Auto-dimming mirror - NOT!

[kevy002]

Yes, I wish I had the spoiler.... Well i can say my mirror isn't pulled down low, but I don't want to adjust it so I'm seeing mostly headliner. I have it adjusted so I see the road. It's not an issue of it not working all the time, just not working when a vehicle is directly behind you. It doesn't happen all the time, just when a vehicle is following the perfect distance directly behind. I was on the highway once and the mirror worked great as this car was quite a ways behind. Until he got fairly close, the mirror dimmed as intended. As they got closer, the mirror quit dimming. As they moved to the left of me to pass, the mirror started working again. I am going to see what I can hack together to remove that center brake light and replace with with a much shorter LED based brake light. I am certain that will solve the issue. Or I can just get the spoiler. :)

[kevy002]

I had the good fortune of following a Fusion without a spoiler for a while today while heading home for lunch. At eye level while driving, I can see the center brake light covering the bottom part of the mirror on certain bumps. Headlights of vehicles are lower than eye level, so it looks like the light would most likely be blocked at certain distances. Without the brake light there, I see nothing else to block light from hitting the sensors on the mirror. Next time you follow a Fusion without a spoiler, look at the brake light in relation to the mirror.

[2010SEL]

Brand new '10 SEL with factory spoiler here. My auto dimming mirror doesn't seem to work at all.

[2010SEL]

Has anyone ever gotten Ford to address this issue? I think the spoiler is blocking the sensors on the mirror. Mine works maybe 20% of the time. Does not matter how it is adjusted either.

[FtLewis2002]

Mine works as designed. 09 SEL

[Lone Wolff]

Brand new '10 SEL with factory spoiler here. My auto dimming mirror doesn't seem to work at all.

 

 

My '10 SEL has factory spoiler. Works just fine for me. Kind of a greenish tint, but considerable dimmer than the light magnitude coming from the side mirrors. Only had it a week so my wife hasn't had a chance to drive it at night yet. She's considerably shorter than I am so interested to see if it works less effectively for her.

[jtonkin]

I had a 2007 and had the same problem. I always thought it was the third brake light in the back window that block the light from hitting the sensor. My only gripe about that car. So far I haven't noticed any issue with my 2010 sport with spoiler.

 

Thank God

[Rodeo]

I had a 2007 and had the same problem. I always thought it was the third brake light in the back window that block the light from hitting the sensor. My only gripe about that car. So far I haven't noticed any issue with my 2010 sport with spoiler.

 

Thank God

Hey JTonkin,

In your photo it appears that your car is pinstriped. is it? If it is can you post a bigger side view photo?

[jtonkin]

See attached.

 

It's light and dark grey striping. It was on the car when I got it. Dealer wanted to charge $50 for it. I told them I didn't think I wanted it so he offered to charge me only $20 if I just kept it on.

 

I'm glad I did. I like it a lot now.

 

BTW it's raining here today so all you get is a garage pic.

[rhector]

2 years later and 3 attempts to explain it to my local Ford service manager and I still have the problem. He understands what I am talking about but hasn't heard any other complaints and wont address my situation. My lease is up in one year and I really want to buy the car, but this is my only gripe. Night driving is horrible. I've spent the last 2 years trying every different seating and mirror position combination with no luck. Even with the mirror all the way up and the power seat raised all the way up, it still will not dim correctly once a car gets close enough to your rear so that the 3rd brake like interferes. This happens to be a very common "following" distance for most people driving behind you, so it becomes a huge problem every time I get in the car when the sun is down. It's very sad to hear of people still having this issue in the remodeled 2010's.

[acdii]

2 years later and 3 attempts to explain it to my local Ford service manager and I still have the problem. He understands what I am talking about but hasn't heard any other complaints and wont address my situation. My lease is up in one year and I really want to buy the car, but this is my only gripe. Night driving is horrible. I've spent the last 2 years trying every different seating and mirror position combination with no luck. Even with the mirror all the way up and the power seat raised all the way up, it still will not dim correctly once a car gets close enough to your rear so that the 3rd brake like interferes. This happens to be a very common "following" distance for most people driving behind you, so it becomes a huge problem every time I get in the car when the sun is down. It's very sad to hear of people still having this issue in the remodeled 2010's.

 

There is a sensor on the front of the mirror. When you have this problem, put your finger over it and see if it starts to work. If it does, cover that sensor with window tint. In mine the mirror didnt darken if there was still some light in front, late dusk is a good example, so I put my finger on the sensor, and voila it dimmed, even with a tailgator behind me. I put some 35% on it and it has been working just fine.

[danager]

Works great in my 2010. I am not convinced the stop lamp had anything to do with it in previous versions - as my centre head rest is very clearly blocking a portion of my view... I do have the factory spoiler, again - not seeing the correlation there. I could understand the frustration if it wasn't working though, and hope the dealer can sort it out properly. The remedy here may work, but that is no substitute for it working properly. Good luck.

[acdii]

The problem is some sensors are too light sensitive, and that's what causes the problem. Some are working per spec, some are not. That sounds like a QC problem on the vendors part, just like the control arms.

 

But hey, at least the throttles aren't sticking and need to be replaced.

[deo1929]

the problem with removing the autodimming mirror is that it also contains the microphone for the Sync system. I noticed on my '10 Fusion that if I push the mirror up as far as it will pivot, and point it so that it's facing more of the rear window, it works better. Ambient light affects is too. In brighter surroundings, it doesn't dim as well. Someone on the other mirror thread used a piece of window tint on the front sensor and said it improved. Maybe a good old piece of black electrical tape would work. Give it a try and see.

[acdii]

the problem with removing the autodimming mirror is that it also contains the microphone for the Sync system. I noticed on my '10 Fusion that if I push the mirror up as far as it will pivot, and point it so that it's facing more of the rear window, it works better. Ambient light affects is too. In brighter surroundings, it doesn't dim as well. Someone on the other mirror thread used a piece of window tint on the front sensor and said it improved. Maybe a good old piece of black electrical tape would work. Give it a try and see.

 

That was me, in both threads. Problem with electrical tape is the mirror will always dim when light hits the back sensor, so it will be dim during the day too. That's why I suggested tint film instead. I also think I discovered why it appears to work better when raised as high as possible. The dots on the windshield get more dense the further up you go, blocking more frontal light from hitting the sensor. I still think it is due to the variance of the front sensor why some people have perfectly functioning mirrors while others don't.

[dbs]

I've also noticed the problem with the mirror not dimming properly. It's very annoying. I've got a 2010 Fusion SE with the spoiler. I'll try some of the fixes mentioned and post my results.

[waster]

I have an 08 SEL and mine is dimmed all the time! Since getting it a few weeks ago while backing out of my garage at night I have backed into a van and then a week later after just returning from the first 790.00 repair I backed over a bike in the drive and did another 234.00 in damage! I have tried to clear the sensors to no avail.I WISH mine was too bright.