What a fantastic video . What makes it so fantastic? An intelligent presenter Logic Lucidity Well thought out and presented . All of the things that most others youtube videos lack.
Such a fair and reasonable review. So sick of watching sycophantic TH-cam’s reviews when it’s clear all they care about is kissing ass to get free products from manufacturers. These issues sound like something one might expect from a $30 no name brand product, not Garmin. I’m surprised they haven’t sent a rep out too you to help diagnose the issue for the benefit of all their customers.
Rich Laue I meant by other youtubers. Apparently youtubers isn’t in the dictionary so it autocorrected in my comment above to the word “TH-cams” and I should have included “other” but I thought that was implied. I assume that’s what you were referring to. Just to be 100% clear... I really applaud YOUR review style.
J P Well, I understood your intent. Implied or spelled out for those that have never been taught the meaning of ‘critical thinking’. That said, his review was ass kickin not ass lik’n well done. Exactly what I was looking and I don’t give a hoot about the parking mode. I’m ordering two (front and rear). Implied. :-)
I can only agree to other commenters that this is how a review should be. It's is like sitting next to you in the car and discussing the good and bad of this dashcam, although - of course - it is a monologue, you did point out what is important to us. Thanks a lot, Brian.
I'm from those people who watch a gazillion reviews before buying something. This is one of those straight-to-the-point, no music, no intro videos that answer all your questions right away. Thank you Brian for this review!
Thanks! Yeah, I can’t stand those reviews with unnecessary music and 2 minutes of animated title sequences. Get straight to the point with no fluff - that’s my goal. oh, and I never beg people to subscribe or like.
@@BrianGreenstone I am going to beg for you... we need to keep your superb reviews coming. So come on people, hit that subscription button! Btw, does anyone know if they fixed this overheating problem as they are still selling this 4 years later (and I want one ONLY if I am not going to be killed in a Garmin fire)?
After my coworker got into an accident and cannot prove what really happened it has put me in the market for a dash cam I watched countless videos on different dash cams and have now settled on this one the camera quality is excellent during the day and at night it's small enough to be out of the way on the windshield and it's just what I'm looking for thanks for the review.
Well, bad news guys it’s still overheats and locks up. There’s a warm day today and it happened again. So I guess it has not been fixed. I will have to turn parking mode off now but it’s getting warm out.
I have the same problem, but also incorrectly connected wires. my car maintains power to most fuses after the ignition is turned off. therefore the camera does not switch to the parking mode ... I do not have video records with the letter "P" next to the logo, the camera indicator light is constantly on, it should flash in parking mode. This can be checked by disconnecting the "ACC" cable. I am not able to confirm this at the moment but it may cause the camera to freeze.
Such a great in depth review! This camera is great for ppl that wanna forget they have a camera and just want to have something in case an accident happens.
Up to the point where the camera was overheating, I was considering buying one of these cameras, NOT NOW !!! Very nice review, I really like your style! Keep up the good work. PS I just subscribed. Thanks !!!
Garmin employees please stop clicking dislike button. This gentlemen is 100% right about heat issue with Garmin dash cams. I have dashcam45. Its been about 18month now and I dont have a parking mode cable installed, I use regular cable that it came with. Camera is now a toast, it used to overheat soooo much that if you touch it, you would literally burn yourself. Long story short, love the functionality of the camera, footage, quality built but now its broken. For $200 it must last much longer
I’m amazed the SD cards can operate at that scorching temperature. I guess technically they don’t since it starts to malfunction, but it doesn’t fry it entirely because it works fine once it cools down. Still, amazing the whole thing doesn’t just melt or burst into flames.
Bought this on impulse after I nearly experienced two car accidents within a few days apart. I will test it to see if they fixed the over heating issue and get back on here.
After a week of owning this camera... Pros: Small, not so noticeable, good quality video, able to detach from glued-on hook. Cons: Overheats quickly, downloading video takes a long time, camera must be on to see any videos on the app. Overall, it is a good camera but the overheating issue may be a dealbreaker for me. Nothing has happened to the camera yet, but summer is coming and being that I live in south Cali, summers hit triple digits very often. For that reason I will return it and get a camera with no overheating issues.
Great review and explanations! I also appreciate the footage from night driving and note regarding the filter during night driving. Keep up the great work.
Great review! I went ahead and ordered one from Amazon here in the UK. The most impressive thing is all of the functions via Bluetooth and Wifi, which have been built into this incredibly small camera. I've previously used all of the Mini 0806 cameras from eBay, they're pretty much junk and actually cost more than this Garmin camera. Thanks again 👍
Greetings from Verona - Italy for your gorgeous presentation. I thoroughly enjoyed it and subscribed to your channel in no time. All the best and cheers.
