Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Car Reviews

Yada Backup Camera with Dash Monitor review

Hindsight is 20/20 with the Yada Backup Camera & 5

By
Yada Backup Camera
Jim Donelly
Yada Backup Camera with Dash Monitor
MSRP $200.00
Score Details
DT Recommended Product
“The Yada Backup Camera may be one of the most simple and convenient safety updates to your car.”
Pros
  • Great picture quality and viewing angles
  • Clear visibility in low light
  • Simple wireless connections
  • Monitor allows for two cameras
Cons
  • Only 12V charger for external camera
  • Blank screen majority of time

“Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.“

“Never look back” may be a seemingly positive mantra spread throughout sites like Tumblr but it is dangerous advice in the car world. Rear visibility in your vehicle is such a serious issue that the NHSTA is requiring all new vehicles are equipped with a back up camera by 2018. The folks at Yada may already have you covered with every type of camera from the standard back-up cam to a baby monitor for your car. We wired in a couple Yada cameras to give you some added visibility into the aftermarket camera options and help you keep alert out on the road.

Recommended Videos

Installation

The Yada backup system with 5-inch monitor does require some basic installation and is certainly not something you can throw together in the Costco parking lot after purchase. For those with basic experience in wiring any automotive electrical items – like an aftermarket stereo – this shouldn’t be a problem. For those with no experience, there are some great tutorial videos on Yada’s website to help explain the steps to install the camera. I have a fair bit of experience and the installation process took me around 20-30 minutes on a 2005 Honda Element.

The kit includes all the necessary wiring, zip ties, and electrical connectors you will need. The camera unit simply attaches to the rear license plate with the help of 3M adhesive. The camera wire is fed through the rear tailgate or trunk lid to one of the tail lights. You use the power from the reverse light bulb to connect the power of the camera so it turns on once the car is put into reverse gear.

Related: 
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more

Features

Once installation is complete, the 5-inch monitor adheres to the dash or windshield with a suction cup mount and should be powered on when the car starts (it may be continuously powered depending on what type of 12V power source you use). Camera 1 will default to the backup camera and display when in reverse. The kit also includes wiring to hardwire the display into your car for a more permanent solution beyond the standard 12V plug. Upon initial installation, our camera did not display but it was discovered that the power connection was too loose to turn on the camera. After fixing the installation issue, we saw the camera display without problems.

The ease of setup with the wireless camera help to give Yada a leg up on the competition

The 5-inch display unit itself has physical buttons on top to power on, change channel to different cameras, turn on/off “Parking Aid” lines, and bring up the menu. Within the menu you only have basic features such as pairing a second camera or modifying the brightness and contrast. The “Parking Aid” lines are typical on OEM backup camera systems and display green, yellow, and red dashes on the screen to help line up parking spots and gauge distance to obstacles. If a second camera is not paired and you are not in reverse, then the screen will remain blank while driving.

Backup Camera Display

The display quality on the Yada Backup system is clearer than the majority of OEM systems you will find on the market today. I was pleasantly surprised at the clarity and viewing angles with the wireless system. There was no lag to be detected and the picture has a wide enough angle to ensure you have get a good view of any objects behind you as you reverse your vehicle. Yada mentions that the camera has night vision capabilities and even in the dark, the display is clear enough to navigate with ease. Don’t expect a military grade night vision experience, however,  as the system is not that advanced.

External Add-On Camera

The folks at Yada also gave us a separate wireless External Add-On Camera to test with the system. The 5-inch monitor allows for a second camera to be paired and works with things like the baby monitor camera or external camera for towing. This external camera has an internal battery and features a magnetic backing to allow it to attach to the back of a trailer or the exterior of your vehicle.

The add-on camera must be charged for around five hours for four-five hour usage and only includes a 12V charging cable for the car. I would recommend a power adaptor to allow you to charge the device at home and I am surprised the camera did not include one. Adhering the camera outside the vehicle was as simple as finding a metal surface for the magnet to stick to and pairing in the 5-inch display options was easy. The camera featured no lag and identical display clarity to the backup camera.

Conclusion

The DT Accessory Pack

Up your game with these accessories, hand picked by DT editors:

Yada-Tiny Traveler Baby Monitor for the Car ($100)

Yada Matte Black 2.4″ Dash Road HD Camera ($100)

Yada Matte Black Digital Wireless Backup Camera ($150)

The Yada Backup Camera may be one of the most simple and convenient safety updates to your car. For under $150 you can have an option that is sometimes a couple thousand dollars on modern vehicles. The ease of setup with the wireless camera help to give Yada a leg up on the competition. The only small gripe is that the 5-inch monitor takes up a fair bit of dash or windshield space and is blank for 99-percent of driving time if used simply for a back-up camera. A simple digital compass or some other useful information would be a nice addition while driving.

