Rear-view mirror dimming

M

Monte Benaresh

New Member
Hi All, I just got my new PHEV 2-1/2 weeks ago, and so far I really like it, though I haven't yet figured a bunch of things out. Will keep reading these pages...

Yesterday I almost got into an accident because I had trouble seeing a car coming from behind to pass me on the right. This was at night and the rear-view mirror dimming function kicked in, making it hard for me to understand what I was seeing.

Maybe I'm just not used to this kind of thing, but I think I would rather suffer the occasional bright lights than not be able to see well through the mirror. I know there is no official setting to de-activate the dimming feature, but can I unplug the cable or remove a fuse? I thought of putting tape over the sensor, but in case I want to remove it, I don't want to leave a sticky residue.
 
There's a power connector on the back: you could just remove it (I did this temporarily to wire in a dash cam). You could also try covering the sensors with tape.

Note that in either case there's no easy way to manually dim the mirror, so if you really like it but want the manual then feature you may have to buy a replacement mirror that has manual dimming
 
What does the rear-view mirror have to do with a car *behind on the right*? That suggests you moved into the right lane in front of somebody, who you would have seen on the big display if you used your blinker. That's also the wrong mirror to be seeing on the right... there's a mirror on the right side of the car for that.
 
I suspect it’s simply a matter of getting used to it. Give a while and I bet you’ll end up liking that feature. In the meantime, just be careful when lane- changing at night. The first car I owned that had the auto-dim mirror took me a bit before I realized how cool it is.
 
If you don't like the auto-dimming feature, just go to Amazon and order a clip-on wide-angle rear view mirror for $10 or so and you'll have the traditional rear-view mirror back in no time. Best part is it's easy clip on and off (I had one in my old car and you can put it on or off in a minute or so), and it doesn't alter the original mirror. So you can switch back whenever you want to. Good luck!
 
petteyg359 said:
What does the rear-view mirror have to do with a car *behind on the right*? That suggests you moved into the right lane in front of somebody, who you would have seen on the big display if you used your blinker. That's also the wrong mirror to be seeing on the right... there's a mirror on the right side of the car for that.
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My impression is that someone pulled up behind Monte and then passed on the right. Not that the person was both behind and on the right at the same time.
 
Two things about night driving: The trunk frame-member is at the perfect location to block the headlights of jacked pick-ups - YIPPEE! - and the auto-dim RVM shifts the reflection into the blue end of the spectrum, where light is more diffuse and less able to glare. Also, have you ever read the Clarity complaints at the IIHS and NHTSA websites? There's one fellow who complains bitterly about how inadequate the Clarity headlights are - and he does it about nine times on each site! One gets the feeling he's been driving with the DRLs and not the actual headlights...
 
Thanks for the feedback. As far as the traffic incident, overall I still feel uncomfortable with the rear visibility compared to my '94 Accord. Maybe I am sitting a little too far back, and so my FOV rearward is a little narrow.

I did indeed have my blinker on, which I do religiously. What I think happened is that the other driver came up quickly behind me as I was preparing to exit the freeway, and decided to beat me to it by swinging past me on my right, just as I was changing lanes. I feel like in my old Accord that I would notice this happening in my RVM and hold off the lane change.

Another aspect of my acclimatization to my Clarity is knowing what to look at when changing lanes: RVM, right mirror, over the shoulder, center screen. The right-side mirror was missing from my Accord for the last 15 years, so in a way that's also "new" to me.
 
What really helps and is something I try to do with any new car is spend a lot of time practicing. What I mean by that is while cruising on the freeway in smooth traffic, watch traffic behind you that is approaching and notice how they move in and out of your view in the rearview mirror, in the side mirrors, and also glance back quickly as they pass through the blind spots. Most people think they are already doing this since they are (hopefully) monitoring all mirrors all the time, but I found that at least for me it's not the same as consciously watching cars pass you on the left or right and noticing when they are visible and when they are not, and also what they look like especially at night, and really try to get that impressed into my brain.