Well what can I say..? This review is simply amazing and to be honest it deserves an award. The reviewer gives it to you in a no holds barred truly memorable fashion. That delivery actually made me cry. I have not just bought the camera I have now got shares in the company! Sir you are a God amongst men and if you ever need a kidney please let me know.
Great review. My concern was the overheating part. Garmin needs to work on that problem. Don't want the concern of finding my car burnt to a crisp as I see it..
Great review with very useful info. You must have worked for Consumer Reports at some point in the past, because this is such an unbiased report the likes of which are found only in CR. You have presented the info with clarity, an even flow and without any bells and whistles. Thank you Brian! Excellent job!
Great review, wanted to buy the Garmin mini for parking mode... Now I will wait a bit. To see if garmin will come with a firmware fix. Thanks again....
I just installed the mini 2 and it got very HOT to the touch as well, and didn't know why, so I took your advice and shut down the parking guard mode and see what happens. Also I am returning the parking cable and suction mount and opted for the continuous power cable that use's the ODB II port with the auto shut off mode to save on the battery. Thanks for the video.
Good custom review, Wow, I worry about the over heating in park mode because damage may happen and its not working to catch the person also driving mode you want to feel sure it will record a accident. Thanks, I will keep looking they need to fix!
I have one of these Mini’s, used in the rear of the car, in conjunction with the Garmin 66 front of the car. One of the issues I have found is, even though its got a 64gb micro sad car in it, it doesn’t seem to loop overwrite. So it fills up and the throws up a fault with the card. I then have to reformat the card, before it starts working again. This seems like a major flaw, as you are having to delete fileS that may have just recently occurred, that you might want to review! I like the size and look of the mini, but it seems to have quite a few issues. Disappointed with Garmin really, reason I went with them, was I thought they would be more reliable than the cheaper Chinese dash cams!!!!
Great video...informative and straight to the point. All youtube reviews should be like this. No annoying background music either. Big Thanks for this.
I have one, I saw the most dangerous bit of driving I’ve seen in 38 years of driving yesterday, on a motorway here in the U.K. unbelievably, it hasn’t captured anything!!!!!! First time I’ve ever really needed to use it in anger, very very annoying, everything working fine as well? Makes no sense. Binning it ASAP. Great reviewing by the way.
Really thorough review, nice job. Been holding off on installing my unit due to the overheating complaints I've seen elsewhere...fortunately parking mode is not an important feature for me so I may give the Mini a try. The small form factor is unbeatable (until the remote cam options start hitting the market), so it would be great if Garmin could fix some of the issues it has.
This dash camera isn’t worth the price for what it does, but it’s worth buying used as a side dash camera for the side windows or interior. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks from a wet and windy UK for a brilliant review. Your comments about the overheating have given me concerns . Up until that point I was sold, but now having second thoughts. I've not had a dash cam before so don't really know yet if i need, or want a parking mode. I think a bit more research is in order, but this Garmin is at the top of my list at the moment. Thanks.
They released firmware 7.30, but I haven't had a chance to see if it fixes the overheating yet. The customer support people said the release notes only said "misc fixes", so I'm guessing not.
I have the Tandem and was going to buy the parking mode cable accessory but will not now--saved me $30 plus the pain of installation! Even though the problem was shown for a Mini I'm assuming the parking mode problem is common to all Garmin dash cams. Still planning to buy the Mini as a rear-facing camera. Will aslo be coming back here to see if Garmin ever fixes the parking mode overheating problem. Great video!
Unfortunately, this is not the only device Garmin produces that suffers from the White Hot Overheating Issue. I have multiple Garmin Drive (and older Nuvi) units that also do tis. Garmin have replaced them all at least once, always without improvement. I suspect they have a bug in the Voltage Regulating circuitry they all must share that allows this to happen. Apparently, this is a hardware failure as many many firmware updates on many many devices yield no improvement in behavior. How Garmin can allow their engineering department to put this kind of Garbage out is beyond me. How many cars have burned to the ground after these things catch fire? How many homes have burned? Don't get burned by Garmin!
Very helpful video. Been having horrible luck with people hitting me! Definitely time to invest in one of these. Love how it’s so tiny, thanks for details
I bought one of these today. I had no SD Card inserted and just plugged it in on the drive home. The led's were flashing constantly and within 5 mins it was easily at 70 Centigrade so I just unplugged it. With the card now inserted and formatted it seems to be working fine but the app is really slow to show footage on my phone. The card works fine in my PC so I'm happy enough with my purchase.
