# Auto Mirror Dimming Issue



## K-MTG

I noticed a dimming issue with my rear view mirror and side-mirrors. I see a blue-tint on my mirrors while I drive at night...making it really difficult to see anything while driving. If I shift to reverse...the tint goes away.

I did have a dashcam install on Wednesday...is there a sensor behind the rear-view mirro that they messed up?? If so, does anyone know the specifics of the wiring so I can have this checked?


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## MelindaV

I think that's what they are supposed to do. Here's a post from @Maevra from a while back.


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## K-MTG

It was fine during the day...but I am not sure if this is suppose to happen at night. Can’t see anything


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## 3V Pilot

Sounds like auto dimming mirrors to me, just out of curiosity, are your windows tinted also? That might make it too difficult to see. If they are please post the % tint you went with on rear and sides just for info.


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## MelindaV

K-MTG said:


> It was fine during the day...but I am not sure if this is suppose to happen at night. Can't see anything


My believe having them auto dim at night is the exact purpose of them dimming - to prevent headlights behind you from glaring into your eyes when you look at the mirrors.


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## K-MTG

Mike Land said:


> Sounds like auto dimming mirrors to me, just out of curiosity, are your windows tinted also? That might make it too difficult to see. If they are please post the % tint you went with on rear and sides just for info.


It was fine till the dashcam got installed...could be the dashcam lights. Will unplug the dashcam and drive.



MelindaV said:


> My believe having them auto dim at night is the exact purpose of them dimming - to prevent headlights behind you from glaring into your eyes when you look at the mirrors.


But I can't see a thing while driving at night


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## geoffreak

Sounds pretty normal to me. This is how auto-dimming mirrors are supposed to work. Are you saying this isn't how things worked before your dashcam install?

My Subaru with auto-dimming mirrors (side and rear-view) has the mirrors turn dark as soon as it thinks it's dark outside. It looks the same as what you took a picture of.


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## Maevra

Auto-dimming mirrors will dim only at night and the blue tint is the electro-chromatic coating being activated, so that is working as intended.

When switching to Reverse, the auto-dimming function on the rear view mirror deactivates, I assume as a safety feature (see p. 39 of the manual which mentions this).


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## Maevra

K-MTG said:


> But I can't see a thing while driving at night


This may be subjective. I personally feel the auto-dimming can be a touch too dim, but husband says he likes it as-is.

OR

The dashcam is indeed messing with the light sensor somehow and triggering the mirror to become darker than it should. Is there any sort of light source emanating from the dashcam?


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## Brokedoc

Sounds like they are working as designed but there's a super easy solution:

Motor Trend tested your car 0-60 at 4.8 sec. Just use it and drive faster! You'll never need to look in your mirrors!

Don't worry about the flashing colored lights behind you. The auto dimming mirrors will make them harder to see.ncomingpolice:


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## K-MTG

Is there anything I can do to ensure my mirror dimming are working fine? I just drove with the dashcam disconnected (it does have some lights that I can turn off) and I didn't notice any difference in behavior.

My front driver/passenger windows (tint) are 35% and the rear is 25%.

I didn't really notice this till today...first time I am driving at night since the dashcam install. It could just be that it needs to be cleaned.

But the installer is coming again tomorrow so I will have him double-check everything is okay.

When I park or go to reverse I can see everything.









As you can see they took apart this housing area for the install.


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## Maevra

Ok so I take back my earlier comment, seems there is something up with your mirrors @K-MTG now that you clarified the part about the side mirror. Thought you had intentionally darkened most of the mirror for privacy reasons and the blue-green tint on the lower left side mirror was the original color.

I just took pics of our car for comparison's sake.















The rear view mirror looks to be similar to ours in terms of darkness, but what stands out to me is your side mirror. That's really dark, except for that sliver of green-blue tint next to the darker black bits in the lower left corner. Usually the whole mirror is the same color, even when darkened.

Is that still the case every time auto-dimming is triggered? I'm more bothered by the variation in color rather than the darkness honestly because the dim level could be different based on the ambient light coming through.

ETA: edited a bit for clarity.


