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Dimming Mirrors for Older Ys

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Impaler

'20 MY LR Black/Black, 20" induction w/FSD
Jul 5, 2020
309
164
USA
Hi all. I was wondering if the auto-dimming exterior mirrors would be available for us older Y owners to purchase and install. Anyone else thinking about this, and has anyone done this? I really want to replace these mirrors, as a truck next to me practically blinds me.
 
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I too really want auto-dimming sideview mirrors... so much so, that I paid for access to Tesla's Service and Repair web site to investigate...

There are two wire harnesses involved -
One goes from the mirror assembly to the cavity of the door, that mates with another wire harness that goes to the BCM

The mirror's wire harness would definitely need to be replaced, and perhaps the other wire harness would need to be updated as well.
Not sure if that function would also need to be enabled in the firmware.

I reached out to a local service center and they said they are unaware of any plans to implement an upgrade kit, but if that were to happen, it would not likely be any time soon and rather costly.
 
Based on my research, like Migizi indicated, there are 2 wiring harnesses. The door harness, and the mirror harness.

The bigger of the two is the door harness. If that doesn't have the extra plug(s) for the auto-dimming feature, then you have to buy and replace the door harness. This might not be a huge deal, but this might also mean that the wires in the main harness in the vehicle (that the door harness connects too) might not be there as well, and it is all mute at that point. One would have to take the door panel off to see if they have the plugs or not. Watching some youtube video's of initially delivered Model Y's kind of showed the wiring harness did not have the plugs. (see DAERIK's youtube video of his MSM Model Y that they got in March, he takes a door panel off.)

The mirror harness isn't as big of a deal, as if you don't have it, you would just get it with a replacement mirror unit. It would mean you can't just swap out the glass, but instead the whole mirror assembly.

DAERIK (youtube) got a quote from Tesla for both mirror units, and it was approx. $1.5k for the units themselves, which I think is a tad ridiculous imho. He decided not to move forward with the idea at this time. (though I would have loved to watch that video and see if it works.)

My Model Y was built a month (end of September) or so before they started including the auto-dimming feature (start of Nov. I believe), so I am "hoping" that maybe they started using the same door wiring harness and all I would need is new mirror units. (my vin is in the upper 52k range).
 
I too really want auto-dimming sideview mirrors... so much so, that I paid for access to Tesla's Service and Repair web site to investigate....

Thx, didn't know they had a service site. The prices should definitely be cheaper for owners. $100 for 24 hrs, $350 per month or $3K per year. With ICE cars you could generally buy a Chiltons for about 25 bucks. Wonder what their reasoning is on gouging folks for what should be open info. Last week I installed TPMS sensors prior to getting tires mounted. There is absolutely no listing anywhere for proper torque. Seems like there might be a liability risk for making needed info costs so high as to realistically make it inaccessible.
 
I too don't have dimming mirrors and it drove me nuts. I was going to create a driver profile that had the mirrors pointed down so I can switch at night. Not the safest thing to do. But recently had my front windows tinted with 15% ceramic and it made a hugh difference. Now headlights dont bother me as much. I know not everyone can get there front windows tinted depending on the state but I'm wondering if even a light tint will be better? I asked the tinter if he could put a light tint directly on the mirror and he said no. Even thought of buying some cheap tint at Walmart and putting it on the mirror. Just concerned how hard it would be to take it off if it didn't work.