Brian, thank you for this review. I was going to purchase 4 of these mini cams (you can install up to 4) because l live in an apartment and my SUV is being vandalized. Parking mode must be extremely reliable for me to get footage of whoever is vandalizing. My intention was to place a cam on the windshield, a cam on the rear glass and a cam on each side of the rear window which has factory tint. I called Garmin and they told me that l would need to purchase a parking cable for each cam and have my installer hook it up to my car battery. There is no way that i'm going to spend $520 just for the cams and parking cables not including installation for parking mode to fail. If you or anyone reading this knows of a system with parking mode where you can add more than 2 cams please let me know. Thanks for the excellent review!!!
Yeah, this definitely isn’t the best dash cam for that. I’d recommend maybe a Thinkware model. I have one in my Jeep and it never malfunctions at all. Parking mode works perfectly.
@@BrianGreenstone , thanks! I saw several thinkware models on Amazon but didn't read the reviews. I'm so happy that you've confirmed that you haven't had an issue with parking mode. Thanks a million!!!!!
This is exactly what I've been looking for. I drive a classic car 68 Ford so I don't want something big I want to hide it and I don't need the screen or the lane warnings or the GPS and all the tech I just need something that films good and protects my car. Thank u for this video
Thanks for this review! Not only were you very thorough, but you also gave excellent buying tips - getting a polariser to reduce the dashboard reflection and so on. Well done! Cheers from Italy
Excellent review! Well-done! I'm on my second Garmin Dash Cam Mini. The first lasted less than 3 days. Via the Garmin Drive Android phone app, the memory card needed formatting again on the 3rd day. Sandisk Ultra 128GB Class 10 SD card. Format the card. Then app says the card has reached end of life. Fine. It's from my previous dash cam, a year-old Zero Edge Z3. I bought two Sandisk Ultra Plus 64GB Class 10 SD cards. Cam did the same with these new cards just removed from their sealed package, purchased at the local big box store. Garmin had an exchange replacement to me today, 9 days after I reported the first had failed. Hopefully I get at least a year of use from this one. Both run quite warm, dare I say, hot! No parking mode. No matter the power source, my car's accessory/ignition-enabled USB port, laptop USB, or cell phone charger, this thing gets very warm to the touch. It does not matter if it's recording video, or connected to my phone via Bluetooth/WiFi. So far it's working, having recorded two 15-minute drives. I'll see how it does on an hour-long freeway trip in the next few days. (Edited several times due to TH-cam's inability to properly line space between paragraphs. What's the secret to a single blank line between paragraphs? It's either no spacing between paragraphs, or two blank lines, even though while I edit, seeing one line between paragraphs.)
Your video is very important to me. Garmin is a major manufacturer of aircraft avionics. As large as they are I have never heard of any failure in their equipment. Your video lets me know I should be very circumspect on Garmin electronics. The 2089 date glitch is absolutely unbelievable, and that it doesn't happen regularly is quite frighting. It only takes one incident in a plane and things can bad very fast. Also, the place of sales and repair may not be aware of products sent back to the factory during the warranty period, and so it may not be disseminated a particular type of issue is prevalent. It is more expedient to replace the malfunctioning device. With that done it wouldn't be prudent to announce this or that is a problem with the devise as you evidence by endorsing the product despite its malfunctions.
I really like your review and your overall style and persona. You’re direct and to the point, and you don’t overhype things. This is how all reviews should be. If I had one criticism, as someone who is researching dash cams and wants to understand some of the features, a quick explanation of what Park Mode is and why you use it would have greatly helped. I can google it, of course, but I would have appreciated a short description. Other than that minor criticism, it’s a great video.
Hello Brian. By now, hopefully the problem with the parking mode overheat has been resolved. Looks like you did this video last year, so hopefully so. Garmin would not be the first company to deny when they are experiencing a known issue. They don't want to let on to the public that there is a problem at all. That's typical. But anyway, great video! When it is working, it seems to work great!
Brian, Great review and diagnostics, its hard to understand that Garmin can't figure it out but having worked to a tech company before I know why as well. The reason I haven't bought a dash cam yet is that I have been waiting for a unit that is even more stealth, meaning the smallest of cameras that can be fitted to the windshield and rear window with main unit under the dash out of sight. I don't want something large enough in view that will give a thief a reason to break into my car. Thanks again for the great review.
Thanks! What I can't understand is why they try to cram everything into the main camera body. Why don't they just put the video chip in a tiny enclosure and run a data wire to the main box behind the dash? Just integrate it into the parking cable so all of the work is done there. Then they could deal with a better cooling solution and the visible part of the camera could be so tiny you wouldn't even know its there.
I decided to get a Dashcam 46 for my car after watching this video and I love it. It has all the features of the mini, and more. I still have two minis waiting for me when I get home next week, and one will go into the car as well as the rear camera, which can be networked to the 46 through the Garmin Drive app. I'm still glad I ordered the minis - two of them - and I'm still glad I watched this video, but now I have to decide if I want to return the second Mini to Sam's Club or find a different use for it than intended. On a side note, I was able to watch the live feed of my 46 from the cab of my truck as I backed in in front of my car, to watch for spacing. It won't always be useful to do so, but it will sometimes.