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## K-MTG

Maevra said:


> Ok so I take back my earlier comment, seems there is something up with your mirrors @K-MTG now that you clarified the part about the side mirror. Thought you had intentionally darkened most of the mirror for privacy reasons and the blue-green tint on the lower left side mirror was the original color.
> 
> I just took of our car for comparison's sake.
> 
> View attachment 4837
> View attachment 4839
> 
> 
> The rear view mirror looks to be similar to ours in terms of darkness, but what stands out to me is your side mirror. That's really dark, except for that sliver of green-blue tint next to the darker black bits in the lower left corner. Usually the whole mirror is the same color, even when darkened. Is that still the case or was that a fluke of the angle/lighting you think?


It could be the angle...my mirrors looks like your pics.


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## Maevra

K-MTG said:


> It could be the angle...my mirrors looks like your pics.


Ok so if it's just the angle/lighting I think you are good. Still a bit puzzling why the blue-green tint is there for a small part while the rest is darker, but if that's a fluke that's ok.


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## K-MTG

Here is a video:




In park, the rearview mirror is fine but once I shift to drive it dims. Likewise, the side mirrors are dim in drive, but when I shift to park, they are fine.

My Model X doesn't have this issue. I shifted both cars into drive in the garage:

Model X:





















Model 3:





















As you can see, the 3 fully dims while the X doesn't;. I initially though this was an issue due to my dashcam install but since @Maevra posted similar pics...I presume its a design/software issue. 

If you are a 3 owner, please share some pics. Want to know if all 3's have this issue or just some...I wonder if Tesla can resolve this with a software update.


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## K-MTG

Hey @RandyS @mbrucem @danzgator @rxlawdude @leethebruin @Marco Papa @macrow69 @teslarob @RCvetter @PTFI

I am quoting you guys here since you own a Model 3...can you guys share pics of your rearview mirror & side mirrors at night. Do your mirrors dim...like mine (pic on post above)??

Thanks!


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## Guest

You likely covered forward looking light intensity sensor. Remove dashcam from that position.
Move it to the right side, closer to passenger.


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## K-MTG

arnis said:


> You likely covered forward looking light intensity sensor. Remove dashcam from that position.
> Move it to the right side, closer to passenger.


But it seems other people (without dashcams) have a similar issue...not sure if the dashcam is the culprit anymore.


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## SoFlaModel3

This thread makes me a bit nervous about hardwiring my radar detector — still on the fence. May sell it and forget about it...


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## tracksyde

K-MTG, is there a light sensor on the backside of the rear view mirror? It doesn’t look like there is any type of light sensor back there from the pics I’ve looked at. I suppose it’s possible that day/night data is also coming from the cameras too.

It seems like it is working as intended. But it seems kind of “dumb” to just dim it as soon as it gets dark. I’m pretty sure the rear view mirror in my Prius only dims when there are headlights behind me (edit: confirmed, my Homelink mirror only dims when it’s night time AND there are headlights shining into the rear view mirror)


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## Guest

For proper diagnosis one must find forward looking and backward looking light sensors,
cover them one by one. Then shine a light in the other one. Observe dimming action.


Tinting rear window will result in less dimming. Not too much dimming.

Temporarily, dimming action can be stopped if rear sensor is covered by black tape.
Sensor window is usually located at the edge of the mirror.


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## tracksyde

It seems that K-MTG and Maevra’s mirrors work the same. So this does not appear to be a malfunction.


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## K-MTG

arnis said:


> For proper diagnosis one must find forward looking and backward looking light sensors,
> cover them one by one. Then shine a light in the other one. Observe dimming action.
> 
> Tinting rear window will result in less dimming. Not too much dimming.
> 
> Temporarily, dimming action can be stopped if rear sensor is covered by black tape.
> Sensor window is usually located at the edge of the mirror.


I don't see any sensors on the mirror..

But here is a pic of the wring behind the mirror:


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## teslarob

Model 3 does not use any light sensor on the mirror to activate the auto dimming mirrors. It only uses the light sensor in the windshield, which would not be disturbed by the installation of your dash cam. The mirrors darken when it's dark out, and are normal when it is light out.


