Rear View Mirror Dark all the time

[mswlogo]

I had a rear Tesla sunshade I really liked on the Model 3. But the similar Tesla Sunshade for Model X and it's totally unusable. It's SOLID black in the rearview mirror.

What is it with Tesla and Auto Dimming mirrors.

This is all the user manual says.

The driver’s side mirror automatically dims at night, in proportion to the level of glare from the headlights of a vehicle behind you (except when in Reverse gear). Also, both exterior side mirrors have heaters that turn on and off with the rear window defroster.

Rear View Mirror

The rear view mirror is adjusted manually. Except when in Reverse, the rear view mirror automatically dims in proportion to the level of glare from the headlights of a vehicle behind you.

The whole description makes no sense. When in reverse it will DISABLE dimming on the ONE side view mirror (apparently not the other) and on the rear view it will enabled it !! Hello.

If it only dims in reverse why is it so dark in drive (Day or night)

None of my mirrors ever seem to change. The Side view look always not dimmed and the rear view always looks dimmed.

What's it supposed to do and how does one confirm it's working as intended.

This Video someone else posted is exactly what my rear view looks like.

 

[r0xx0r]

I solved this issue by removing the cover then unplugged the power for the dimming mirror.

 

[mswlogo]

I solved this issue by removing the cover then unplugged the power for the dimming mirror.

So it is "stuck on", on the rear view mirror.

Any other side effects unplugging it?

 

[sacfan]

It’s not the rear view mirror that is dark. It’s the tint located within the rear hatch glass that is SO dark that you and I can’t see when we look in the rear view mirror. It’s my primary dislike with this vehicle. I have to drive with the rear camera on all the time, which is not a great solution but it’s better than having no rear camera. I even insisted that Tesla swap out the mirror which really made no difference at all. There is apparently no way to remove the tinting as it’s located between 2 layers of glass. Sorry.

I had a rear Tesla sunshade I really liked on the Model 3. But the similar Tesla Sunshade for Model X and it's totally unusable. It's SOLID black in the rearview mirror.

What is it with Tesla and Auto Dimming mirrors.

This is all the user manual says.



The whole description makes no sense. When in reverse it will DISABLE dimming on the ONE side view mirror (apparently not the other) and on the rear view it will enabled it !! Hello.

If it only dims in reverse why is it so dark in drive (Day or night)

None of my mirrors ever seem to change. The Side view look always not dimmed and the rear view always looks dimmed.

What's it supposed to do and how does one confirm it's working as intended.

This Video someone else posted is exactly what my rear view looks like.

 

[sacfan]

It’s not the rear view mirror that is dark. It’s the tint located within the rear hatch glass that is SO dark that you and I can’t see when we look in the rear view mirror. It’s my primary dislike with this vehicle. I have to drive with the rear camera on all the time, which is not a great solution but better than having no rear camera. I even insisted that Tesla swap out the mirror which really made no difference. There is apparently no way to remove the tinting as it’s located between 2 layers of glass. Sorry.

My mirrors don’t ever seem to change either. I love my side view mirrors. I hate my rear view mirror. I would love to hear that something is not working properly and can be fixed.

My view also is exactly like that shown in the video. PLEASE, let there be something wrong that can be fixed. I would LOVE to have my first response be wrong!

 

[chadever]

I just got limo tint two days ago. I can't see a damn thing through that rear view mirror.

 

[sacfan]

I just got limo tint two days ago. I can't see a damn thing through that rear view mirror.

But could you see much before?

 

[r0xx0r]

So it is "stuck on", on the rear view mirror.

Any other side effects unplugging it?

like other people said, it won’t help you see the rear, but it does help you to see the back seat passengers. I have kids in the back and sometimes that damn mirror were too dark - i cant even see them. So unplugged just leave the mirror as-is. I have no issue with that - the car is fine.

 

[sacfan]

like other people said, it won’t help you see the rear, but it does help you to see the back seat passengers. I have kids in the back and sometimes that damn mirror were too dark - i cant even see them. So unplugged just leave the mirror as-is. I have no issue with that - the car is fine.

I found this thread interesting, even though it’s about the Model 3.
[Discussion] Mirrors need manual dimming option : teslamotors

 

[chadever]

But could you see much before?

Yes. It only became an issue once I got limo tint.

I have limo my other car and it hasn't been an issue.

 

[ElectricSteve]

I‘m confused. My Raven MX has dark tinted FWD and rear windows from the factory and the mirrors work as intended. Are you folks applying extra tinting(darkening) in addition to the factories tinting?

 

[sacfan]

I‘m confused. My Raven MX has dark tinted FWD and rear windows from the factory and the mirrors work as intended. Are you folks applying extra tinting(darkening) in addition to the factories tinting?

I have applied no tinting to my Model X. I can barely see out my rear window when looking through the rear view mirror. I guess that I need to turn around and look through the window directly and see how it looks compared to when I look through it using the rear view mirror.

 

[MattUNI]

Funny - I just got my 2020 MX yesterday, and today I was noticing how the rear view mirror is SO dark that I can barely see outside. If the vehicles are light in color, I can see them, but for very dark colored vehicles without their lights on, they can be incredibly hard to see. Very timely post as I was just telling my wife about this and how this will likely be the thing she dislikes the most about it.