Brian - very good honest review. So, you’re basically saying you have an issue shortly after restarting your car while in park mode. I would suspect an issue with the power supply. Could be getting a current surge or voltage spike during start (this is not uncommon) that is causing an issue with the Garmin circuitry or software. Have your car checked by a auto shop or dealer with proper tools to check the voltage and current levels during start on the Garmin power supply line. What we really need to know is if others are experiencing this same exact issue with the Garmin mini, or is it just your implementation. That is key.
Yeah, I had the voltage checked and it was totally normal. If there’s a surge when the cars starts you’d think it would also affect it when the camera is not in park mode too.
Brian Greenstone But, did they check the voltage and current during engine cranking? Are there others reporting the same issue with the Garmin mini in other applications?
Fantastic review. I have the Garmin 55 dash cam and love it but I didn’t not know about the polarize lenses until now, and for that, thank you! Ordered it right away.
Gosh so many important advices (filter is a must!!!) you gave us on this video. Was looking for my very FIRST dash cam video and i'm so glad i saw this.
Great review. Actually I heard the exact overheating issue on another YT video and their fix was the same as yours. They stopped using park mode. And never had the overheating problem again
This is precisely how a product review should be presented! You are a scholar and a gentleman. Well done.
I like this man 34% focus, 33% intelligence, 33% directness, 0% bullcrap. Good job sir, younearned a subscriber
What a fantastic video . What makes it so fantastic?
An intelligent presenter
Logic
Lucidity
Well thought out and presented . All of the things that most others youtube videos lack.
Sirios Star ditto!!
Yes , and no silly 5 minute animation intro like most reviewing videos on youtube
@@tahirahmed33 yes! Hate those intros with music. Just play the video.lol
Such a fair and reasonable review. So sick of watching sycophantic TH-cam’s reviews when it’s clear all they care about is kissing ass to get free products from manufacturers.
These issues sound like something one might expect from a $30 no name brand product, not Garmin. I’m surprised they haven’t sent a rep out too you to help diagnose the issue for the benefit of all their customers.
Agree!!!
When did you see a review that was a kiss ads for free products.
Real reviews, even with free products will be honest reveiws
Rich Laue I meant by other youtubers. Apparently youtubers isn’t in the dictionary so it autocorrected in my comment above to the word “TH-cams” and I should have included “other” but I thought that was implied.
I assume that’s what you were referring to.
Just to be 100% clear... I really applaud YOUR review style.
J P Well, I understood your intent. Implied or spelled out for those that have never been taught the meaning of ‘critical thinking’. That said, his review was ass kickin not ass lik’n well done. Exactly what I was looking and I don’t give a hoot about the parking mode. I’m ordering two (front and rear). Implied. :-)
I can only agree to other commenters that this is how a review should be. It's is like sitting next to you in the car and discussing the good and bad of this dashcam, although - of course - it is a monologue, you did point out what is important to us. Thanks a lot, Brian.
I'm from those people who watch a gazillion reviews before buying something. This is one of those straight-to-the-point, no music, no intro videos that answer all your questions right away. Thank you Brian for this review!
Thanks! Yeah, I can’t stand those reviews with unnecessary music and 2 minutes of animated title sequences. Get straight to the point with no fluff - that’s my goal. oh, and I never beg people to subscribe or like.
@@BrianGreenstone
I am going to beg for you... we need to keep your superb reviews coming. So come on people, hit that subscription button!
Btw, does anyone know if they fixed this overheating problem as they are still selling this 4 years later (and I want one ONLY if I am not going to be killed in a Garmin fire)?
The build up to parking mode almost killed me with anticipation!
After my coworker got into an accident and cannot prove what really happened it has put me in the market for a dash cam I watched countless videos on different dash cams and have now settled on this one the camera quality is excellent during the day and at night it's small enough to be out of the way on the windshield and it's just what I'm looking for thanks for the review.
Well, bad news guys it’s still overheats and locks up. There’s a warm day today and it happened again. So I guess it has not been fixed. I will have to turn parking mode off now but it’s getting warm out.
How's it working now did you do any troubleshooting? I'm thinking of getting one of these I like how you can pair it to your phone pretty awesome
Damn. Mine is on it’s way. Ordered it without seeing your video first. It was on sale. Ughh
so save my money and don't buy the Hardwire powering kit?
I have the same problem, but also incorrectly connected wires. my car maintains power to most fuses after the ignition is turned off. therefore the camera does not switch to the parking mode ... I do not have video records with the letter "P" next to the logo, the camera indicator light is constantly on, it should flash in parking mode. This can be checked by disconnecting the "ACC" cable. I am not able to confirm this at the moment but it may cause the camera to freeze.