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## Petra

Pretty sure the mirrors in my S only dim when there's actually a light shining in them (rather, there's a light shining into whatever sensor they're using). Arbitrarily dimming just because it's nighttime, which seems like what OP is describing(?), doesn't make much sense...


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## 3V Pilot

IMHO having a tinted rear window and the mirror also dimming is really what is going on here. All the cars I've had with tinted glass give the same outcome at night, hard to see behind if the mirror is also dimmed. As far as the side mirror I'm not sure because I've never had auto dimming on the side. Is there any control over the dimming in the U.I.?


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## K-MTG

Mike Land said:


> IMHO having a tinted rear window and the mirror also dimming is really what is going on here. All the cars I've had with tinted glass give the same outcome at night, hard to see behind if the mirror is also dimmed. As far as the side mirror I'm not sure because I've never had auto dimming on the side. Is there any control over the dimming in the U.I.?


No UI control


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## Guest

teslarob said:


> Model 3 does not use any light sensor on the mirror to activate the auto dimming mirrors.


It's possible to use the windshield sensor for frontal light intensity, but there must be a rearlooking sensor as well.
Dimming is adjusted according to difference between two inputs with slightly complicated logical curves
(dimming is not on/off type, it is infinitely adjustable).


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## 3V Pilot

K-MTG said:


> No UI control


I hope they add control at some point. With tinted windows especially but in any case it's always nice to have control over this stuff.


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## K-MTG

I just took some pics right now in the garage...but it is (2:04 PM).















As you can see, the mirrors didn't dim like they did last night. So is Tesla merely relying on time to control the mirror dimming?

The headlights turned on and the garage had the same amount of lighting as last night.


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## Guest

Mike Land said:


> I hope they add control at some point.


This is not a configurable thing. There is a specific limit that applies to all of us.



K-MTG said:


> So is Tesla merely relying on time to control the mirror dimming?


Find the rearward looking sensor. Shine a bright torch to all kinds of places. Dimming takes around 1-4 seconds with warm glass.
Keep vehicle in a dark garage or cover windshield/forward looking sensor. Low beams on. Drive engaged.


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## K-MTG

arnis said:


> This is not a configurable thing. There is a specific limit that applies to all of us.
> 
> Find the rearward looking sensor. Shine a bright torch to all kinds of places. Dimming takes around 1-4 seconds with warm glass.
> Keep vehicle in a dark garage or cover windshield/forward looking sensor. Low beams on. Drive engaged.


I don't see any sensors..I see them on my X but not on the 3.


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## Guest

Therefore searching for them will be intriguing. 
Actually... it is possible to use data from rear camera. 
Anyway, somebody has to find them.


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## 3V Pilot

arnis said:


> This is not a configurable thing. There is a specific limit that applies to all of us.


My point is that it SHOULD be a configurable thing. If it's electronically controlled then it could have a a simple "On/Off" selection in the U.I. Just like anything else it would only take an OTA to allow the setting.


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## Guest

I've seen dimming off button on many Asian vehicles (plus a green LED). AFAIK their owners don't even know what that button does. After years of vehicle ownership.
BMWs do not have an off switch... since...forever (I personally remember since 1996). Nobody is complaining. We are talking about millions.


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## MelindaV

K-MTG said:


> I don't see any sensors..I see them on my X but not on the 3.


try covering the rear camera (by the license plate) to see if it is playing into the dimming.

ETA: what @arnis said  Hadn't gotten to the bottom of the page...


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## SoFlaModel3

arnis said:


> I've seen dimming off button on many Asian vehicles (plus a green LED). AFAIK their owners don't even know what that button does. After years of vehicle ownership.
> BMWs do not have an off switch... since...forever (I personally remember since 1996). Nobody is complaining. We are talking about millions.


Yes my car allows me to turn off auto dimming on the rear view mirror. Something I have never done. Even with tinted windows, I've never had a problem where the mirror was too dim to see with the only exception being a small, dark road; but then I couldn't see anything behind me because there were no car lights to help.