 

[ElectricSteve]

You are supposed to be able to see out of the back via the center mirror just like any car in normal daylight. Sure I can tell that the rear glass is tinted, but it has almost no impact on being able to see behind me in a normal fashion.

if you did not apply extra tinting and you can‘t see behind you then the mirror seems to be stuck in „blinded“ mode (by lack of a better term) and Tesla should fix it.
I‘m assuming sunglasses are not in play here.

if you look very closely at the center mirror glas, there should be a small sensor thingy embedded in the glass. On the other side of the mirror something similar. Cover either one of those sensors and see what happens. Those two sensors each read a light-value and if the cabin-facing/rear-facing sensor reads a much higher lumen/lux value than the front facing sensor, it assumes strong light coming from behind. The amount of darkening the mirror does is determined by the difference between the two sensors.

 

[sacfan]

You are supposed to be able to see out of the back via the center mirror just like any car in normal daylight. Sure I can tell that the rear glass is tinted, but it has almost no impact on being able to see behind me in a normal fashion.

if you did not apply extra tinting and you can‘t see behind you then the mirror seems to be stuck in „blinded“ mode (by lack of a better term) and Tesla should fix it.
I‘m assuming sunglasses are not in play here.

if you look very closely at the center mirror glas, there should be a small sensor thingy embedded in the glass. On the other side of the mirror something similar. Cover either one of those sensors and see what happens. Those two sensors each read a light-value and if the cabin-facing/rear-facing sensor reads a much higher lumen/lux value than the front facing sensor, it assumes strong light coming from behind. The amount of darkening the mirror does is determined by the difference between the two sensors.

Excellent description of what things SHOULD look like when using the rear view mirror. This really helps as this is definitely not my experience.

I wonder if there is any chance that my bright white rear seats are contributing? I’ve got a 5-seat 2019 Raven. I can easily cover the 2nd row seats with a black blanket I keep in the car and see if that helps.Thanks for the idea.

Do others feel that their rear view mirror experience is comparable to what they experience with all other vehicles?

 

[mswlogo]

Do others feel that their rear view mirror experience is comparable to what they experience with all other vehicles?

Not even close. Including Model 3 (with rear sunshade, it was brighter than nothing in the X).

 

[sacfan]

Not even close. Including Model 3 (with rear sunshade, it was brighter than nothing in the X).

Is the rear glass tinted in the Model 3?

I think I’ll try putting a piece of electrical tape over the sensor mentioned by ElectricSteve to see if that helps.

 

[ElectricSteve]

For testing, just put a fingertip on the rear facing sensor, then on the forward facing sensor, then on both at the same time. Play with it a little.
You are creating a difference in the amount of light that each sensor measures. Depending on which sensor you are covering, the mirror should darken or brighten as a result.

The reaction is not instant. It takes a couple of seconds to adapt. So be patient.

If nothing happens, the mirror is broken. It could be disconnected from power (I had this happen in an old Audi that I restored many moons ago).

 

[sacfan]

For testing, just put a fingertip on the rear facing sensor, then on the forward facing sensor, then on both at the same time. Play with it a little.
You are creating a difference in the amount of light that each sensor measures. Depending on which sensor you are covering, the mirror should darken or brighten as a result.

The reaction is not instant. It takes a couple of seconds to adapt. So be patient.

If nothing happens, the mirror is broken. It could be disconnected from power (I had this happen in an old Audi that I restored many moons ago).

I did exactly as you describe, blocking first the rear facing sensor, then the front facing sensor, then both at the same time. There was absolutely no difference in how dark things appeared through the rear view mirror.

I'll try the same thing when driving at night with a car behind me. I'll see if blocking the rear facing sensor increases the glare caused by the headlights of the car behind me, both from the rear view mirror and the driver's side mirror, as I think it should. Based on my past experiences driving this vehicle at night, I don't anticipate that I'll see any change in how things look in either mirror.

The Saturday mechanic already swapped out my rear view mirror when I first picked up my car. Installing the mirror from another brand new Model X on the lot did not seem to make any difference, but I kept this second mirror anyhow. If indeed the rear view mirror and its sensors are OK, as suggested by the fact that changing mirrors made no difference, and the problem is something downstream, I'm wondering what that problem might be. Of course, both rear view mirrors could have been defective.

 

[mswlogo]

I did exactly as you describe, blocking first the rear facing sensor, then the front facing sensor, then both at the same time. There was absolutely no difference in how dark things appeared through the rear view mirror.

I'll try the same thing when driving at night with a car behind me. I'll see if blocking the rear facing sensor increases the glare caused by the headlights of the car behind me, both from the rear view mirror and the driver's side mirror, as I think it should. Based on my past experiences driving this vehicle at night, I don't anticipate that I'll see any change in how things look in either mirror.

The Saturday mechanic already swapped out my rear view mirror when I first picked up my car. Installing the mirror from another brand new Model X on the lot did not seem to make any difference, but I kept this second mirror anyhow. If indeed the rear view mirror and its sensors are OK, as suggested by the fact that changing mirrors made no difference, and the problem is something downstream, I'm wondering what that problem might be. Of course, both rear view mirrors could have been defective.

Same here.

Also unplugged it and saw no change.

Very odd.