Did you tried to change the memory card with a different producer, like Sony, SanDisk...etc?
Such a great in depth review! This camera is great for ppl that wanna forget they have a camera and just want to have something in case an accident happens.
Thank you Brian for giving a real user experience review. I was going to buy one today but now I think I'll wait.
Very sober, very calm and to the point. Perfect english so that even foreigners can understand clearly. Great job!
Up to the point where the camera was overheating, I was considering buying one of these cameras, NOT NOW !!!
Very nice review, I really like your style! Keep up the good work. PS I just subscribed. Thanks !!!
Honest review! I was thinking about getting this one but I think I'll pass
Garmin employees please stop clicking dislike button. This gentlemen is 100% right about heat issue with Garmin dash cams. I have dashcam45. Its been about 18month now and I dont have a parking mode cable installed, I use regular cable that it came with. Camera is now a toast, it used to overheat soooo much that if you touch it, you would literally burn yourself.
Long story short, love the functionality of the camera, footage, quality built but now its broken. For $200 it must last much longer
I’m amazed the SD cards can operate at that scorching temperature. I guess technically they don’t since it starts to malfunction, but it doesn’t fry it entirely because it works fine once it cools down. Still, amazing the whole thing doesn’t just melt or burst into flames.
Bought this on impulse after I nearly experienced two car accidents within a few days apart. I will test it to see if they fixed the over heating issue and get back on here.
After a week of owning this camera...
Pros: Small, not so noticeable, good quality video, able to detach from glued-on hook.
Cons: Overheats quickly, downloading video takes a long time, camera must be on to see any videos on the app.
Overall, it is a good camera but the overheating issue may be a dealbreaker for me. Nothing has happened to the camera yet, but summer is coming and being that I live in south Cali, summers hit triple digits very often. For that reason I will return it and get a camera with no overheating issues.
Oscar Navarro thanks for your review lol, just convinced me not to buy it
@@ON760 which one did you get instead?
Not sure why TH-cam recommend this video but I thoroughly enjoyed it despite not being in the market for a dash cam
Great review and explanations! I also appreciate the footage from night driving and note regarding the filter during night driving. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for a fantastic, objective and holistic review of the product. This is how product reviews should be !
Thank you for that info, I was just about to get it, now I am checking for other reviews of other Dashcam. Before making a decision.
Great review! I went ahead and ordered one from Amazon here in the UK. The most impressive thing is all of the functions via Bluetooth and Wifi, which have been built into this incredibly small camera. I've previously used all of the Mini 0806 cameras from eBay, they're pretty much junk and actually cost more than this Garmin camera. Thanks again 👍
Greetings from Verona - Italy for your gorgeous presentation. I thoroughly enjoyed it and subscribed to your channel in no time. All the best and cheers.
Well what can I say..?
This review is simply amazing and to be honest it deserves an award.
The reviewer gives it to you in a no holds barred truly memorable fashion.
That delivery actually made me cry. I have not just bought the camera I have now got shares in the company! Sir you are a God amongst men and if you ever need a kidney please let me know.
Thanks!!!
@@BrianGreenstone My pleasure Brian. Seriously though your review did help and I've just got one.
All the best from Manchester England 👍
Great review. My concern was the overheating part. Garmin needs to work on that problem. Don't want the concern of finding my car burnt to a crisp as I see it..
Great review with very useful info. You must have worked for Consumer Reports at some point in the past, because this is such an unbiased report the likes of which are found only in CR. You have presented the info with clarity, an even flow and without any bells and whistles. Thank you Brian! Excellent job!
Thanks! Nope, just a forever video game programmer :)
Great review, wanted to buy the Garmin mini for parking mode... Now I will wait a bit. To see if garmin will come with a firmware fix.
Thanks again....
I know this is a review about a dash cam but that Aston is absolutely out of this world 😍
Great review, ordering one asap. I would've never thought of a filter, that's awesome advice. Thanks.
Keith Niederstadt does it come with a filter or do you have to buy it separately?
Gwion Davies I just bought one and mine didn’t come with it.
I just installed the mini 2 and it got very HOT to the touch as well, and didn't know why, so I took your advice and shut down the parking guard mode and see what happens. Also I am returning the parking cable and suction mount and opted for the continuous power cable that use's the ODB II port with the auto shut off mode to save on the battery. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the review. I have an older Garmin dash cam and it over heats and freezes up. I have a screen on it and its frustrating.
Very nice, articulate and intelligent review. I've fed up with fan-boi trendy "isnt this great" factless reviews. Well done!
