Hello we recently purchased a 2010 pathfinder SE with the backup camera (Silver edition I believe they called it) The camera has worked find this morning when I first drove it but after getting out of a meeting and backing up the bottom of the screen about 1/2" up is squiggly like the old VSH tapes would show or security tapes sometimes. The remaining screen is fine and when not in backup mode the display in the vehicle is fine. Has anyone had any problems with wires coming loose or is this a common problem anyone has experienced? We love our pathfinder in fact we got it only a week after my husband purchased his new frontier. I am blind in one eye and I love the fact that there are decreased blind spots and the backup camera though I do not rely on it 100% it does give me that extra confidence when backing up. I have checked on the price of replacement parts and it seems for the camera I am looking at about $600 and $100 if its the screen.

Thank you for any ideas or help! I love all the information I have learned so far from reading these boards!

Hi! It sounds like the camera is dying a slow death. A loose wire would cause the entire image to go out at once. I wouldn't say this is a common problem but it's definitely not unheard of. Life on the rear hatch of an SUV is quite rough.

I'm going to geek out for a second because cameras are my thing. The camera assembly is a weatherproof casing with a wide-angle lens that projects an image onto a CMOS sensor. A CMOS sensor scans the image by supplying voltage from the top of the sensor to the bottom at a rate of about 30 times per second. When the sensor doesn't receive enough voltage -- due to a faulty sensor or camera processing unit -- the bottom of the image degrades first.

The good news is that the camera is super easy to replace. You'll need a wrench, screwdriver and about 15 minutes.

DanJetta wrote:Hi! It sounds like the camera is dying a slow death. A loose wire would cause the entire image to go out at once. I wouldn't say this is a common problem but it's definitely not unheard of. Life on the rear hatch of an SUV is quite rough.

I'm going to geek out for a second because cameras are my thing. The camera assembly is a weatherproof casing with a wide-angle lens that projects an image onto a CMOS sensor. A CMOS sensor scans the image by supplying voltage from the top of the sensor to the bottom at a rate of about 30 times per second. When the sensor doesn't receive enough voltage -- due to a faulty sensor or camera processing unit -- the bottom of the image degrades first.

The good news is that the camera is super easy to replace. You'll need a wrench, screwdriver and about 15 minutes.

Thanks for the tip still the price of the camera at $576 scares me :-/ I only thought it might be a wire loose due to the fact when I went to the back of the vehicle and pushed on the camera and even shut the lift gate door and went back and put it in reverse again it seems to fix the glitch. I too am a camera freak as that was my first thought this am with the video being all weird. knock on wood as of now since I have closed the liftgate it seems to be working hoping it does until my husband comes home from the military and can check it out further. Thanks again for all your help in the process I am def starting a replacement camera fund just in case it needs it in the near future!

Ugh, yeah, some of these small part are crazy expensive. A replacement fund is a great idea! Maybe a bake sale or car wash? Does your husband dance? Dancers make great tips! I used to sing in college... people would pay me to stop.

When you guys are ready to replace it (if that turns out to be the problem), consider buying a used camera from a junk yard, ebay, or online source like car-part.com. I found this one on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-12-NISSAN- ... e0&vxp=mtr

It won't fit your year but the fact that this one is half the price is great news.

If moving the camera or closing the rear hatch fixes the problem for a while it sounds like the sensor might have some broken solder joints (the things that connect the sensor to the "brain" and supply it with power). This can happen from impact, vibration, age, chemical breakdown, etc.

Again, I could be totally wrong, so it's definitely worth having someone local check it out.