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## 3V Pilot

Maybe I'm in the minority here but if something can be controlled, I'd rather have control of it. Auto is a wonderful setting as long as you can turn it off if/when you want to. In cars where I've had the rear window tinted I've found that I rarely dim the mirror at night because at that point it's just too dark. I plan on tinting the windows in the Model 3 when I get, I just hope they update this to a setting and allow me to decide if I want it to dim or not.


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## SoFlaModel3

Mike Land said:


> Maybe I'm in the minority here but if something can be controlled, I'd rather have control of it. Auto is a wonderful setting as long as you can turn it off if/when you want to. In cars where I've had the rear window tinted I've found that I rarely dim the mirror at night because at that point it's just too dark. I plan on tinting the windows in the Model 3 when I get, I just hope they update this to a setting and allow me to decide if I want it to dim or not.


Could be worth an email/Tweet to Tesla as a recommendation. It does make sense to have this controllable for sure.

Just like headlights and wipers... auto or manual.


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## 3V Pilot

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Could be worth an email/Tweet to Tesla as a recommendation. It does make sense to have this controllable for sure.
> 
> Just like headlights and wipers... auto or manual.


Are you suggesting that Elon is not personally reading my every post? And I thought this board was like the hotline to the almighty himself! Well, maybe I'll have to learn how to use that tweety thingy.......


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## tracksyde

Maybe when the interior camera gets switched on, the dimming will work ‘better’ (only dim based on difference between front windshield cam and interior cam, as arnis suggested earlier). But since the interior cam isn’t operational, it just dims based on input from windshield cam (day or night).


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## Guest

Mike Land said:


> n cars where I've had the rear window tinted I've found that I rarely dim the mirror at night because at that point it's just too dark.


Well, tinting is mostly "one way" action. So in that case, just unplug the mirror. All 3 mirrors will stop dimming.

It is not possible to dim the mirror with only one sensor.
There is that second input somewhere.


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## Runt8

I agree with @arnis - there has to be a sensor somewhere that does the dimming. It doesn't make any sense to dim the mirrors at night (when you need the most light to see) unless there is a bright light shining directly at them. Hopefully it's just a correctable flaw and not a horrible design decision.


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## K-MTG

Tesla confirmed that they are still working on this...hopefully it will be out in the next update


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## Dash

@K-MTG did I get that right? 
You had your garage closed with no daylight creeping in, and during the day it was not dimmed but at night it was? With exact same lighting conditions?

Then this very much indicates that it is indeed a time based dimming that is "either on or off" - as they say.
And I don't think they use location based dusk/dawn times.
Either way, let's hope for an update soon.

Out of curiosity, does it help driving at night to pull the rear camera visuals to the screen?


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## K-MTG

Dash said:


> @K-MTG did I get that right?
> You had your garage closed with no daylight creeping in, and during the day it was not dimmed but at night it was? With exact same lighting conditions?
> 
> Then this very much indicates that it is indeed a time based dimming that is "either on or off" - as they say.
> And I don't think they use location based dusk/dawn times.
> Either way, let's hope for an update soon.
> 
> Out of curiosity, does it help driving at night to pull the rear camera visuals to the screen?


Yup...you got it right!

I have been using the rear camera..it helps but since we can't split view on the 3 (like the S/X). I can't use the rear-camera when I am using the navigation


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## Paul in Maine

Just wondering if there has been any reasoning why the model 3 has a dimming exterior mirror but no auto-dimming rear-view mirror. Aside from cost does Tesla believe this is not needed? Just curious.


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## MelindaV

The (interior)rear view mirror does dim


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## Paul in Maine

Hey Melinda. Thank you. I did not see anything in the manual.


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## Lana

K-MTG said:


> I noticed a dimming issue with my rear view mirror and side-mirrors. I see a blue-tint on my mirrors while I drive at night...making it really difficult to see anything while driving. If I shift to reverse...the tint goes away.
> 
> I did have a dashcam install on Wednesday...is there a sensor behind the rear-view mirro that they messed up?? If so, does anyone know the specifics of the wiring so I can have this checked?
> 
> View attachment 4830
> View attachment 4831
> View attachment 4832


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## Lana

I addressed that issue at the service as well and they said that Tesla will need to make changes in their software to fix that. 
It looks like wearing sunglasses at night. It does not make sense. I can't drive at night. There are a lot of issues I am expressing in only last 3 months since we got model 3.