Good custom review, Wow, I worry about the over heating in park mode because damage may happen and its not working to catch the person also driving mode you want to feel sure it will record a accident. Thanks, I will keep looking they need to fix!
I think the best TH-cam informational video I have ever seen. Straight to the point👍🏼
Thanks!
I have one of these Mini’s, used in the rear of the car, in conjunction with the Garmin 66 front of the car. One of the issues I have found is, even though its got a 64gb micro sad car in it, it doesn’t seem to loop overwrite. So it fills up and the throws up a fault with the card. I then have to reformat the card, before it starts working again. This seems like a major flaw, as you are having to delete fileS that may have just recently occurred, that you might want to review!
I like the size and look of the mini, but it seems to have quite a few issues. Disappointed with Garmin really, reason I went with them, was I thought they would be more reliable than the cheaper Chinese dash cams!!!!
Great video...informative and straight to the point. All youtube reviews should be like this. No annoying background music either. Big Thanks for this.
+1. .. Excellent heads-up. .. Recently purchased a Garmin Dash Cam Mini. .. Thanks!
I absolutely agree with Adi Mehta: "This is precisely how a product review should be presented!". Thanks, Brian 👋👍
Awesome and thorough review. Wasn't even looking for a dash cam. 😊
The polarising filter was a great tip..just bought this dashcam based on this review
Outstanding review!
I have one, I saw the most dangerous bit of driving I’ve seen in 38 years of driving yesterday, on a motorway here in the U.K. unbelievably, it hasn’t captured anything!!!!!! First time I’ve ever really needed to use it in anger, very very annoying, everything working fine as well? Makes no sense. Binning it ASAP. Great reviewing by the way.
It wasn’t recording? Was the camera locked up?
Damn thanks for the review! It saves me from buying this since I wanted this for my rear since I already have it for the front.
You've answered my concerns thoroughly and I'm well satisfied. I'm very grateful brother.
Really thorough review, nice job. Been holding off on installing my unit due to the overheating complaints I've seen elsewhere...fortunately parking mode is not an important feature for me so I may give the Mini a try. The small form factor is unbeatable (until the remote cam options start hitting the market), so it would be great if Garmin could fix some of the issues it has.
Did you end up purchasing the dash cam? How has it held up?
Yea
Awesome review; feel very confident that I'm getting an accurate review of the Mini.
Has there been a firmware update to correct the issue with parking mode since you filmed this?
SJCAM doesn't have reliable updates for their camera. Functional partially doesn't work at all.
This dash camera isn’t worth the price for what it does, but it’s worth buying used as a side dash camera for the side windows or interior. Thanks for posting this.
Fantastic real life review! Thank you
Thanks from a wet and windy UK for a brilliant review. Your comments about the overheating have given me concerns . Up until that point I was sold, but now having second thoughts. I've not had a dash cam before so don't really know yet if i need, or want a parking mode. I think a bit more research is in order, but this Garmin is at the top of my list at the moment. Thanks.
They released firmware 7.30, but I haven't had a chance to see if it fixes the overheating yet. The customer support people said the release notes only said "misc fixes", so I'm guessing not.
Have you ruled out the possibility that your car traveled to the future, resulting in the 2089 date "error?"
Thanks for vid
I have the Tandem and was going to buy the parking mode cable accessory but will not now--saved me $30 plus the pain of installation! Even though the problem was shown for a Mini I'm assuming the parking mode problem is common to all Garmin dash cams. Still planning to buy the Mini as a rear-facing camera. Will aslo be coming back here to see if Garmin ever fixes the parking mode overheating problem. Great video!
Unfortunately, this is not the only device Garmin produces that suffers from the White Hot Overheating Issue. I have multiple Garmin Drive (and older Nuvi) units that also do tis. Garmin have replaced them all at least once, always without improvement.
I suspect they have a bug in the Voltage Regulating circuitry they all must share that allows this to happen. Apparently, this is a hardware failure as many many firmware updates on many many devices yield no improvement in behavior.
How Garmin can allow their engineering department to put this kind of Garbage out is beyond me. How many cars have burned to the ground after these things catch fire? How many homes have burned?
Don't get burned by Garmin!
Thanks for doing a concise video without trying to add fluff to hit that ten minute mark
Thanks for the review.. it helped me a lot.
Very helpful video. Been having horrible luck with people hitting me! Definitely time to invest in one of these. Love how it’s so tiny, thanks for details
Thanks for honest review
Thank you for honest review. Honest reviews are worth millions compared to videos that try their best to sell it.
Thank you for your review. Bought one because of it.
Forgot to mention, you may have just bad wiring, or a problem with the wiring harness ;) You only swapped the camera units right?
Daniel Lopes is your parking mode working/not overheating?
I bought one of these today. I had no SD Card inserted and just plugged it in on the drive home. The led's were flashing constantly and within 5 mins it was easily at 70 Centigrade so I just unplugged it.
