I have the same issue, but the camera has also stopped working reliably. I wouldn't spend too much time and effort on trying to clean it up when the camera could stop working at any point. I think mine started acting up after being about 8 years old. I'm over 10 years now, and still just deal with it. It's SUPER blurry when it decides to work, though.

 

So, a quick look at the Ford Parts site showed me that the camera is simply held in place with its own lens sticking through. This means either the camera’s lens is damaged and hazy or the camera itself is compromised with the inside either dirty or with condensation.

Sigh.

 

So, I decided to investigate further and upon removing the rear trim panel I discovered that after 9+ years of driving, it was absolutely filthy inside.

I removed the camera as well as the latch button assembly to clean everything.

The camera lens appears normal, at least clear enough not to cause the blurriness.

After reassembly, I gave it a test.

And…

Nothing had changed. It must be a failing camera. At $140 from Ford Parts, I’m just going to live with it.

 

Can you tell me how you got that piece out? Looking at the documentation for my '12, it shows I have to remove the inside trim of the hatch first. Is it possible to just pop that out and swap the camera? I may be inclined to do that since my camera has actually failed. The last time I looked the camera was $350 instead of $140.

 

 

2012-2014 Ford Focus Camera bm5z19g490s | TascaParts.com

2012-2014 Ford Focus part # bm5z19g490s - Camera

www.tascaparts.com

It still shows at $350. $382 from Ford Parts.

https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/electrical/sensorsdevices/camera-parking-7873233-1

Where can I get one of these for $140?

 

Oh! You are right! The camera is actually much more expensive at $425! Ouch!

As for getting into the camera area, yes, you first remove the interior trim cover. First, carefully remove the two covers over the handle areas. This can be done without tools. This exposes four 10 mm nuts. Remove them. Then carefully begin working around the edges of the main trim piece until you are comfortable pulling the clips away from the metal hatch. Some clips will remain on the protruding plastic posts and some will have pulled free and remain in the metal slots of the hatch. These will never function as clips again until you first remove them and bend the sharp points back inward. I did this by inserting a flat screwdriver and turning it so as to spread the clip apart and then use a needle nose pliers to reform the grip points. Then just put them back on the plastic posts. Now there are six 10 mm nuts on the inside of the hatch holding the camera trim on. These nuts are accessed through six corresponding holes that are approximately 1” in diameter. The trim piece can now be removed. There are two areas which are affixed with double sided tape on the far ends of the trim. It comes off easily and I ended up removing all traces on the hatch and trim with solvent such as Goof Off, etc. and then used my own VHT adhesive to replicate the factory fastening. The rest is obvious. Refitting is the reverse of removal.

 

I'm curious: is the picture out of focus, noisy, dirty, or what?

Aftermarket cameras are a tenth of that official FoMoCo version.

 

It’s as if Vaseline or something is thinly smeared on the lens. At first I thought that the plastic lens was damaged by years of being pelted by road debris, but as you can see in the pic of me holding it, the lens is remarkably clear.

I’ll look into some aftermarket ones.

 

I haven't had any luck finding any replacement cameras that plug into the stock harness. I'm not mounting a camera to my license plate.

If you find something let me know.