Also do the same with the camera, which you can turn on while cruising by pressing the button on the stalk and then watching cars as they pass you, and again also do this at night. Cameras aren't as sharp as mirrors which is why a lot of people don't like to use them, but with practice you can start recognizing things at night that you were not able to initially. Actually when I have an exit coming up I often turn on the camera ahead of time as a way to monitor the next lane, saves a lot of head turning, of course just before doing the actual lane change you should make a quick glance and not rely on the camera.

Obviously keep your eyes on the road while you are practicing, I'm not talking about staring down a car the whole time they pass you, just quick glances.
 
Monte Benaresh said:
Thanks for the feedback. As far as the traffic incident, overall I still feel uncomfortable with the rear visibility compared to my '94 Accord. Maybe I am sitting a little too far back, and so my FOV rearward is a little narrow.

I did indeed have my blinker on, which I do religiously. What I think happened is that the other driver came up quickly behind me as I was preparing to exit the freeway, and decided to beat me to it by swinging past me on my right, just as I was changing lanes. I feel like in my old Accord that I would notice this happening in my RVM and hold off the lane change.

Another aspect of my acclimatization to my Clarity is knowing what to look at when changing lanes: RVM, right mirror, over the shoulder, center screen. The right-side mirror was missing from my Accord for the last 15 years, so in a way that's also "new" to me.
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I really understand your predicament. Unfortunately, our roads are full of imbeciles that seem to be triggered by someone in front of them turning on a blinker to change lanes and feel compelled to rush and try to pass first at all costs even if they are far behind. Some friends told me it was typical L.A. driving and I tend to agree with them. I have had several close-calls because of that to the point of feeling tempted to change lanes without warning and not to use the blinkers like I see many people do, probably because of previous bad experiences.... I believe these blinked-triggered imbeciles may be the cause of most traffic collisions but nobody seems to take note.
 
Thanks, 2002, you sound like a real pro! As an orchestra violinist, I can appreciate the process of practicing and improving one's perception and technique. If I can follow through with this, I'll hopefully end up more confident using the mirrors.
 
FWIW - I just came back from a trip where I ended up driving at night. I found the dimming on the rear view mirror disorienting on unlit freeway with more than 2 lanes. Looking in the mirror I only saw a swarm of lights surrounded by darkness. I could not see any lanes or lane markings so I could not tell what lanes cars were in and to a degree could not tell how close they were to me. On a 2 lane freeway that was not a problem. Where the road was lit I could see lane markers so it wasn't a problem then.
 
Thanks, Danks, this is what I experienced during my incident, but I didn't describe it as well as you did. Now that I have been driving my Clarity a month, I find that I don't rely much on the RVM, but use the side mirrors and right-side camera more.
 
I have an extra wide rear view mirror from my previous car that I installed on the Clarity on the second day. After a while, the extra bright headlights was annoying me so I actually took it off to use the auto dimming feature. Maybe because my previous car had a tinted rear glass, it was fine before. I liked the auto dimming at first but then sometimes the auto dimming was too much. I think it is called electrochromatic mirrors. Sometimes it doesn't look natural. What I see is just the headlights and everything else is darker. I am thinking of putting a light tint on the extra wide rear mirror and going back to it. Or I can purchase another one that already has a tint. I can definitely see how Monte missed the other car. Sometimes the other car is too close and the headlights can't be seen in the rear view mirror. The auto dimming makes it hard to see the rest of the car.
 
Here is how to manually dim your mirror when you have bright lights behind you (or for any other reason that you want it dim:)

mirror 1.webp
I take the air freshener that is just hanging there. (Sorry it is sideways!)

mirror 2.webp
Notice where the light sensor is on the back on the mirror

mirror 3.webp
Takes a standard "full brightness" image and...

mirror 4.webp
makes in tolerable!

I keep a spare one of the air fresheners in my armrest to pull out. I can put it on in a couple of seconds now that I know where the sensor is. Works great!!
 
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