What Is Smart Parking?
Smart Parking helps protect your vehicle while it is parked by recording when an impact is detected. Your Dash Cam saves a 30‑second Protected file, then records a further 5 minutes of normal footage if there are no more impacts.
What Does Smart Parking Do?
Smart Parking monitors your parked vehicle for impacts. When an impact is detected, your Dash Cam:
Saves a 30-second Protected file that cannot be overwritten easily.
Records up to 5 minutes of additional unprotected footage if no further impacts occur.
This gives you clear footage of what happened before, during, and after the event.
How Do I Turn On Smart Parking?
From the Dash Cam homepage, select More at the bottom of the screen.
Select Setup Settings.
Tap Smart Parking.
Select On.
Warning: Only turn on Smart Parking if your Dash Cam has a permanent power supply (live even when the ignition is off).
How do I power my Dash Cam for Smart Parking?
Smart Parking only works if your Dash Cam has power while the car is parked. Use a Nextbase Hardwire Kit connected to a permanently live fuse or Nextbase OBD cable. These provide constant power from your vehicle even when the engine is off.
Factors such as the size and health of your vehicle's 12V battery, environmental conditions like temperature, and the presence of other systems drawing power can significantly impact the performance of the power supply. For instance, cold temperatures can reduce battery efficiency, and systems like keyless entry or alarm monitoring may draw additional power.
Will Smart Parking drain my battery?
The Nextbase Hardwire Kit protects your battery by cutting power to the Dash Cam if voltage falls to about 11.6V. Modern vehicles draw some power even when parked, whether a Dash Cam is installed or not.
The hardwire kit's voltage cutoff feature can be configured to a higher threshold to better protect your battery, though this may reduce the runtime of parking mode. Users should consider their vehicle's battery condition and environmental factors when setting the voltage cutoff.
If you plan to leave your vehicle parked for more than a week with the Dash Cam permanently powered, unplug the Dash Cam.
To optimize parking mode duration, monitor your vehicle's battery health regularly, especially in older vehicles or extreme weather conditions. Additionally, disabling unnecessary systems like Bluetooth or app link when parked can help reduce power consumption.
Factors Affecting Parking Mode Runtime
The duration of parking mode operation depends on several factors:
Vehicle and Battery Condition: Older or smaller batteries may provide less power for parking mode.
External Conditions: Cold temperatures can reduce battery efficiency, and systems like keyless entry or alarm monitoring may draw additional power.
Hybrid Vehicles: Additional low-voltage systems in hybrid cars may further limit parking mode runtime.
Extra tips
Test Smart Parking in a safe area by tapping the Dash Cam gently when parked to confirm it records Protected files.
Check your Hardwire Kit installation if Smart Parking behaves unexpectedly.
Drive regularly to keep your battery charged, especially in cold weather.
Troubleshooting
Smart Parking is on but nothing records when parked
Check the Dash Cam is powered from a permanent live supply (not an ignition‑only socket).
Make sure Smart Parking is set to On in the setup settings.
Car struggles to start after being parked
Confirm your Hardwire Kit is installed correctly.
Make sure that the camera powers down, 5 minutes after you have left the vehicle.
Consider unplugging the Dash Cam for very long parking periods.