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## Scrutmonkey

That’s the beauty of our cats...software mod!


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## Oregonian

Scrutmonkey said:


> That's the beauty of our cats...software mod!


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## 3V Pilot

Oregonian said:


> View attachment 7904


This picture was taken just after the USB cable was inserted for the software mod


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## Scrutmonkey

It was the only place I could see to plug it in...mine meows like a banshee when it sees me now.


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## littlelibo

Is there an update on this? I even went with the lighter tint on my front side windows and can barely see anything but headlights on the side view (or rearview) mirrors. You can see in this photo with the windows down (no tint) that the auto-dimmed mirror is pretty dark. Again, if there is a way for me to disable the dimming, that would be great. Any insight would be appreciated


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## littlelibo

littlelibo said:


> Is there an update on this? I even went with the lighter tint on my front side windows and can barely see anything but headlights on the side view (or rearview) mirrors. You can see in this photo with the windows down (no tint) that the auto-dimmed mirror is pretty dark. Again, if there is a way for me to disable the dimming, that would be great. Any insight would be appreciated
> 
> View attachment 12916


Still really struggling with this. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it.


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## PNWmisty

littlelibo said:


> Still really struggling with this. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it.


If your vision is such that you have trouble seeing your mirrors at night, you might try removing the tint you put on your side windows. They are tinted a bit from the factory and adding more tint just filters out more light.

Personally, I really like the mirrors lack of glare since so many people are inconsiderate in terms of keeping their headlights properly adjusted. I guess all they care about is how well THEY can see.


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## PaulK

I observe that all three mirrors dim at night. Based only on the time of day. Regardless of actual ambient light, and regardless of if headlights are shining into the cabin. 

I had the unfortunate need to start driving before sunrise on Wednesday :sleeping:. The mirrors stopped dimming at daybreak but before other drivers had turned off their headlights. The glare was bad. 

And when driving at night, with no cars behind me, the mirrors remain dimmed and is disconcerting. 

A previous post indicates Tesla is working on an ambient lighting solution. Seems software could observe the ambient light and compare it to glare coming in the rear facing camera... to react like most every other car out there. 

Tomorrow in my car I will submit a bug report “auto dimming mirrors stay dim even with no headlights behind me”. 

-Paul


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## BostonPilot

Is the dimming a binary on/off thing? It would be nice to have a slider in the UI where I could adjust the amount of dimming up and down...


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## Guest

BostonPilot said:


> Is the dimming a binary on/off thing? It would be nice to have a slider in the UI where I could adjust the amount of dimming up and down...


On all modern vehicle mirrors (one or three, depending on equipment) dim according to rear/front illumination difference.
It's "infinitely variable". Aka from 0% to 100%. No other company offers "slider". there is no need for any intervention.
Some offer "off" button, which is also total nonsense.
I would add that BMW's for example, switch dimming to 0% as soon as Reverse is engaged. 
There is no way to disable dimming function on BMWs. It's just seamlessly works. Always flawless.


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## BostonPilot

I guess I'll find out when Tesla delivers my car!

Thanks!


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## PaulK

Today I cleaned my rear view mirror and noticed something. 

Shine a bright light at it and you will notice a little window at the top, slightly right of center inside the mirror. I tried to get a picture of it but it's really hard since it's, well, a mirror. 

I would presume it's a light sensor to dim the mirrors only when headlights are shining in. If so, it's not currently functioning! 

Who knows, maybe it's another camera watching us. 

-Paul


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## ummgood

So I absolutely love the auto dimming mirrors. One thing that bothers me is it seems like the car doesn't intelligently turn them on/off. To me if there are no cars with headlights behind you they should be off. If there are cars with headlights on behind you they should be on. Frankly I can't tell what triggers them. I have had times at dawn when the car's headlights are on because it is still dark but the auto dimming mirrors are not engaged and there are cars with bright headlights behind me. I thought initially they were triggered with the headlights as long as they were not on because of the wipers.

