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How to disable mirror dimming on F30?

23K views 58 replies 20 participants last post by  Hypermile 
#1 ·
Anyone know how to disable the auto-dimming on the F30's mirrors? Lived with it for 5 weeks and I really do not want to keep this up now that it's dark in the morning when I leave for work.

So is there a DIY?
 
#4 · (Edited)
I found it very annoying that the dimming feature could not be turned off as every other car that I ever had with that feature had a switch that let you turn it on and off.
I blocked the sensor but I did not want to disable the feature, I wanted to control it.

I finally came up with this low-tech solution that I made from the lid of a Tic Tac box.

The lid can be opened and closed to unblock and block the sensor.


 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks. Where's the sensor? :dunno:

And agreed about the dimming function. Only BMW demands the mirrors dim automatically at night, which drives me nuts, as it makes the mirrors feel pretty much worthless. There's never a time I will want the mirrors to dim so I just need to figure out where it senses it's dark make it stop blocking me from seeing things in the mirrors.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I would not want to delete it either but there are times when I want to be able to temporarily override it,

CA
 
#19 ·
I don't strongly detest it and most of the time I realy like it but depending on the environment I am driving in I would like to be able to turn the feature off.

I am sure there is some wire that could be tapped in to to install a switch that would break the circuit but at this point my Tic Tac lid serves the purpose,

CA
 
#20 ·
The permanent nature of the auto-dimming mirrors is absurd, and the fact that even my wife's five year-old Subaru wagon has a simple "on-off" button for the feature on the center mirror and BMW does not, is twice as absurd. If you drive on the freeways of downtown LA at night, surrounded by dozens of buzzing and slicing lowered Honda Civics, you want to know exactly where every bit of every other car is, every second. The BMW auto-dimming mirrors get so damn dark, that you notice the arrival of new cars several seconds later than you would have otherwise, usually when they are right on top of you or crossing behind you into a space you had your own eye on. Plus, the devil is in the details; I notice or see plenty of information in the shadows - the rear 1/3 of a car who's headlights I never would have seen because of alignment in any mirror but I spot them instantly because of reflections and highlights in an un-dimmed mirror. With the stupid-dark BMW dimmed mirrors, you will NEVER see a bit of that same car if you didn't see their headlights first. To me the system is ridiculously unsafe, for that reason. I don't care at all about how bright somebody else's headlights are; I can always move to wherever I have to to lose them. But even that is harder with a "Blacked-Out" side mirror, since any delay in figuring-out what you're seeing is not what driving or the "Ultimate Driving Machine" is supposed to be about. So I have my little systems also, to block the sensor - but the Tic Tac door takes the cake. Proof of how stupid the system is? When I open my garage from inside the car in broad daylight, the ambient daylight outside completely sends all my mirrors black, when I need to check them on general principle to back-out past the afore-mentioned Subaru. Please...
 
#22 · (Edited)
In your case I wouldn't drive the BMW at night and don't park in the garage. Use the Subaru. Or better yet trade it in on another Subaru
Good luck
cheers
vern
 
#23 ·
I can think of absolutely no reason why BMW did not provide a defeat switch for the auto dimming feature.
There are some driving conditions where I find that the dark mirrors make it difficult to see what is behind me such as when driving on crowded freeways after dark. There are some situations when I want to be able to reduce the glare from bright lights behind me and I want the mirrors to dim.





CA
 
#28 ·
I have never had a problem with my auto dimming rear view mirror, if you have tinted rear window, it does get too dark at night. The self dimming side view mirror I can do without. I have never been blinded by a headlight in the side view mirror. There are times I need the side mirrors to see other objects at night that are not not lit. The BMW is the only car I have ever owned that I cannot shut off the auto dimming function. In fact, there are quite a few function that BMW does not allow user control. In typical BMW fashion, they think they know whats best for the customer.
 
#29 ·
There are times I need the side mirrors to see other objects at night that are not not lit.
Please explain. Maybe I'm the one living on the other planet.:dunno:
cheers
vern
 
#40 · (Edited)
Not eveyone is built the same way which is why, for example, there are some people who love the sport seats and some who find them uncomfortable. If someone says "Every time I ride in my car with sport seats my back hurts" a response of "I have been driving for 35 years and I have the sport seats and my back felt great after a non-stop drive from Washington to Dallas" adds little to the dialog.

The same holds true for eyesight and many other areas of our physical makeup. That fact that bright lights or dim mirrors bother (or don't bother) someone has no bearing on the way the same thing will effect someone else. The autodimming mirrors are a valuable feature for some and an annoyance to others and to still more they are valuable some of the time and annoying some of the time. BMW should have provided a mechanism so that the driver can decide when the mirrors should autodim and when they should not.

CA
 
#41 ·
Not eveyone is built the same way which is why there are some people who love the sport seats and some who find them uncomfortable. The same holds true for eyesight and many other areas of our physical makeup. That fact that bright lights or dim mirrors bother (or don't bother) someone has no bearing on the way the same thing will effect someone else.

The autodimming mirrors are a valuable feature for some and an annoyance to others and to still more they are valuable some of the time and annoying some of the time. BMW should have provided a mechanism so that the driver can decide when the mirrors should autodim and when they should not.

CA
Amen. Basically, make everything defeatable...
 
#57 ·
SOLVED - AutoDim SWITCH

I know this is a really old thread, but someone (like me) may read it looking for a solution. If your mirror has nothing pointing to pin 1 in the mirror plug, rig a switch to provide +12V from ACC power into pin 1 and it internally defeats the AutoDim.

IF YOU ALREADY HAVE a wire to pin 1, you would need to cut it first, secure the loose end(tape it off or cap it) then rig the switch to +12V from ACC. Pin 1 is normally connected to the reverse backing light and it defeats the AutoDim while backing for safety reasons. Putting it on a switch puts you in charge of flipping it on or off at your discretion. Use +12v ACC so that you don't have constant +12 to the mirror (bad practice).
 
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