I haven't received my car yet so I can't say from experience but it has been discussed on here a bunch. Pretty much everyone has the same experience as you, and from what others have posted, I believe there might be an update coming in the future. Hopefully someone can expound on this for you as I don't know much other than what I have heard here. Hope this helps.

 

I don't think that a so called "update" will do any good for this problem. It is simply a crummy camera. Since the dealer service could do nothing I contacted Cadillac directly and they opened a case to investigate ,but they also said that it was working the way that it should. Plus, they tried to buy me off with 3 years of on star if I would just accept it the way it is. My 2011 Escalade had a great camera. For a $100,000 car I expect to have a camera that will show me what is behind me.

 

My dealer told me the issue was the software/communication between the camera and the display. I am happy to hear they offered you free OnStar I think I am going to call to complain too...

 

The camera on my platinum is awful. So much worse than my previous escalades.
Not only is the quality bad but it's not full screen because the 360 view takes up 25% of the view.
It's 1990 quality.

 

Yeah...it is truly one of those little things that ruin the whole experience. It's like a splinter in your finger. You can live with it but you won't enjoy it.

 

I think the reason why the quality appears to have gone down is they increased the speed of the camera lens and improved low light performance. Both of these result in reduced Picture quality. Just a guess, low light performance has improved over last gen.

 

has anyone looked into a after market cam that might be better then the one on the vehicle?.. I am happy with the vehicle but cam stinks also.. I tried to find stuff online but so far negative..

----------

also does anyone know who actually manufacturers the cam they are using?.. maybe I can look it up and try to find info

----------

wasn't GM working on a fix?.. from previous posts I believed they had been aware of this issue and trying to fix the problem?

----------

I just sat down and wrote to Mr. Welburn at GM Global Design to see what response I will get. I am sure all off us that waited a long time for this vehicle and finally got it and unhappy with the image quality from the camera.

 

Hi all,

I can understand your frustration with the quality of the backup camera and I appreciate your patience while our technicians work to address this concern. If you have not done so yet, please PM me with your VIN, mileage, dealership name, and personal contact information so we can get the backup camera issue with your vehicle officially documented within our system.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Austin J.
Cadillac Customer Care

 

Ok everyone, here is my deal.
1: unfortunately ,it is not something that I can just accept AndoOFX, I need to have neck surgery so I can't turn around every time I have to back up.
2: det2972, I also thought about an after market camera but Cadillac / GM told me that it would void my warranty . I have also spoken to 3 different Cadillac Customer Service people to no avail.
3: onestepahead, you cited valid possible reasons, but these should not apply to a top of the line ,very expensive car,
I actually went over to the BMW dealership next door and spoke with one of their customer service people. He in turn showed me one of their vehicles which had a similar "Birdseye view" camera which was Very Colorful and Clear. And that was on a vehicle 1/2 the price of mine. Then I showed him my car and he was very impressed with its style and luxury and other special do-dads , but when he saw me back up he was appalled by the what he saw. Or really ,what he did not see .

 

 

<img src="http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=276705"/>

 

Daytime

Nighttime

From a car 1/2 price of my Escalade

 

View attachment 276737

Daytime


View attachment 276745

Nighttime

View attachment 276753

From a car 1/2 price of my Escalade

From those photos the back up camera looks terrible. I hope they use a different camera or fix this issue in future models. It's one thing to read about it and it's another to actually see it, thanks for sharing this.

 

Yeah they really dropped the ball on this.

 

I understand the warranty issue from GM.. But I have told the dealer already and all I know is that everyone is aware of this problem.. I wrote to GM yesterday, VP of global design not to just complain , because they hear that all time.. but to: (A) thank him and his team for designing such a great vehicle.. the engineers no matter what anyone really says did think most of the things out on this re design and (B) just to let the people up on top know that there is an issue with the camera, sometime the upper management never get the word and I know CCC knows but what can they do?.. document, document and document, I know my dealer know and I am sure the service department when I bring in the vehicle for service they will look into to it also and if there is a fix they will address it.. I know that a few people had posted that GM is aware and will be coming up with some fix.. Not sure when or what.. But even the old camera system worked better and you were able to see much more clear.. The camera during the day is bad and forget about night time.. you couldn't tell how close you are to the curb or to a car.. but I agree with you.. my friends all mentioned whats wrong with the camera.. you paid how much!!! this camera sticks.. so I sit and wait..

----------

I am not a engineer or anything but if a simple issue like the lens or the small camera.. I would replace it just to get the picture I want.. But I don't know.. it could be the software?.. I only wish I know..

 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Escalade. I could probably live in it. And if these cameras were never created I'd be happy as a clown. But now I tend to think that you are right about upper management.

 

I am living with it..I also love the vehicle and enjoy driving it..I am also happy I actually got one..lol.. 9 month wait and believe me I am happy camper but my previous ESV camera the picture quality was much better.. we should be moving forward not in reverse.. I am sure that when everyone is getting there vehicle and checking out the rear view picture there all might say what's going on with this .. why can't I see..

 

Someone told me that if GM won't replace the camera with something that works better than lower grade cars then it is truly a Safety issue and that we should contact the NHTSA.

 

Is that someone a reliable source?

 

I took my car into Cadillac so they could find out about phone connection problems and about quality of backup image.