I know on my wife's van there is a sensor in the mirror itself that causes the self dimming mirrors to engage. The Tesla seems to do it on its own choosing without any reasoning whatsoever. There have been times at night when it is pitch black outside and my lights are on but the mirrors aren't dim at all. Most of the time they are in a predictable state but there are times when I wish they were on and they aren't and there are times when I wish they weren't on but they are. I wish they would use the rear facing cameras to detect a car with headlights and use that to dim/not dim the mirrors. Similar to the way the auto high beams work with the forward facing cameras. I have tinted windows so I don't want the interior camera to do it like my wife's car.

Anyone know what triggers the mirrors?


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## GDN

This will be interesting to watch now. Guess I haven't paid attention to what makes them dim. All vehicles I've had with dimming mirrors only did it after the headlights of my own vehicle came on and then only when another vehicle was detected behind me. If no car with headlights behind me, then the would return to normal. I don't want them dimmed at night if no headlights are behind me. Quite certain on Ford and GM pickups that the side mirror and the rear view mirror all dim from a sensor on the interior rear view mirror.


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## ummgood

GDN said:


> This will be interesting to watch now. Guess I haven't paid attention to what makes them dim. All vehicles I've had with dimming mirrors only did it after the headlights of my own vehicle came on and then only when another vehicle was detected behind me. If no car with headlights behind me, then the would return to normal. I don't want them dimmed at night if no headlights are behind me. Quite certain on Ford and GM pickups that the side mirror and the rear view mirror all dim from a sensor on the interior rear view mirror.


I know that it isn't due to lights behind the car because I have driven down dark roads with them fully dimmed and no one was behind me. At least in my situation. I have also had them never dim for a night drive at all sometimes. Most of the time they function but it seems like they go dim and stay dim until a certain time. In the morning when I leave the house at 7 they are dimmed and around 7:15 they undim even though cars still have their lights on and it is barely light out. I am going to see if they undim at the same time every morning. I'll start trying to pay attention. It is hard sometimes because I am carrying kids to school and they might be crying or screaming or pulling each other's arms out of their sockets.


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## Baymax3

I completely agree. Auto dimming mirrors need to work better. One thing I did notice, pre version 9, is that they would turn off when the car is put in reverse. I have not tested this with version 9 yet. Ultimately, I wish Tesla would add an on/off switch for the auto dimming mirrors. There have been multiple times where I have had a monster truck behind me with super bright illegal lights on during the day. I would be nice to be able to dim the mirrors in this situation.


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## babula

Baymax3 said:


> I completely agree. Auto dimming mirrors need to work better. One thing I did notice, pre version 9, is that they would turn off when the car is put in reverse. I have not tested this with version 9 yet. Ultimately, I wish Tesla would add an on/off switch for the auto dimming mirrors. There have been multiple times where I have had a monster truck behind me with super bright illegal lights on during the day. I would be nice to be able to dim the mirrors in this situation.


Agree 100%, I'm often blinded by people behind me with high-beams on for no apparent reason...


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## ummgood

So this morning my car went all the way to my kid's school without turning off the dimming mirrors. When I put the car in park (this was around 7:20) they turned off. Then they didn't turn back on even though most cars had their lights on and the sun wasn't fully up. I wouldn't have minded them staying dim for about 10 to 15 more minutes. I still haven't figured out how they decide to work or not yet.


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## PaulK

I’ve tested this also, and the mirror dimming seems to be only based on time of day. I clicked the right button and said “Bug report, mirrors remain dim even when no headlights are behind me”. I suggest you do the same.

Oddly, there is a sensor of some kind built into the mirror. It’s very hard to see, but if you shine a bright light into the mirror at an angle Andy look very carefully you’ll see it. Maybe it will eventually make our mirror dimming work the same as every other car. Or maybe it’s another cabin facing camera.

Maybe someone brave and knowledgeable will disassemble their mirror to investigate?


