Blurry rear-view camera

[don.reid.sjs]

Hi - my 2022 Maverick rear-view camera has become almost too blurry to be useful. Dealer is claiming the camera is scratched and will not cover under warranty. Has anyone else had this issue, and have you been able to argue that it's a defect in the camera materials? I don't know how the camera would have become scratched?

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[Glen Baker LLC]

Have you had the recall done?

 

[Tbone289]

Have you tried polishing the plastic over the rear camera lens?

The camera lens is at the bottom of the "Ford" badge on the tailgate. Take a look at it to see if the portion covering the lens is scratched. If it is, polish it. If it isn't your dealer is wrong.

 

[don.reid.sjs]

Have you tried polishing the plastic over the rear camera lens?

The camera lens is at the bottom of the "Ford" badge on the tailgate. Take a look at it to see if the portion covering the lens is scratched. If it is, polish it. If it isn't your dealer is wrong.

Have you had the recall done?

Yes, this seems like a seperate issue from the glitching that the recall relates to.

 

[don.reid.sjs]

Have you tried polishing the plastic over the rear camera lens?

The camera lens is at the bottom of the "Ford" badge on the tailgate. Take a look at it to see if the portion covering the lens is scratched. If it is, polish it. If it isn't your dealer is wrong.

I haven't tried that. What polish would you use?

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Yes, this seems like a seperate issue from the glitching that the recall relates to.

I realize it's a separate issue. I was just wondering if the service tech said anything or if you even mentioned it to them.

As far as something to polish the lens of the camera.
I would trust something for eyeglasses or an actual camera lens.

 

[Tbone289]

I haven't tried that. What polish would you use?

A polishing compound for paint would work, or you could also use a plastic or headlight polishing kit.

 

[Tbone289]

As far as something to polish the lens of the camera.
I would trust something for eyeglasses or an actual camera lens.

Glass polish will have a sharper-cutting abrasive, and I doubt the outer lens is glass if it's been scratched. I would start with something lighter as I mentioned above, moving up to sharper cutting abrasives if those don't work.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Glass polish will have a sharper-cutting abrasive, and I doubt the outer lens is glass if it's been scratched. I would start with something lighter as I mentioned above, moving up to sharper cutting abrasives if those don't work.

I would not use any type of headlight restorer/polishing.
If something is fine enough to work on eyeglasses. I'm sure it'll be fine for that camera lens.

 

[Gullzway]

Automatic brush car washes?

 

[commadorebob]

I keep a stack of these under the seat. When it gets blurry (mostly after it rains) I just wipe it down. Usually does the trick until it naturally gets dirty again.

 

[Tbone289]

I would not use any type of headlight restorer/polishing.
If something is fine enough to work on eyeglasses. I'm sure it'll be fine for that camera lens.

Why? Plastic headlights are no harder than eyeglasses, and usually softer. Softer materials require "finer" polishes than harder ones. The picture of the search results you posted above show polishes for glass, and those certainly shouldn't be used unless you're 100% sure that outer camera lens is glass and not plastic, especially not "deep scratch remover for glass". Again, I suspect that it's plastic if it has been scratched.

 

[Tbone289]

I keep a stack of these under the seat. When it gets blurry (mostly after it rains) I just wipe it down. Usually does the trick until it naturally gets dirty again.

Yes, and that will work great if the dealer is wrong and the lens is not actually scratched. As I mentioned above, the existence of scratches will need to be established before using any polish.

 

[Always Learning]

My mom's 2017 Edge has what I assume is the same problem. I looked into replacing the camera module, which appears to be fairly straightforward and quick, and depending on what camera module you purchased could be fairly inexpensive. But I decided to try to clean the lens even though I couldn't see any scratches or anything that appeared to be blurry. I attempted using glass cleaner, vinegar and it didn't make any difference. As the last resort I bought a headlight cleaning kit, Turtle Wax I think, and tried it. the kit has three different level of cleaner, a rubbing compound and two different pads. I only used the rubbing compound and after what seemed like a lot of scrubbing, actually probably less than 5 minutes, the blurriness was reduced. I repeated it a few more times and it improved after each session. I never finished as I broken my heel before I got back to it, but it seemed to be going work with enough effort. At the same time we tried it on the headlights of my brother's old Ranger plastic headlights and the difference was amazing and happened very quickly and easily. I wouldn't be afraid to use the headlight cleaning kit, it even comes with a protectant to apply after you have cleaned the lens to your satisfaction.

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