Wacky Auto Dimming mirror experience

D

Deb

During the winter I posted my experience with the auto-dimming mirror
suddenly "fading" slowly until just a small circle of auto-dim crystal
stuff was left and finally even that was gone. I accepted this and
have been driving around with what now amounts to a regular mirror for
at least 6 months, squinting at bright lights from behind me.

Well, 3 weeks ago, I got in the car to discover that a whole bunch of
auto dimming liquid (looks like golden colored oil trapped between two
tight panes of glass) had now reappeared in the mirror, seemingly from
nowhere. It actually fills about 2/3 of the mirror and works great,
even though it's there in the daytime, tinting everything I look at a
slight golden color. The top 1/3 of the mirror has some sort of
condensation in it, sort of like the top of a wine glass where the
fumes collect and then drip back down, and it's clear colored like a
regular mirror.

The on/off switch for the dimming portion of the mirror no longer does
anything.

Anyone else have this experience? It's a 2002 LLBean edition. And
what will happen next?
 
Deb said:
During the winter I posted my experience with the auto-dimming mirror
suddenly "fading" slowly until just a small circle of auto-dim crystal
stuff was left and finally even that was gone. I accepted this and
have been driving around with what now amounts to a regular mirror for
at least 6 months, squinting at bright lights from behind me.

Well, 3 weeks ago, I got in the car to discover that a whole bunch of
auto dimming liquid (looks like golden colored oil trapped between two
tight panes of glass) had now reappeared in the mirror, seemingly from
nowhere. It actually fills about 2/3 of the mirror and works great,
even though it's there in the daytime, tinting everything I look at a
slight golden color. The top 1/3 of the mirror has some sort of
condensation in it, sort of like the top of a wine glass where the
fumes collect and then drip back down, and it's clear colored like a
regular mirror.

The on/off switch for the dimming portion of the mirror no longer does
anything.

Anyone else have this experience? It's a 2002 LLBean edition. And
what will happen next?

If you post this exact same question in sci.electronics.design,
you will get answers from several engineers who design LCDs.
 
Was this a factory installed feature, or was it aftermarket? I didn't
know this was available. Other automatic day/night mirrors I've seen
were simply regular manual day/night mirrors with a light sensor that
popped it between the day and night positions.

Yousuf Khan
 
Was this a factory installed feature, or was it aftermarket? I didn't
know this was available. Other automatic day/night mirrors I've seen
were simply regular manual day/night mirrors with a light sensor that
popped it between the day and night positions.

It's a dealer installed option. My brother had one installed in his 2005
Legacy GT.
 
You know, maybe that's what the problem was? If this mirror is LCD
based, LCD's tend to be very temperature sensitive, especially to cold
temperatures. The original poster didn't mention what her geographical
location was, but she mentioned "winter" which would probably indicate
that she's from a cold part of the country. That's probably why the
factory doesn't install these type of mirrors -- it knows that they
aren't robust enough, compared to the old-fashioned day/night mirrors.

Yousuf Khan
 
You know, maybe that's what the problem was? If this mirror is LCD
based, LCD's tend to be very temperature sensitive, especially to cold
temperatures. The original poster didn't mention what her geographical
location was, but she mentioned "winter" which would probably indicate
that she's from a cold part of the country. That's probably why the
factory doesn't install these type of mirrors -- it knows that they
aren't robust enough, compared to the old-fashioned day/night mirrors.

Yousuf Khan

Although dealer-installed, these mirrors are in fact an official
Subaru option. The autodimming mirror used by Subaru is made by
Donnelly, one of the two companies that supply these mirrors as
OEM/optional equipment to auto manufacturers and also as aftermarket
upgrades. The other company is Gentex. These same mirrors are
installed in many makes and models of vehicles and use a liquid
electrolyte technology for dimming. They are generally very reliable
and don't have a problem with temperature extremes. The one I have in
my WRX has performed flawlessly since new over four years of use in
the Northeast with our cold winters and hot summers.
The problem being described does appear to be a total failure of the
dimming mechanism and would require that the mirror be replaced. If
not covered by warranty, a replacement can be obtained through various
means, including new from Subaru (probably the most expensive way) or
through aftermarket retailers that carry these mirrors. They also turn
up used on Ebay (buyer beware of course) and in the classifieds on the
various Subaru forums such as NASIOC and I-club.
If you are looking to purchase one via the aftermarket, be sure to get
the proper "cam-lock" type mount for Subaru. Also note that although
the mirror supplied by Subaru only includes a compass, the aftermarket
versions are available with other options such as an outside
temperature display (you'll need to install the included temp probe
and run the wire into the vehicle and up to the mirror) and
map/reading lights.
 
