I have been looking all over and I can’t find a straight answer so for 03s so here it goes.
I recently got a used 03 Vibe with a Pioneer AVH-270BT That has been “professionally” installed. I happened to have a backup camera and since a camera feed goes directly into the radio and on the built in screen I thought “why not?” However, the radio seems to have an always-on feature for the backup camera so even if the camera is powered off at the rear end, the screen shows a black screen that you have to tap once to go to audio settings. I would prefer it to always show the media settings and only switch to backup camera when in reverse. The back of the AVH-270BT has a purple/white wire labeled “Reverse Signal Sensing” so logically it would seem that you splice a wire in here and the screen will automatically switch to reverse camera when in reverse.
Before I start cutting and splicing I just want to be sure it will do what I expect. So if someone has experience with both of these models, FANTASTIC, but I would also just like to find out if there is a reverse signal line up in the wiring harness that just wasn’t connected or something. Also, any experience on the best way to run the wire from the license plate through the lift gate on up to the dash would be helpful (or is it just better to go out an buy a wireless connector?). Thanks!