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## Baymax3

So I played with my auto dimming some more this evening and I think it might be time based. Notice that today I had the same issue where it was dark out, the lights from other cars was shining (glaring) in my eyes. But, the auto dimming mirrors did not dim. It was not until 6:30 pm when then engaged. Just like the day before. I then parked in my garage, where no other car's lights were shinning on me and the mirrors were dimmed. Put the car in reverse and the mirrors un-dimmed (is that a word?) put the car in drive and the mirrors dimmed. Anyone else try this yet?


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## PaulK

Yes I observe the same behavior and agree, see my post right before yours and submit a bug report so they might prioritize making it work properly using sensors or even the rear facing camera.


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## Ballston Fuller

I am ready to claim my mirrors as defective. Like others, they refuse to dim when some moron is high-beaming me from behind. Also, they seem to be manufactured with a 1/4" border around both the rear and side view mirrors that does not dim at all. So, when the dumb things do work I still get blinded when headlights reflect off the edges of the mirrors. I have fantasized about putting an electrical tape "border" around each mirror. SAD!

The other evening I drove my wife's 2007 Nissan Versa and marveled at how easy it is to flip the "switch" when I need to dim the mirror.


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## Tom Bodera

Does anyone know what sensor or how the dimming is initiated in the Model 3? I do not see a sensor or an override in the main screen to dim the mirrors. They automatically work at night but I sometimes would like them to dim earlier and would like to know where the sensor is that dim's them. 

Dare I say the camera above the rear view mirror is used for dimming the mirror?


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## garsh

Some have speculated that the dimming is just time-of-day based.

There does appear to be a window for a sensor behind the rear-view-mirror's glass, but I don't know if it's being used.


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## ummgood

Ballston Fuller said:


> I am ready to claim my mirrors as defective. Like others, they refuse to dim when some moron is high-beaming me from behind. Also, they seem to be manufactured with a 1/4" border around both the rear and side view mirrors that does not dim at all. So, when the dumb things do work I still get blinded when headlights reflect off the edges of the mirrors. I have fantasized about putting an electrical tape "border" around each mirror. SAD!
> 
> The other evening I drove my wife's 2007 Nissan Versa and marveled at how easy it is to flip the "switch" when I need to dim the mirror.


If it makes you feel better I have had Mercedes rentals that have self dimming mirrors on the outside and they had the same 1/4" border. I am wondering if it is a supplier thing or something with the tech where they can't dim all the way to the edge.

Don't get me wrong I would rather have this type of mirror than the old lever because you couldn't dim the outside mirrors. My rear window is tinted so the one inside the car isn't as big of a deal to me but the ones on the outside are great compared to nothing (which was what I used to have). I just wished they were a bit more intelligent as posted earlier where they used AP cameras or something to figure out to dim based on lights behind you.


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## Ballston Fuller

Over the last 20 years my wife and I have had several different cars with electrochromatic mirrors. They all looked pretty much the same, with the Homelink buttons on the bottom; some with the compass embedded in the glass. None dimmed perfectly, but all worked considerably better than the mirror in my Model 3. On the old mirrors the entire glass surface darkened, though there was a small rubber frame/border all around.

I sent a detailed message through my Tesla account and I will update this thread if/when I hear back from Tesla.


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## BluestarE3

For me, the mirrors seem to dim/undim solely based on time of day. At night, they are too dark for me and are dark all the time, regardless of the presence or absence of headlights hitting the mirrors. Putting my car into Reverse doesn't undim them, as they should per the manual. As a test, I had my car in the garage during daylight hours and I covered up the garage window to mimic a nighttime setting. The mirrors did not dim. I shone a flashlight into the mirrors and none of them dimmed. This seems to confirm that dimming activation is time based.

A few days ago, I talked to a Service Center rep about an upcoming service appointment and I brought up the issue with the mirrors. After consulting with a coworker, he told me that the mirrors currently only dim a fixed amount ("medium" darkness) but that with firmware 44.x, adaptive dimming will be implemented, so that when headlights from other cars are blinding you, the mirrors will dim more than when there is less light hitting them. I asked him if there will be also an option to manually turn off auto-dimming, but he said he didn't see anything about that in his release notes. For anyone who is already on 44.x, do you notice any improvements to auto-dimming mirrors? Someone stated in another thread that he thought they may have improved some.