It's a factory installed, standard option in my car. I don't plan to
replace it unless the mirror actually becomes blurry and unusable. So
far, that hasn't happened. The car will be 4 years old in September.
The mirror only made it to about 3.5 years.
 
If it's factory or dealer installed why not just get it replaced under
warranty?

Yousuf Khan
 
magictentacle said:
My car's at 56K miles and I am long out of warranty.
It’s a dealer installed option. My brother had one installed in his 2005
Legacy GT.

Does it work? I had one installed in my 2005 Legacy but had them take
it back out. During the day it didn’t dim at all (other than the
anti-glare coating), even when an SUV’s bright lights were shining
directly in the mirror. At night it would lighten back up under
street lights and the cars behind would blind me. It was as if the
headlight sensor didn’t work. They said it was not defective. I told
them it was impossible to drive with it since it does not have a
manual switch. They refunded my money and put my old one back in. I
was really disappointed since I hate all these bright DRLs that make
you see spots and have to keep the regular mirror on the night setting
most of the time. Should I try an aftermarket mirror?
 
Does it work? I had one installed in my 2005 Legacy but had them take
it back out. During the day it didn’t dim at all (other than the
anti-glare coating), even when an SUV’s bright lights were shining
directly in the mirror. At night it would lighten back up under
street lights and the cars behind would blind me. It was as if the
headlight sensor didn’t work. They said it was not defective. I told
them it was impossible to drive with it since it does not have a
manual switch. They refunded my money and put my old one back in. I
was really disappointed since I hate all these bright DRLs that make
you see spots and have to keep the regular mirror on the night setting
most of the time. Should I try an aftermarket mirror?

The aftermarket ones are exactly the same. As I mentioned in my
previous post the Subaru mirror is made by Donnelly, if you go
aftermarket you'll find what's available are Donnelly and Gentex
mirrors.
They all work the same way so it wouldn't matter which one you got.
The mirror you had was not defective, the dealer was correct when they
told you that. However it can be "fooled" by high ambient light levels
such as from street lights and not dim properly. The way it works is
that there is a photosensor in the front of the mirror that measures
ambient light to determine when it is dark enough outside to dim the
mirror, and another rear-facing sensor that reacts to bright lights
from behind and makes the mirror dim accordingly. The mirror will
never dim during the day and as you found can be affected by strong
overhead lights at night as well.
One thing you could have done is to put some black tape over the front
facing sensor, this would make the mirror think it was always dark
outside and thus activate the dimming feature. However the unwanted
result of this might be that even the bright ambient light reaching
the mirror during the day would make it dim, not just someone using
their headlights.
I've had one of these on my WRX since new and while it isn't perfect
I've been satisified with its operation.
 
My original factory installed mirror did work like a dream, until it
failed about 6 months ago. At night it was great. During the day I am
not bothered by the bright lights for some reason, so I never noticed
if it dimmed or not at that time, but I suspect it didn't.
 
mulder1 said:
 > > My car's at 56K miles and I am long out of warranty.
 >>It’s a dealer installed option. My brother had one
installed in his

The aftermarket ones are exactly the same. As I mentioned in
my
previous post the Subaru mirror is made by Donnelly, if you go
aftermarket you'll find what's available are Donnelly and
Gentex
mirrors.
They all work the same way so it wouldn't matter which one you
got.
The mirror you had was not defective, the dealer was correct
when they
told you that. However it can be "fooled" by high ambient
light levels
such as from street lights and not dim properly. The way it
works is
that there is a photosensor in the front of the mirror that
measures
ambient light to determine when it is dark enough outside to
dim the
mirror, and another rear-facing sensor that reacts to bright
lights
from behind and makes the mirror dim accordingly. The mirror
will
never dim during the day and as you found can be affected by
strong
overhead lights at night as well.
One thing you could have done is to put some black tape over
the front
facing sensor, this would make the mirror think it was always
dark
outside and thus activate the dimming feature. However the
unwanted
result of this might be that even the bright ambient light
reaching
the mirror during the day would make it dim, not just someone
using
their headlights.
I've had one of these on my WRX since new and while it isn't
perfect
I've been satisified with its operation.

Thanks mulder for the explanation. I considered putting tape over the
night sensor but ultimately decided returning it was the better
option. I do see a few aftermarket mirrors with a manual day/night
button but I am going to stick with the regular mirror for now. I
probably would have kept Subaru’s mirror if it had one. I can say I
am happy about how Subaru handled this. The dealer didn’t give me a
hard time about returning it and SOA offered a refund on the labor
cost. Now if I can get them to fix the jerking cruise control
problem...
 

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