Highs

  • Great picture quality and viewing angles
  • Clear visibility in low light
  • Simple wireless connections
  • Monitor allows for two cameras

Lows

  • Only 12V charger for external camera
  • Blank screen majority of time
Nolan Browning
Nolan Browning
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nolan grew up in a space balanced between the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles' high-gloss exotics and the Mojave desert's…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

The week in EV tech: From sky-high dreams to ground-level drama
tesla robotaxi feud alef in transition flight

Welcome to Digital Trends’ weekly recap of the revolutionary technology powering, connecting, and now driving next-gen electric vehicles. 
Buckle up, folks — this week we’re taking off with a look at the futuristic dream of flying electric cars possibly gliding above U.S. roads sooner than you think. But before we get carried away, let’s bring it back down to the bumpy road of present-day realities.
Even if you’re mostly interested about the tech powering the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, it’s become increasingly hard to avoid the politics around it: You guessed it, we’re talking about this week’s public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump.
What does this have to do with EV tech? Well, quite a lot actually. For starters, the technology behind Tesla’s Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (FSD) modes may return in the crosshairs of regulators: Despite the names, these are still driver-assist features that require active driver supervision, and until Trump’s election, they had been under heavy scrutiny by safety regulators for several years.
Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  (NHTSA) launched an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD. Big questions remain about the driver-assist system's performance under adverse, yet naturally-occurring conditions such as fog, sun glare, rain, and snow.
When Musk, who spent about $275 million to help elect Trump, was appointed to head a newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), it raised more than a few eyebrows about his power and influence over the regulators who are supposed to oversee traffic safety, and therefore Tesla.
It didn’t help that the Trump administration followed Musk’s recommendations and relaxed crash-reporting requirements put in place since 2021, while also relaxing rules to accelerate the deployment of fully-automated robotaxis.
The Trump/Musk clash takes place just as Tesla is due to launch its robotaxi pilot progam in Texas later this month. While Trump is now threatening to pull billions of dollars in government subsidies and contracts from Musk’s companies, it’s unclear whether he might pressure the Department of Transportation to again tighten the regulatory screws on Tesla. What is clear is that Trump has never been a fan of electric vehicles and is already trying to end federal subsidies on EV purchases and leases. And while he had made a big deal about buying a bright red Tesla Model S back in March, Trump now says he wants to sell it.
Back to the tech
Meanwhile, Tesla is still required to respond to information and data requests from NHTSA regarding the safety of its robotaxis by July 1. And ultimately, it should come down to the performance of the technology.
For Autopilot and FSD, Tesla has opted for less expensive navigational tech relying on multiple onboard cameras that feed AI machine-learning models. But especially for so-called adverse driving conditions, it’s the more expensive technology relying on a blend of pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar) which has received the nod of regulators.
Waymo, the sole robotaxi service currently operating in the U.S., and Zoox, Amazon’s upcoming robotaxi service, both use that blend of navigational tech.
For its robotaxis, Tesla is said to have upped its game in terms of autonomous driving with its Hardware 4 (HW4) technology, which does include radar sensors and promises enhanced environmental perception.
Will that be enough for Tesla to convince regulators, catch up with Waymo, or compete effectively with Zoox?
We’ll have to wait and see.
Flying cars
In a recent edition, we noted that while consumer confidence about robotaxi technology is on the rise, most people also want more data before they hop into a self-driving vehicle.
What about flying taxis? According to a recent survey by Honeywell, nearly all U.S. airline fliers, or 98%, said they would consider using a so-called electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, or eVTOL, as part of their travel journey.
But while the buzz around flying electric vehicles has mostly focused on air taxis— like Archer Aviation’s Midnight, expected to fly athletes around the 2028 LA Olympics, or Joby’s slick air taxi, backed by Toyota — one California startup is shooting for something a little more... driveable.
Meet Alef Aeronautics, a Bay Area company that wants to put the “car” back in “flying car.” This week, Alef announced it has received over 3,400 pre-orders for its electric flying vehicle, the Model A — and get this: it’s not a futuristic prototype gathering dust in a lab. Alef says production could begin by the end of 2025, or early next year.
On the ground, the Model A operates like a low-speed electric car, complete with hub motors in the wheels and—wait for it—a real steering wheel. You can legally drive it at up to 25 mph on public roads, parking it in a normal garage like any other EV. It’s refreshingly manual in an increasingly hands-free world.
But when it's time for lift off, the steering wheel takes a backseat. For vertical takeoff and flight, the Model A transforms into a drone-like aircraft. Its cabin rotates sideways to create lift, and eight electric rotors—controlled by a flight system and joysticks—take over. No pedals, no yoke, just a bit of joystick magic (or autopilot, if you prefer).
The Model A has already received the nod from regulators for test flights.
While the $300,000 price tag won’t fit everyone’s budget, the company is clearly betting on a future where you don’t have to choose between a car and a flying machine—you can have both.

Read more
8 key things you need to know from Apple’s WWDC 2025 event
From a fresh look and updated names, to new features, more intelligence and live translation
iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 shown on devices.

The WWDC 2025 keynote ran for just over an hour and a half. For those of you who don't fancy sitting through the whole presentation, we've pulled out the key things you need to know from the latest Apple event.

1. Welcome to the 26 club

Read more
Tesla’s robotaxi service is almost here, but it’s not the car you want to see
Silver Tesla Model Y Juniper side

Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that the automaker is aiming to launch its robotaxi service on June 22, in Austin, Texas.

“Tentatively, June 22,” Musk said in a post on X on Tuesday, adding: “We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift.”

Read more