Dealer Tech Guy:
It turns out that the ON STAR WELCOME was never conducted.
The step is required to set up the data, phone and the WiFi.

and that is the process that connects MY VERIZON cellphone, the car's dedicated AT&T cellphone call minutes (300 minutes intro minutes bundle ~$10 and I have to renew monthly and can carry minutes over,
the car WiFi AT&T Data Plan, 3 GB during first 3 months for free, $5/month for 200 MB. I think 1 GB was about $15/month.

Last night I had connected my cell phone, set up my ONSTAR and run my On Star app and unlocked and locked the car.


Dealer Service Foreman:
The Service foreman checked out the backup camera and image quality on another new Escalade prior to my coming in.
He said that the previous dedicated backup camera was a high resolution lens.
The current Surround uses lower resolution fisheye lens that are not the same high resolution as the dedicated backup camera.

I also wrote up the Problem when pulling into a parking space the cameras do not come on under 5 MPH, but do if I stop, shift to reverse and back to drive.

Another thing I noticed tonight.
My backup camera has the guidelines on larger camera display when backing up.
But forward it only on smaller birds eye view with guide lines and not on larger front view screen, where it would be more helpful, especially to us seniors.

 

Interesting.. to find out they are using a older camera.. I would have thought GM would use better cam's for the newer models.. I had spoken to the service adviser and he did have any info and will contact me.. I am sure I can't be the only customer with a issue with the image... And plus other customer on the forum have complained.. The biggest reason I have is that I park this beast in the street of New York City and at night is is totally impossible to see in the camera. In day time you have to kinda move around to face the screen to get a better view..
For me I am happy with the vehicle but if a GM engineer would be able to tell me if I go to the service center and purchase better cam's for the vehicle that will work with the software and vehicle I would, just to be safe.... Thats why I wrote to GM, plus informed CCC....I been checking online on and then to check if another company offers something I would look into it.. But if GM has something I wouldn't mind getting them to install it even if I had to pay for it.. Just would be so nice !!!!!!!!..

 

My Cadillac service people seem to have their hands tied when it comes to resolving this issue. But they did not dissuade me when I said that I would be checking out the dealerships of competing brands to compare the cameras of their 2015 models. I too just want to be able to see behind me before I accidentally back over some small child or pet. That is my main issue since I am now living in a residential area with young families. But I can appreciate your concern since I am from NYC and I recently visited there, with my Escalade. I could not believe the amount of Escalades that were being used in the place of Limousines. Since at the time I was also having Navigation problems, I actually spoke to some of these drivers to compare problems but they all seemed to either use a portable gps or none at all. I never got around to the camera issue with them though. Btw, did GM produce a mass amount for the car service drivers and make the general consumer wait all this time?

 

Hi. Aswiss , I am not a limo driver but drive into the city a lot.. I worry about backing up when parking because in the city people run right behind you when your trying to park.. I would seriously kill someone if I can't see.. And if you drive in the evenings you yourself will see that the cam does not show much..I know the beep system might help.. but seriously.. the pedestrian in the city are nuts to being with.. And if your driving, your in the wrong most times no matter what.. first thing they say "COULDN'T YOU SEE ME"!!!.. "Sorry my back cam is crap"..

----------

What did CCC say which made you think that?.. I know I am still waiting to hear back from them.... from some people I talked to that do audio install in vehicle told me that it not the software but the cameras themselves, all they have to do is put in a better cam.. But then again without asking a GM engineer or a GM software guy you can't be sure... I hope that GM will address it.. But they need to address it soon before they keep producing the vehicle and having more customer upset at the camera issue..

CCC is leading me to believe GM is trying to solve this for us. In my opinion, GM has provided a safety system that is actually unsafe. This must be resolved for those who currently own this faulty implementation.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so happy to hear that I am not alone in this thinking.

 

Det2974, you are so right about everything . My camera can't be used at all at night and I certainly don't trust it during the day. You are correct about jay walkers in NYC. Stupidity seems to run rampant there. I certainly will not back down until some major change is made.have you seen the photos that I took of my camera in use?

 

Read the original posts

 

My camera is OK in the daytime.
dealer tested another 2015 escalade and it had the same level of resolution.
he tried to pull into a garage and shut the doors and image was still OK on other escalade and my escalade.
It is not high resolution.
I think they used what would work with eh surround image.

The cameras work under 5 MPH.
but when you slow down to 5 MPH the forward or birds eye view does not work.
You have to stop
shift to reverse
sift back to forward and you get the cameras.
bt the guidelines do not work on the larger image,going forward. but only on smaller surround view image.
the backup image does have the guild lines in reverse.
TWO BUGS:
2. FORWARD CAMERA DOE SNOT ENGAGE UNDER 5 MPH.
2/ GUIDE LINES DO NOT DEPLOY ON LARGER IMAGE ON SMALL BIRDS EYE VIEW IMAGE.

 

I also check other vehicle at the dealership and the camera is no better.. It has to be the lens or something in the CUE system... The daytime image I can live with just a little.. I think the brighter day it is you get a better image !!!... But night time forget it!!.. you wouldn't be able to tell if some one was standing a few feet away... I spoke to a computer geek yesterday and he believe that it might be the cam but he tends to believe that it's software because they split the screen too 2 images on 1 screen, the back up and over head, causing the washed out picture.. kinda make sense a little, but then again.. your look at a guy that wasn't even able to post the pictures of the car on this sight..lol...Well I certainly hope we will have this thing addressed by cadillac..