Driver's side mirror darkens for no reason!

[yescats]

This is really getting annoying. It seems my driver's side mirror gets dark and light at the wrong times. At night when I turn on the interior light it dims. Then at times it dims when nobody is even near me in the left lane. Is something wrong or is it detecting light from behind or on the right side of me? All I know is it makes it very hard to see. The rear view mirror isn't behaving this way. Is there a way to disable this feature?

[yzark99]

Yes. You need to pop the mirror out. Get some plastic trim tools for working on cars: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...set-67021.html

Turn your driver's side mirror so that it points all the way down. Stuff a rag between the mirror and the painted housing to protect the paint. Pry down just off-center in 2 places to pop the upper clips. The bottom clips should be easy to pry once the top clips are loose.

There are 4 wires connected to the back of the mirror. The 2 outer wires control dimming, and the 2 inner control heating. The outer wires are soldered onto exposed metal parts of the mirror (the inner wires plug into tabs). You will need to cut one of these outer wires between the soldered part and the plug (so it can be fixed later if desired). Wrap both ends of the cut with electrical tape to prevent shorts.

That should stop the auto dim, while still allowing the heated defrosting.

To put the mirror back, line it up with the 4 clips, and press in the middle with a rag to pop it back in. Test your mirror controls on the door and make sure that the mirror moves in the housing.

[yescats]

Originally Posted by yzark99

Yes. You need to pop the mirror out. Get some plastic trim tools for working on cars: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...set-67021.html

Turn your driver's side mirror so that it points all the way down. Stuff a rag between the mirror and the painted housing to protect the paint. Pry down just off-center in 2 places to pop the upper clips. The bottom clips should be easy to pry once the top clips are loose.

There are 4 wires connected to the back of the mirror. The 2 outer wires control dimming, and the 2 inner control heating. The outer wires are soldered onto exposed metal parts of the mirror (the inner wires plug into tabs). You will need to cut one of these outer wires between the soldered part and the plug (so it can be fixed later if desired). Wrap both ends of the cut with electrical tape to prevent shorts.

That should stop the auto dim, while still allowing the heated defrosting.

To put the mirror back, line it up with the 4 clips, and press in the middle with a rag to pop it back in. Test your mirror controls on the door and make sure that the mirror moves in the housing.

Thanks. So I take it this means it's not malfunctioning, it just sucks?

BTW, Was looking at your other mods. You didn't post details on how put an ignition key on your locking gas cap. How is that done?

[yescats]

Originally Posted by yzark99

Yes. You need to pop the mirror out. Get some plastic trim tools for working on cars: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...set-67021.html

Turn your driver's side mirror so that it points all the way down. Stuff a rag between the mirror and the painted housing to protect the paint. Pry down just off-center in 2 places to pop the upper clips. The bottom clips should be easy to pry once the top clips are loose.

There are 4 wires connected to the back of the mirror. The 2 outer wires control dimming, and the 2 inner control heating. The outer wires are soldered onto exposed metal parts of the mirror (the inner wires plug into tabs). You will need to cut one of these outer wires between the soldered part and the plug (so it can be fixed later if desired). Wrap both ends of the cut with electrical tape to prevent shorts.

That should stop the auto dim, while still allowing the heated defrosting.

To put the mirror back, line it up with the 4 clips, and press in the middle with a rag to pop it back in. Test your mirror controls on the door and make sure that the mirror moves in the housing.

I was just thinking. Wouldn't it be easier just to put a piece of tape over the sensor (wherever that is)?

[christianchevell]

Have any giant fuzzy dice on the mirror? I wonder if the sensor is up there being blocked or dirty bad ..... if you kept it tapes it would make it auto darkened. I do not know if the autosensing works all the systems including the side mirror but I would start there as auto changing changes the stereo/dash illumination along with the rear view mirror.

[ckaram]

Very cool write-up. But if still under warranty and it's malfunctioning I'd take it to the dealer.

[yzark99]

I doubt a 2011 is still under warranty.

Thanks. So I take it this means it's not malfunctioning, it just sucks?

BTW, Was looking at your other mods. You didn't post details on how put an ignition key on your locking gas cap. How is that done?

It sounds like it's malfunctioning. A dealer might be able to just to replace the mirror for $200 (these aren't cheap), or maybe it's something else that's really expensive.

I don't know where the sensor is on the outside mirror; I can't find one. I suspect that it may be tied into the rearview mirror's sensor. I know that my rearview mirror never dims, probably because I'm so tall that the sensor is pointing into the headliner. Bad design.


The locking gas cap that uses your ignition key was figured out by another poster: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...coding+gas+cap

[yescats]

Originally Posted by christianchevell

Have any giant fuzzy dice on the mirror? I wonder if the sensor is up there being blocked or dirty bad ..... if you kept it tapes it would make it auto darkened. I do not know if the autosensing works all the systems including the side mirror but I would start there as auto changing changes the stereo/dash illumination along with the rear view mirror.

Nothing on the mirror. Besides, if it was blocked it wouldn't dim. It's light that tells it to dim.

Where's the sensor located on a mirror that has On-Star?

[yzark99]

Top dead center. You can see it when the mirror is reflecting a light surface.

[FASTDIESEL]

I used a hole punch to cut out a circle of electrical tape, and covered the sensor on the inside, rearview mirror (pictured earlier in this thread). You have to really look hard to notice it?

It does away with the annoying, auto dim feature (made even worse by tinted windows!).

Easy, quick and cheap!

[SteelCamaro]

Yeah, I was never a fan of how dark the mirrors get. They're almost useless when at full dim.

[yescats]

Originally Posted by FASTDIESEL

I used a hole punch to cut out a circle of electrical tape, and covered the sensor on the inside, rearview mirror (pictured earlier in this thread). You have to really look hard to notice it?

It does away with the annoying, auto dim feature (made even worse by tinted windows!).

Easy, quick and cheap!

Are there screws to get it open or you just pry it off?

[kmarshall2121]

[GoTopless]

The easiest way I found was to keep the whole assembly on the vehicle. Tilt the mirror all the way to the down position. You can access little earlike tabs that are on the mirror backing in the housing. They fit into the uprights on each side of those little clip tabs. Take a small flat head and gently pry forward on those earlike tabs one side at a time. Both clips on either side of the up rights pop off the backing base. Then repeat on the other side same procedure. Now the bottom clips are the only ones that need to be unclipped. Gently pull the mirror down and back towards you and it pops off. I tried the pry at the corners and was afraid i was going to break the glass so i looked for a better way.