With the card now inserted and formatted it seems to be working fine but the app is really slow to show footage on my phone. The card works fine in my PC so I'm happy enough with my purchase.
Nice Aston Martin!!!!
Brian, thank you for this review. I was going to purchase 4 of these mini cams (you can install up to 4) because l live in an apartment and my SUV is being vandalized. Parking mode must be extremely reliable for me to get footage of whoever is vandalizing. My intention was to place a cam on the windshield, a cam on the rear glass and a cam on each side of the rear window which has factory tint. I called Garmin and they told me that l would need to purchase a parking cable for each cam and have my installer hook it up to my car battery. There is no way that i'm going to spend $520 just for the cams and parking cables not including installation for parking mode to fail. If you or anyone reading this knows of a system with parking mode where you can add more than 2 cams please let me know. Thanks for the excellent review!!!
Yeah, this definitely isn’t the best dash cam for that. I’d recommend maybe a Thinkware model. I have one in my Jeep and it never malfunctions at all. Parking mode works perfectly.
@@BrianGreenstone , thanks! I saw several thinkware models on Amazon but didn't read the reviews. I'm so happy that you've confirmed that you haven't had an issue with parking mode. Thanks a million!!!!!
doing a garmin dash cam review in an Aston Martin....LOL.
Try MINI
Wow this guy sure knows how to make a video. Very professional and well made. You made total sense and were logical
I guess I'm the only one that sees that this man is posted up in an Aston Martin.
I didn't notice until you pointed it out. It looks like a Chrysler inside 😀
This is exactly what I've been looking for. I drive a classic car 68 Ford so I don't want something big I want to hide it and I don't need the screen or the lane warnings or the GPS and all the tech I just need something that films good and protects my car. Thank u for this video
Nice Aston 🤙🏼
Thanks for this review!
Not only were you very thorough, but you also gave excellent buying tips - getting a polariser to reduce the dashboard reflection and so on.
Well done!
Cheers from Italy
Buying two for inside car if cops pull me over
He said no sound recorded.
@@rterry2752 No he said it wouldn't play on the app. It will play with audio recorded on your computer. :)
Excellent review! Well-done!
I'm on my second Garmin Dash Cam Mini. The first lasted less than 3 days. Via the Garmin Drive Android phone app, the memory card needed formatting again on the 3rd day. Sandisk Ultra 128GB Class 10 SD card. Format the card. Then app says the card has reached end of life. Fine. It's from my previous dash cam, a year-old Zero Edge Z3. I bought two Sandisk Ultra Plus 64GB Class 10 SD cards. Cam did the same with these new cards just removed from their sealed package, purchased at the local big box store.
Garmin had an exchange replacement to me today, 9 days after I reported the first had failed. Hopefully I get at least a year of use from this one. Both run quite warm, dare I say, hot! No parking mode. No matter the power source, my car's accessory/ignition-enabled USB port, laptop USB, or cell phone charger, this thing gets very warm to the touch. It does not matter if it's recording video, or connected to my phone via Bluetooth/WiFi.
So far it's working, having recorded two 15-minute drives. I'll see how it does on an hour-long freeway trip in the next few days.
(Edited several times due to TH-cam's inability to properly line space between paragraphs. What's the secret to a single blank line between paragraphs? It's either no spacing between paragraphs, or two blank lines, even though while I edit, seeing one line between paragraphs.)
Until garmin gets the camera fixed, BUY ANOTHER BRAND OF CAMERA...
Nice and thorough review, wish all YT reviews were like this. Thanks Brian.
I don't even have a car😂
Im homless
@@eronpino But you have a outrageous priced cell phone though.
Thanks for the info ,I was going to buy it due to it size but the down side is now the parking mode is one of my main reasons for buying the dash cam
I'm really late to this party, but thank you so much for the very best review I could have asked for! I am grateful for your fantastic info.
Thanks for the video. It appeared like the Parking Mode was already removed from the Garmin app. Thanks for bringing this up to everyone!
Parking mode is still there, but it only appears when the parking cable is plugged in.
Your video is very important to me. Garmin is a major manufacturer of aircraft avionics.
As large as they are I have never heard of any failure in their equipment. Your video lets me know I should be very circumspect on Garmin electronics. The 2089 date glitch is absolutely unbelievable, and that it doesn't happen regularly is quite frighting.
It only takes one incident in a plane and things can bad very fast. Also, the place of sales and repair may not be aware of products sent back to the factory during the warranty period, and so it may not be disseminated a particular type of issue is prevalent. It is more expedient to replace the malfunctioning device.
With that done it wouldn't be prudent to announce this or that is a problem with the devise as you evidence by endorsing the product despite its malfunctions.
