lukas (now known as Qvia) dashcams due to manipulative marketing tactics. However, these dashcams have failed to meet expectations, with numerous problems emerging after the warranty period, such as poor GPS reception and other glitches.

Additionally, I'm curious if hardwiring is generally compatible across different dashcams. Our Lukas was installed professionally and connected to the vehicle's fuse box. Considering these issues, it's worth questioning whether it's still worthwhile to consider this company and it's products.

 

[kamkar]

your old Lukas system was probably a 12 V system ( plug in camera for power ´being a barrel type ) and there are still 12 V cameras being mad but very doubtful if your old Lukas wiring can be used for a new system.
Most systems today are 5V and most often use USB-C plug for the power in, and also often for the connection to a remote rear camera, also the hard wire kits are 3 wire so need to be connected to always on +12 V and +12 V ACC circuit, and then of course a -12 V / GND wire.
Low voltage cut off will often be a switch on the hard wire kit.
My first proper 1080p dashcam was a Lukas, i have not had a Lukas since then, they seem very one tracked, and service for people outside of S Korea seem limited even if they do sell worldwide.

The 12 V systems if you want to use parking guard will need to be wired into a always on circuit, the low voltage cut off are then handled in the dashcam, and the hand over to / from parking guard are then handled by G-sensor, the 3 wire hard wire kits for 5 V systems the +12 V ACC wire are sort of the trigger wire so hand over can be immediate, though you do not want that CUZ then you leaving car and slamming door will create a event you could be without, but most now have a delay you can choose to prevent that.

Today you should look for systems with the "new" Sony starvis 2 sensors in them, so IMX678 for 4K systems and IMX675 for 1440p systems.


Today there are no universal hardwire kits, you pretty much need to get the HW kit that is made for your system, VIOFO ASO do have several systems that use the same HW kit so its not like there is a special kit for every dashcam model in a lineup.
But you must use a viofo hard wire kit for a viofo camera, even if your old ?? brand might appear to be very much the same, if nothing else a older hard wire kit might not have adequate power output to pull a new system.

 

[Google]

@kamkar

Many thanks for the info! I really appreciate it.

I have emailed the dealer who sold us the dashcam to see if they have any refurbished versions of the same model or similar compatible versions to cut down on costs; however, I won't be buying anything new from them again as they are strictly a Lukas dealer.

Could you share any advice or insights on how to vet a professional installer for dash cams to ensure they're doing their job correctly? I'm thinking about purchasing a Viofo dash cam online or a recommended brand with Sony sensors, nothing fancy but that has rear view recording and having it installed by a professional. Besides Blackvue, I haven't been able to find any other dealers. Even they are scarce.

 

[kamkar]

Well most shops mechanics should be able to install / hard wire a system in a hour or so, if not hard wire i can do it blind folded now as i have done it so often in my car.
Mind you as a tester i am not super strict with the install and routing of wires CUZ in 6 months or so i probably get a new system to beat on, but of course i cant have wires dangling all over the place, that would be illegal here in Denmark..

So shops with some knowledge of car electrics should be fine, so car stereo / alarms ASO if they can do that they should also be able to do a dashcam

Some very new cars can be a little tricky identifying the best wires to tap into, due to car wire harnesses these days are smart too, but if you know your way around, maybe where to ask for the best fuse # to tap into and even that should be fine.
The smartest in my little 2012 car is probably me, and i am no rocket scientist, so the little Suzuki car is a breeze to work with, BMW cars seem fuzzy and modern plug in hybrids or EVs can also be a little tricky at least for the DIY folks out there


In general its not really that bad installing a dashcam, there are tonnes of videos on it on YouTube and it is pretty much the same for all dashcams and largely also cars, my fuse box is in a god awful place, well at least for a guy like me that have lost most of his flexibility and gained a much larger circumference in some places.
So i have it set up to now i can just kneel in the open driver side door, and reach in to some screw terminals i have put in, there i can screw in the hard wire kit of a new camera in 5 minutes, and i have often been running 2-3 systems on the same fuses with a 5A fuse for the cameras.

Blackvue are also some of the big players, also a S Korean brand, but people mostly go there if the want the smart features of Cloud enabled cameras that also require a SIM card in them or a mobile wifi AP to route to the internet thru, but all just additional cost and also more things that can go wrong, for instance PPL with APPLE phones and those cameras, well if their phone get a update that might completely ruin the setup and they have to do it all over again.
Those smart cameras though, they are most often outperformed in image quality by regular systems with no smarts in them.

 

[Google]

Apologies for the delayed response. It's been a busy few months for me, and I was also out of the country for a while.

Regarding the modifications done on our vehicle at the shop, including the installation of Lukas and back-up sensors, it took approximately 2 hours for the entire process. The techs mentioned that working on newer cars can be tricky, but they handled it efficiently while we observed from the service bay window.

I've heard of people attempting the do-it-yourself approach with varying degrees of success. In my experience, YouTube tutorials often lack important details, leading to gaps or safety issues. Not everyone has the necessary skills to dismantle the console and inner trim of a vehicle. Furthermore, some commenters who identify issues in DIY videos may have their comments censored or removed, regardless of the channel's popularity.

Having returned from Taiwan, I noticed some interesting rear-view cameras that also incorporate a camera installed at the back, similar to ours. What are your thoughts on these? Would it be worthwhile to start a separate discussion thread about them?