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No prismatic rear view mirror??

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radiocycle

Member
Supporting Member
Apr 13, 2017
109
55
Portland, OR
I can't remember the last car I had that didn't have the so-called Day & Night mirror; these have been standard equipment for many years now. I know that the M3 had to cut corners to produce a car at a certain price point. I watched a vid that talked about how much cheaper the M3 rear view mirror was, compared to other 'luxury' sedans, in order to make the car really 'affordable'. But I didn't think that it would make much of a difference in the actual driving experience. Well, I guess it does make a bit of a difference... I really miss not being able to 'block out' the blinding headlights of the MONSTER truck behind me at a stop light that the guy has jacked up, but conveniently forgotten to re-aim the headlights on. I'm hoping that just maybe, some after market rear view mirror will come to market to address this problem. I'll be the first in line....

radio
 
Funny, I can't remember the last car I owned that did have a prismatic mirror. Like many new cars, the Model 3 rear view mirror automatically dims in proportion to the level of glare from lights behind you. Naturally, it can only dim to a certain level so a truck shining feet away from you is limited in diming.
 
Ohhhh, now I see! Thanks for that info. If I could delete the OP, I would...

And this is only my 4th new car. I've had a LOT of cars in my 55 years of driving, but only about 4 were brand new... guess I'm not too current.

r
 
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To be fair, out of all the cars that have auto-dimming mirrors, the ones in the Tesla Model 3 "appears" to be the weakest. I don't have any scientific proof, but even my previous Lexus vehicles (sedans so about same height) went much darker, even with an F-350 with high-beams on directly behind me.

So in short, I can see why the OP might think the mirrors don't auto-dim.
 
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To be fair, out of all the cars that have auto-dimming mirrors, the ones in the Tesla Model 3 "appears" to be the weakest. I don't have any scientific proof, but even my previous Lexus vehicles (sedans so about same height) went much darker, even with an F-350 with high-beams on directly behind me.

So in short, I can see why the OP might think the mirrors don't auto-dim.

Really? I find that it dims too much, I can barely see out my rear windshield at night and can't distinguish anything but the headlights. I also have a rear tint though.
 
I know the oe mirror dims, but I’m used to having a wide rear view.

So I’ve got a Broadway convex mirror that has a coating to reduce the glare from lights.

I’ve got a nice wide view of the back and sides + the coating works just as good as the auto dimming.

I got a size that is as wide as the oem mirror.
 
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I wish it was a normal prismatic mirror (cheaper than auto-dimming).

I find that mine dims fine... except when it doesn't. During this evening's commute there was too much glare from the cars behind me (and it wasn't an F-350 get away). It wasn't completely blinding, just annoying.

I'm not expecting perfection, and I do like that the spartan quality of the mirror matches the rest of the interior, but... I wish it was an easily toggled prismatic.
 
I wish it was a normal prismatic mirror (cheaper than auto-dimming).

I find that mine dims fine... except when it doesn't. During this evening's commute there was too much glare from the cars behind me (and it wasn't an F-350 get away). It wasn't completely blinding, just annoying.

I'm not expecting perfection, and I do like that the spartan quality of the mirror matches the rest of the interior, but... I wish it was an easily toggled prismatic.
Lots of aftermarket options, go for it and watch your resale value go down! :confused:
 
I know the oe mirror dims, but I’m used to having a wide rear view.

So I’ve got a Broadway convex mirror that has a coating to reduce the glare from lights.

I’ve got a nice wide view of the back and sides + the coating works just as good as the auto dimming.

I got a size that is as wide as the oem mirror.
Which one did you get? I was thinking of trying one out...