Is there such a thing as this dash cam ……?

[WasntSupposedToBeLikeThis]

We suspect someone is putting screws in our tyres (that’s another story). Is there such a dash cam that records in parking mode without draining the battery that would cover the tyres while the car is parked ?

I had one that was motion activated, from Halfords. Nextbase was the brand. Had night vision as well. Had it hard wired in front and rear. Was ‘on’ all the time, but woke up if movement near the car was detected. People had to be practically next to the car to wake it up, not just a random cat wandering past 20foot in front. Could also be switched fully off eg parked in my garage.
Had it in a Skoda citigo and was fine for a week which is the longest I’ve not used that particular car. But I think the effect on the battery would vary from car to car (battery size plus other stuff using the battery power) and the amount of recording it would have to do. But gives you an idea?

If it’s happening on your driveway, might a motion activated camera (eg the type used to film wildlife) work?

We don’t have a driveway unfortunately and our road is busy so it could be parked anywhere on the road.

Some cameras will have their own internal battery and have a mode for when parked.

Search Amazon etc for “dashcam with parking mode”
You may have to go through the settings for the level of sensitivity as to catch the tyre vandal you are going to want it to activate for passers by in a very sensitive motion detection mode as opposed to a lesser mode aimed at when the car is touched such as crash detection

Well by the basic laws of physics there won’t be a dashcam that covers your tires. You’ll need to set up an external camera showing the whole car.

Yes, but the battery question is the real one, and it depends on how the camera is wired rather than which brand. A parking mode cam only works if it is hardwired to the fuse box, and in parking mode it draws roughly 300 to 500 milliamps. A car sitting normally uses 20 to 50. So it is ten times the usual drain, for as long as the car sits.

What saves the battery is the little box on the hardwire kit called the low voltage cutoff. Set it to about 12.2V on a newer car, 12.4V if it is a hybrid or you leave the car for days, and the camera switches itself off before the battery gets too low to start. Left on the lowest setting, a weekend parked can be enough for a flat battery, especially in winter with an older battery. I went through the drain numbers and the cutoff settings here when I set mine up: thefixcar.com/maintenance/dash-cam-hardwire-battery-drain/ and the short version is motion only mode plus 12.2V and you will be fine on a busy road.

One thing for your case: a dash cam looks forward and back at roughly bumper height and above. Someone crouched at a rear wheel on the pavement side may well be out of frame. The motion activated Nextbase that Alphabet1spaghetti2 mentions is a sensible pick, but check the rear camera angle actually covers the tyres before you rely on it for evidence.