I really like your review and your overall style and persona. You’re direct and to the point, and you don’t overhype things. This is how all reviews should be. If I had one criticism, as someone who is researching dash cams and wants to understand some of the features, a quick explanation of what Park Mode is and why you use it would have greatly helped. I can google it, of course, but I would have appreciated a short description. Other than that minor criticism, it’s a great video.
Good point, thanks!
Great review! Your experience is consistent with every Garmin product I own.
Great guy, in a great car, doing a great review. Low key, on point, love it! And the mini cam is really elegant and fits the car perfectly!
excellent presentation! Thanks. I just received one as a gift and this video saves me from discovering the flaws the hard way.
Great honest review with CNET quality. thank you.
Thanks Brian for reporting back with your reports after firmware updates!
i use a vanture and like it. i reviewed it on my channeling and why i hate rexing too2
Hello Brian. By now, hopefully the problem with the parking mode overheat has been resolved. Looks like you did this video last year, so hopefully so. Garmin would not be the first company to deny when they are experiencing a known issue. They don't want to let on to the public that there is a problem at all. That's typical. But anyway, great video! When it is working, it seems to work great!
Seriously great video man. Exactly the type of review i wanted before buying it.
Thank you for making this review. I wish more people would take the time you did to make a proper review.
Brian, Great review and diagnostics, its hard to understand that Garmin can't figure it out but having worked to a tech company before I know why as well. The reason I haven't bought a dash cam yet is that I have been waiting for a unit that is even more stealth, meaning the smallest of cameras that can be fitted to the windshield and rear window with main unit under the dash out of sight. I don't want something large enough in view that will give a thief a reason to break into my car. Thanks again for the great review.
Thanks! What I can't understand is why they try to cram everything into the main camera body. Why don't they just put the video chip in a tiny enclosure and run a data wire to the main box behind the dash? Just integrate it into the parking cable so all of the work is done there. Then they could deal with a better cooling solution and the visible part of the camera could be so tiny you wouldn't even know its there.
I'm glad I found this. I still have some unanswerd questions about how I'm going to be using mine, but you've answered some of my concerns at least.
I decided to get a Dashcam 46 for my car after watching this video and I love it. It has all the features of the mini, and more. I still have two minis waiting for me when I get home next week, and one will go into the car as well as the rear camera, which can be networked to the 46 through the Garmin Drive app.
I'm still glad I ordered the minis - two of them - and I'm still glad I watched this video, but now I have to decide if I want to return the second Mini to Sam's Club or find a different use for it than intended.
On a side note, I was able to watch the live feed of my 46 from the cab of my truck as I backed in in front of my car, to watch for spacing. It won't always be useful to do so, but it will sometimes.
This is the first video of yours I have watched and you are so clear and concise that it was an instant Subscribe.
Brian - very good honest review. So, you’re basically saying you have an issue shortly after restarting your car while in park mode. I would suspect an issue with the power supply. Could be getting a current surge or voltage spike during start (this is not uncommon) that is causing an issue with the Garmin circuitry or software. Have your car checked by a auto shop or dealer with proper tools to check the voltage and current levels during start on the Garmin power supply line.
What we really need to know is if others are experiencing this same exact issue with the Garmin mini, or is it just your implementation. That is key.
Yeah, I had the voltage checked and it was totally normal. If there’s a surge when the cars starts you’d think it would also affect it when the camera is not in park mode too.
Brian Greenstone
But, did they check the voltage and current during engine cranking?
Are there others reporting the same issue with the Garmin mini in other applications?
Mark yes there are others here in the comments who have said they experience overheating as well.
Fantastic review. I have the Garmin 55 dash cam and love it but I didn’t not know about the polarize lenses until now, and for that, thank you! Ordered it right away.
Just got this camera...Excellent unbiased review and good tips!
That is Called a Review.
First time I enter you channel, First minute….You got a new subscriber.
👍🏼
GREAT review! Maybe the best review on anything I was looking for more info on! Thank you for sharing!
Nice review. We have had Garmins for about 7 years. Just upgraded to the 66. Was thinking about adding the mini as a rear cam.
Thank you for the review, I was about to buy the cam. Overheating problem concerns me, I am cheking for other options.
Gosh so many important advices (filter is a must!!!) you gave us on this video. Was looking for my very FIRST dash cam video and i'm so glad i saw this.
Liked your video because of your truth.. Not because of cam
Very intelligent and comprehensive review.
Did you figure out when the camera fries the memory card. I mean reset the card for new videos?
Great review. Actually I heard the exact overheating issue on another YT video and their fix was the same as yours. They stopped using park mode. And never had the overheating problem again
You should do all kinds of tech reviews. Just found this video and sir.....you are very talented at doing reviews.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