The passenger side front camera on my C7 Z06 was completely shattered by a rock, so badly that the pieces of the lense just fell out when I touched them. A small part of the retaining ring around the lense was also broken, but not so much that a lense wouldn't fit in and stay with a tiny dab of glue on the edge.

I found the GM part to replace the camera: https://www.tascaparts.com/oem-parts/gm-camera-84185770

The lowest price I found is $103. I know from working on hardware products that include multiple cameras that these are ~$1 pieces. The markup is about 100x.

Replacing the entire camera also requires removing the front bumper. I'm historically bad at this and tend to break clips, etc.

All of this got me thinking... surely GM sources these parts from China. A long internet search later I found this:https://www.aliexpress.com/item/HD-1...999692030.html

The lens and camera body are, from what I could tell, identical to the GM part. I ordered one of these (originally from a different supplier at $19) to try out.

The camera took approximately 1 month to get here. When it arrived, I proceeded to remove the lense by using an Xacto knife to cut off part of the retaining ring. I then popped the outer lense out. There was also a rubber ring behind the outer lense which you may or may not need, depending on the state of your camera. In my case the original rubber ring had remained on the camera body despite the lense being gone for over a month.


The camera after I started to cut away some of the retaining ring.


The camera after removing the lens.


The back of the camera with two screw holes, and the metal clip that attaches.


The lens and small rubber ring behind the lens.



I then popped the new lense into retaining ring on my Z06. It was a perfect fit!!

Unfortunately, checking the camera view from the car shows a blurry view from that camera. However, I don't believe this is because the lense is wrong. The lense fit and the shape of the camera housing is too spot-on for this to be the wrong lense. I believe the issue is that my lense has been shattered and off long enough to allow water to enter the camera housing itself. Unfortunately for me, this means the camera probably will need to be replaced. It could just dry out over time (I was, unfortunately, caught in some rain the day before I tried this) but I'm probably stuck with removing my bumper and replacing the camera now.

Some things to note about these cheap cameras:
- First, the wiring harness for this camera is different than the one on the GM part. However, I believe that's easily rectifiable with a little splicing from the new camera to the existing camera's wiring harness.
- Second, the GM part I believe may come with a large plastic piece on the back that the camera mounts to. I *think* that piece is plastic-welded to the grill. The way the camera is built, I believe this plastic piece probably just mounts to the back of the camera with two screws, instead of the metal piece that came on the cheap camera. The main challege will be getting the plastic piece off of the grill so that it can be reused to mount the new camera.

I noticed my other front camera also has numerous chips in it now from road debris, so I've ordered a couple more of these cameras (I'm still well under the cost of a single GM part), and I will try replacing them by removing the bumper and splicing in the new cameras once they arrive (which, according to Alibaba Express, will be another 25 days).

I hope this is helpful for anyone else who's had front camera lense damage. First thing I plan to do after replacing them is to add some Xpel on the lenses.

 

That's some good to know info! Removing the front bumper isn't that bad and there are only two clips on the top that are kinda a pain. I remove my bumpers so often I can get off the front in about 10 min and the rear in about 15min. The link in my sig has bumper removal videos amongst other things with the c7. Good work finding an alternative repair!

 

With the above said are you saying the front bumper cameras are not removable without taking out its plastic back up structure or can it be unscrewed from it? Or does it have to be cut out and replaced with what you say is supplied with the GM camera?

I wonder if there is a higher resolution unit on Aliexpress. The factory cameras could of been provided with a better resolution.

You would be surprised how many everyday products we buy online and in stores that can be found on Aliexpress for much much less. It is almost like buying from the supplier direct at wholesale pricing. Now if I can only find out who supplies the Phoenix slot car motors in China and what model number do they offer it under. The Phoenix motor available at slot car shops and online only say made in China. They are imported from a distributor and sold under their name. They probably pay $1 or $2 for it from the Chinese manufacturer or less. It is sold online for $20.

 

Something to consider if you're looking to use the Chinese cameras in place of the OEM ones. The GM front and rear UVJ cameras get 6 volt power from the video processing module in the trunk. The UVC setup that only has the rear camera uses 12 volts. Your Chinese cameras are also listed as needing a 12 volt input.

Hopefully it's just a matter of finding a slightly different model on Aliexpress.

 

Thanks for the info. I originally ordered the camera just to try the lense replacement, but the apparent water in my camera means I'll need to replace it. I'm hoping the 12V is a misprint or the part actually tolerates multiple voltages. I guess I will find out if they work or not when the new cameras arrive. I still think the lense would work as a replacement for anyone who's lost just the lens to a rock.

 

I am not sure yet what will be required to remove the OEM camera once I have the bumper off. I'm waiting until the cameras arrive to see if I can replace both at once. From what I have seen in other threads, the cameras appear to be plastic-welded into the grille. On mosst (all?) of the GM parts sites I checked, the plastic piece that the camera attaches to is not shown as coming with the camera. Because the camera housing looks identical to the GM part except for this backing, I am assuming that the GM camera just screws into the plastic part that is welded to the grille, rather than the metal part that came with the camera.

I will post more once I try the install.

 

I just removed mine and they are only held on by a few small screws. The plastic retainer piece stays attached. Only the little square camera section comes out.

 

I received the cameras from the seller, but these ones do not exactly match what was shown in the picture, and thus won't fit. I'm returning them, but I'll have to eat shipping to China. This wasn't completely unexpected, considering I was ordering it from a wholesaler in China. Back to the drawing board.


Left is what I received with the new order. Right is the first camera I tried, which matches the Corvette parking camera.

 

theres no aftermarket alternative? i wouldnt mind better cameras, especially replacing the utter complete **** rear view camera.