Homelink Mirror Auto Dimming (or not?)

[eglmainz]

Homelink Mirror, does anyone else have issues with the Auto Dimming not happening enough? Mine only starts to dim when the car behind me is on my Arse. When they are a few car lengths back, I get the full glare of their headlights in my face. There is not an override button, or the ability to switch it dimmer. Yes, I have it powered on, as I have tried turning it off too, and that does not work either (Obviously).

I have searched a few threads here, and noticed a few complaints mixed in with questions, but no one really answered... Is there a way to improve the 'Dim" factor in these mirrors?

It seems to me that one possible cause of this is that the 'split' in the rear windows seems to often cast a shadow on the homelink mirror sensor area, so it does not 'see' the bright lights behind me, until the car is almost on me, say at a red light. Then, the mirror tends to dim very well, into a nice shade of green. Once I pull away a little bit from this car, the mirror will stop dimming, and I am blinded once again.

Obviously, this issue with the homelink mirror will only affect some of the Prius out there, and not others. If you have a 'normal' mirror without the auto-dimming feature, then this is not the link for you.

[jay_man2]

The few times I've experienced it, I wondered if the dimming was working. I was just thinking about this this morning, and while the hatch does limit rear visibility, that plastic strip across the back does serve to sometimes block headlights, which I like.

But yes, I do think the mirror could/should darken quicker.

[tjp74]

Same here. I thought it was broken and tried turning on and off few times. What to do? I find it worthless.

[scottwyden]

I picked my 2010 up last night and noticed that it wasn't dimming very quick.. the dude with the bright headlights behind me was getting on my nerves

[32kcolors]

Do you have a tinted film on top of the factory tinted glass?

[Judgeless]

I think mine is broke. It does not make a difference if it’s on or off. I do not have tinted windows.

[eglmainz]

Originally Posted by 32kcolors

Do you have a tinted film on top of the factory tinted glass?

No. Just factory tinted. I will be getting windows tinted soon, but have not had the time...

I think that for me, at least, it is because the center 'bar' between the rear windows casts the shadow of the cars behind me, right across the little sensor on the mirror. when a car is very close me to me behind me, or a tall SUV, sometimes they are able to hit the sensor, and then the mirror dims nicely. It just seems to miss that for most normal cars on the road.

[Tideland Prius]

Same issues we had on the Gen II. What we did was rotate the mirror upside down so that the light sensor is out of the line of sight of the rear spoiler and thus can detect the headlights.

[jay_man2]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

Same issues we had on the Gen II. What we did was rotate the mirror upside down so that the light sensor is out of the line of sight of the rear spoiler and thus can detect the headlights.

After I spent the last 8 weeks getting used to the Homelink button in a new place, I'm reluctant to try that "fix."

[eglmainz]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

Same issues we had on the Gen II. What we did was rotate the mirror upside down so that the light sensor is out of the line of sight of the rear spoiler and thus can detect the headlights.

Did that fix the issue for you?

Also, does that affect the wires that power it, as I would hate to rip those out and disable the garage link.