# 2018 Tiguan - Dash Tray Removal - Easier Dash Cam Cable Routing?



## RCA777 (Sep 13, 2017)

The European spec Tiguan's appear to have a plastic tray with a hinged lid in the centre of the dash; my Canadian spec Tiguan has a simply rubber lined tray.

If the rubber is removed, the tray is nice and smooth (admittedly there are a few holes in the base) and a good spot to consider mounting a dash cam.

For anyone who has considered this - and perhaps wants to use the existing holes in the plastic tray to route the dash cam power cable - it's quick and easy to access the space below.




























I'm running the cable down through those holes and in to a fuse tap - so it's not using up my 12V socket.


As much as that location works for me for my dashcam - I'd still be interested to know the VW part number of the Euro spec dashboard tray w/hinged lid if anyone has it.


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## tlak77 (Apr 29, 2015)

I thought it was center speaker in UK variant :banghead:

I'm planing to run my wires throughout the top, since prefer camera bt the mirror. I have Celllink for the camera, still not sure where to place it.


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## baboondumdum (Apr 15, 2016)

Dashcam is probably better behind the rear view mirror where most people install it. Can be more discrete if you have the right model of dashcam, compared to having it sit on that tray space. If the camera sits on top of the tray, (A) probably not enough height natively so view will be blocked in that depressed space unless artificially raised yet again and (B) draws more unwanted attention of thieves as having left something out in the open inside the car. Dashcams should be as tall as possible looking down too, as you can see the hood of your car and the road much better, which provides much better perspective for recording.

And if you're just snaking wires using those holes and then run it up where the dashcam is attached to the windshield, then it's ugly to have wires hanging out in mid air like that. I find how everyone else normally does dashcam wiring, where you snake the wires around the windshield, to be the most discrete method. I have a blackvue front back dashcam installed and you don't notice any wires and it is not in the way blocking my view of anything.

I think these holes are useful though and you can probably do what I do, which is have a bezel-less tablet installed there for use as an additional screen for the car. I have a tablet installed in my 1st gen tiguan that sits in the tray space. Everything looks as if it was designed OEM and integrated. So I have a top (tablet) and a lower screen (native VW headunit). The popup tablet screen makes the car look like the other cars that have the "ipad" style infotainment screen, like the mazdas and audis, except mine is really actually a tablet running android.


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## RCA777 (Sep 13, 2017)

baboondumdum said:


> Dashcam is probably better behind the rear view mirror where most people install it.


Yeah... about that... that's where it used to be installed on my other cars.. but the rain sensor/rear mirror trim on this Tiguan is HUGE.... I can't even put my toll transponder back there any more!


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## baboondumdum (Apr 15, 2016)

RCA777 said:


> Yeah... about that... that's where it used to be installed on my other cars.. but the rain sensor/rear mirror trim on this Tiguan is HUGE.... I can't even put my toll transponder back there any more!


Oh wow that is pretty big.

Which dashcam do you have?

The blackvue I have is side mounted with the adhesive on one end and camera sensor on the other as it cantilevers out. So you can actually install it offset and for the camera to be dead center. I wonder if you can do that for this car. It seems like you can make it work with the camera just behind the mirror.


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## RCA777 (Sep 13, 2017)

baboondumdum said:


> Oh wow that is pretty big.
> Which dashcam do you have?
> .


I have a $25 dashcam - it's an unbranded 1080p unit that ArmorAll have since rebranded and sold for 4x the price...
No-one in their right mind would steal it - but the video quality has been great and I've had to submit footage a couple of times for accidents that have occurred ahead of me.










It's just tall enough to get what I need - and it's movable between various vehicles I drive (which is why I'm using it vs. a 3M slim version).


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## baboondumdum (Apr 15, 2016)

RCA777 said:


> I have a $25 dashcam - it's an unbranded 1080p unit that ArmorAll have since rebranded and sold for 4x the price...
> No-one in their right mind would steal it - but the video quality has been great and I've had to submit footage a couple of times for accidents that have occurred ahead of me.
> 
> 
> ...


I don't know about nobody stealing it. Maybe it depends on the neighborhood or the thieves in the area at the time. I think people will steal anything. Think from a thieve's perspective. They see themselves as poor, destitute and have nothing to lose, and they look at you with your fancy car and your other belongings that they never had. They despise your wealth and they will break your window to take anything from you for themselves, and that's a win for them already. Anything at all. Nothing is beneath the effort to break a window and steal. That's how they probably think. Your camera looks like a gopro or something. That's $$ on craigslist. 

Personally I don't like the look of how you're setting it up there. It looks really tacky. But that's me. Using that camera, I'd probably just install it off-center right at the top of the windshield, besides that giant trim piece before I'd put it on the tray space like that.

Plus, look at the performance perspective. You're not even getting the plates on the car in front of you. Ideally the dashcam is wide angle and is set up high so you can look down and see more stuff. Also shows better when impacts take place on the bumper. And can read even low set plates.


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## RCA777 (Sep 13, 2017)

baboondumdum said:


> I don't know about nobody stealing it. Maybe it depends on the neighborhood or the thieves at the time. I think people will steal anything. Think from a thieve's perspective. They see themselves as poor, destitute and have nothing to lose, and they look at you with your fancy car and your other belongings that they never had. They despise your wealth and they will break your window to get anything, and that's a win for them already. Anything at all. Nothing is beneath the effort to break a window and steal. That's how they probably think. Your camera looks like a gopro or something. That's $$ on craigslist.
> 
> Personally I don't like the look of how you're setting it up there. It looks really tacky. But that's me. Using that camera, I'd probably just install it off-center right at the top of the windshield, besides that giant trim piece before I'd put it on the tray space like that.
> 
> Plus, look at the performance perspective. You're not even getting the plates on the car in front of you. Ideally the dashcam is wide angle and is set up high so you can look down and see more stuff. Also shows better when impacts take place on the bumper. And can read even low set plates.


Excellent points - I am likely to rethink the positioning - perhaps even more of a reason to know what the part # for the hinged dash-bin is from the Euro specs!


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## RCA777 (Sep 13, 2017)

...although I'm hoping there's a part # for left hand drive....!


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## 60hawkrod (Jul 8, 2010)

If concerned about the dashcam being obvious in the tray when parked, throw a baseball cap over it.........................


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## baboondumdum (Apr 15, 2016)

60hawkrod said:


> If concerned about the dashcam being obvious in the tray when parked, throw a baseball cap over it.........................


They'd wanna steal your baseball cap then strike gold when they find the camera underneath. Now you're down a baseball cap + camera instead of just the camera.


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## baboondumdum (Apr 15, 2016)

RCA777 said:


> ...although I'm hoping there's a part # for left hand drive....!


Dun worry, the rest of europe except uk have left sided drivers position.


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## tlak77 (Apr 29, 2015)

RCA777 said:


> ...although I'm hoping there's a part # for left hand drive....!


5NC85792281U
I think.


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