Auto Dimming mirror

[Tronix102]

Anyone else have this problem... sometimes it dims when there is a car behind me, sometimes it doesn't and I get blinded. Should I tell the dealership to replace it?

 

[ock462]

Yes my mom had that same problem on her Crown Vic. Get them to replace it.

 

[Rotus8]

The auto dimming mirror has a function where it needs to think it is night before it starts to dim. If the ambient lighting is above its threshold for about 30 seconds, it turns itself off. It needs to be pretty dark in the front of the car for about 30 seconds before it turns on. Sometimes ambient conditions can fool it into thinking it is daytime.

 

[Abaddon]

Where is the location of the ambient light sensor?.. maybe you could just put a tiny piece of paper over top of it at night time to prevent it from turning off... I know in my old Taurus the sensor was on the dash...

 

[clos561]

are all gt's supposed to have auto dim rear view?

 

[Tronix102]

no, this one doesnt have a dark sensor, it has a light sensor on the front of the mirror...where the buttons are. when light is shined on it it dims instantly...i shined a flashlight on it directly and it dimmed...my car came with it when I bought it so I didnt really ask for it but I got a good deal on the car. So I am thinking the sensor isnt sensitive enough because if it dims when I shine a light at it directly and it doesnt dim when there is a car behind me then something is wrong.

 

[Rotus8]

no, this one doesnt have a dark sensor, it has a light sensor on the front of the mirror...where the buttons are. when light is shined on it it dims instantly...i shined a flashlight on it directly and it dimmed...my car came with it when I bought it so I didnt really ask for it but I got a good deal on the car. So I am thinking the sensor isnt sensitive enough because if it dims when I shine a light at it directly and it doesnt dim when there is a car behind me then something is wrong.

Actually, it does have a front sensor too, at least mine does. Check it out from outside.

 

[icspots]

Yes it has both a light and a dark sensor. The Dark sensor checks the ambient light, and as long as it's above a certain lighting threshold then it turns the auto-dim function off. The light sensor (on the face of the mirror by the buttons) detects light from behind the car and, as long as the dark sensor says it's okay, dims the mirror when it's activated. The reason this sensor is there is because if you cover the dark sensor up during the day the mirror will dim down to it's darkest and most people don't want it like that all day long.

Like Rotus8 said it could be that the ambient lighting around you made the car think it was too light to dim the mirror regardless of how much light was coming in from behind you. It could also be that the mirror is malfunctioning. Try covering the sensor on the back (forward facing) side of the mirror during the day and see if it starts to dim. Remember the dealer won't replace it under warranty unless they can reproduce the problem.

are all gt's supposed to have auto dim rear view?

No, it's a dealer accessory. Some dealers go ahead and add them to their cars so they can bump the price up on customers that don't really care about the feature. GT's do however require a different mounting kit to deal with the auto-wiper sensor.