Dimming Side Mirrors?
 

Let's talk real fast about the auto-dimming side mirrors. I swore I read that my truck is supposed to have them (M-Sport, Tech, Prem, etc so I think it should) but I've never seen them actually dim. How do they work? Do I need to turn them on? My center rearview mirror does dim like it should, but I'm still getting blinded by lifted trucks with aftermarket HIDs stuffed in every orifice and it makes me nuts.

Do they work on any of your trucks? How?

Premium Package means you have them. They work in a similar was as the rear view mirror however for safety reasons they don't dim as much.

X3 is definitely NOT a truck.

A truck according to Merriam-Webster:
[...]
3: a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles: as
a : a strong horse-drawn or automotive vehicle (as a pickup) for hauling
b : a small barrow consisting of a rectangular frame having at one end a pair of handles and at the other end a pair of small heavy wheels and a projecting edge to slide under a load —called also hand truck
c : a small heavy rectangular frame supported on four wheels for moving heavy objects
d : a small flat-topped car pushed or pulled by hand
e : a shelved stand mounted on casters
f : an automotive vehicle with a short chassis equipped with a swivel for attaching a trailer and used especially for the highway hauling of freight; also : a truck with attached trailer
[...]
Please teach yourself not to use this word as a such an incorrect description.

I'm with you Vortec4800, the side dimming mirrors seam like non-dimming mirrors to me too... I'd like to see how to test 'em.

I agree that the side mirrors don't dim much at all and certain lights are very bright in them. Sadly, I think it is just the way it is:thumbdwn:

Side mirrors in X3 do not have light sensors and they indirectly dim in synch with rear view mirror. That's why lights of the cars close to you on left or right will not dim effectively. They are ok for distant cars.

Hmm, ok. Sucks they aren't very good, but good to hear it isn't just me.

Ah, excuse me. My Sport Activity Vehicle.

It is a truck.... ;)....and that car on the bottom right of my sig is a wagon.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news...ck-of-the-year

Wow, the Evoque won truck of the year? That piece of junk? I test drove that right before the X3 and it was night and day.

but we gotta agree that it's a good looking truck;)

It does look good. Interior is nice too. Drives like crap. Harsh, buzzy, lots of road and engine noise, slow with lots of turbo lag, it was just terrible.

I have the same problem on my 2013. My vehicle has been in service two times for this issue. First they replaced the rearview mirror because the side mirrors weren't dimming at all. When I still complained, the dealer brought in an engineer who said BMW changed the programming for 2013 since people were complaining that the mirrors got too dark. It is really annoying but they said not enough people were complaining to warrant a fix. My 2012 X3 loaner worked a lot better. From experience, the mirrors will only darken when you have a motorcycle or a vehicle with high beams directly behind you. Glad I came across this thread.

Damn! Though interesting to hear about the MY change.

Any idea if a mirror from a 2012 would "fix" our problem?

It sounds like coding might be able to fix this. Hmmm

I need this. Per my prior posts, I have confirmed my rear view side mirrors do not dim as they should. I will ask my SA if coding can fix it.

I don't think a 2012 mirror will fit our 2013. The brackets and stem are different if you look closely. Even the mirror itself is different (the flashing red light is larger on the 2013). If it is a coding thing, that would be awesome.

As for testing your 2013 mirrors- put your hand behind the sensor of the rear view until it darkens. Then while holding your hand there, shine a flashlight into the front sensor. Your sides should darken. In any other vehicle with this feature, the sides will darken while only blocking the sensor (how my x3 loaner worked). For those experiencing this issue, take your cars to the dealer and have them file a report. The engineer said the more people bothered, the more likely a fix is released. I could take a short video showing you what I am talking about if you want.

I have found the following factor...

JBBE
3080 InteriorMirror
CODDT_01_SCAL_DIM_ECR_LIN

by the german description this sets dimming of the door mirrors to be set by the inside mirror by the following formula

Door Mirror =(Interior mirror/32)*Factor

my factor is werte = 20 which would be 32 in hex, so the outside would be set to the same as the inside. Since we are talking about dimming, I think if you want the outside to be darker you would increase the multiplier factor.

haven't tried it, but it could be a starting point.

This is good info. I'll try to code my truck using your value tonight and see if it helps. I can also report as to what the default value on the 2013 is as well.

I'm impressed with the innovative skills of you. You are adding tremendous values to "achieve through coding" concept.

So my 2013 is also werte 20, same as yours. I see a bunch of other items for SCAL_SEN_DAZZ - could this be anti-dazzle settings and maybe the values we're looking for?

Here are all of my relevant values, some are talking about ambient light sensors and some are talking about the blind sensors so I think we're on the right track. Seems to be separate values for normal dark and light.

Can someone with a 2011 or 2012 car post the same values for these keys and we can compare? Seems like all the "01" values are zero, not sure why.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1877511/Scre...48.43%20PM.png

it seems that most of these relate to the glare sensors. As the interior mirror reacts appropriately, I don't think we want to mess with these.
I didn't see before the CODDT_00_SCAL_DIM_ECR_LIN
which may be a factor we can manipulate.

I tried altering the CODDT_01_SCAL_DIM_ECR_LIN to no effect. I took it to Werte=30 and to Werte=00.

It seems like the 01 values don't do anything for us.

What is your 00 SCAL DIM ECR LIN set to by default? Any other clues as to what we can change? I'm hoping we can find a value that is different from 2012 to 2013 and that we can just plug in the 2012 value and have the correct behavior. Seems that dream is getting further away though...

Guys you are going to succeed. Best wishes.

it is also 1_0 werte = 20

I will keep looking for other available options...