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## GDN

I am on 44.1 and I don't notice any difference. However now that I'm driving a Model 3 every day, I've noticed what you note. It truly seems to be time of day/ambient lighting. They do not dim/darken at the same time the headlights come one, its after that, but once they dim they don't ever seem to change until it gets light enough outside or you stop the car and get out. I've not noticed any real change, it's dim/on or it's off. Ideally they will soon work like we've become used to other auto dimming mirrors working, when bright lights are behind you.


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## MelindaV

Those that have noticed a difference are on 44.2


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## Tom Bodera

How about a rear mirror bumper. Like the iphone cases that goes around the no dimmed part of the mirror. Fixed. Still would like to know how it works or if I can trigger it early through a trick.


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## Triangles

Mine behave erratically too. Since auto wipers and everything that can be is done with AP cameras I'm willing to bet the AP cameras will be used for mirror diming too. In the mean time they may have a temporary kludge of some sort either based on time of day or amount of light hitting one of the cameras to turn the dimming on or off. All 100% pure speculation on my part. I have no inside knowledge.


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## Caulin

Just like the title suggests. I really think the auto tint mirrors should go back to normal when in reverse. I find it hard to see things when reversing at night. What’s everyone think?


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## MelindaV

Do you have the latest fw update? It was changed in 44.2 to be more adaptive, at least in reverse, maybe some other times too.


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## GDN

As @MelindaV notes they are making changes, but I agree the mirrors should not be dimmed in reverse to give you more visibility.


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## Veedio

GDN said:


> As @MelindaV notes they are making changes, but I agree the mirrors should not be dimmed in reverse to give you more visibility.


I agree as well but the vote question should be changed as it's not really clear (probably a typo)


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## GDN

Veedio said:


> I agree as well but the vote question should be changed as it's not really clear (probably a typo)


@Caulin I adjusted the Thread title and Poll question to be the same.


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## 3V Pilot

My windows are tinted and if they dimmed while in reverse it would be very hard to see anything at night. I'll take it as is.


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## GDN

3V Pilot said:


> My windows are tinted and if they dimmed while in reverse it would be very hard to see anything at night. I'll take it as is.


I think that is part of the problem. The latest release of SW may be fixing this, but up to this release once they dimmed at night, they just remained dimmed, which isn't good. Tesla is working on this though.


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## BluestarE3

Sure wish I could get the update to 44.2. I'm stuck at 43.2 and driving at night can be a bit dicey with those constantly dark mirrors. My car is parked less than 20 feet from my router and patiently waiting.


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## Caulin

Yeah I meant they should UN-dim when in reverse, not dim in reverse.

As @MelindaV statef. The new software actually fixed this, although it takes a little while to undim once you put it in reverse. That might be a hardware constraint that's unable to be sped up.


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## mugurpe

I'm on 44.2 and if they're better, I can't tell. The dimmed mirrors in reverse at night make me crazy.


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## SimonMatthews

BluestarE3 said:


> Sure wish I could get the update to 44.2. I'm stuck at 43.2 and driving at night can be a bit dicey with those constantly dark mirrors. My car is parked less than 20 feet from my router and patiently waiting.


Still on 42.2 here.


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## Reliev

dumb question but I dont think my rear view mirror ever dims it blinds me all the time is mine defective?


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## Rick Steinwand

relidtm said:


> dumb question but I dont think my rear view mirror ever dims it blinds me all the time is mine defective?


My side mirrors always seems to be dark at night.


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## Reliev

it seems like my side ones do but my rear view doesnt is there an easy way to check?


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## BluestarE3

relidtm said:


> dumb question but I dont think my rear view mirror ever dims it blinds me all the time is mine defective?
> 
> 
> Rick Steinwand said:
> 
> 
> 
> My side mirrors always seems to be dark at night.
Click to expand...

If it has to be binary, then I'd rather have them NOT dim at all. For the occasional times there's excessive glare on my side mirror, I can put up my hand to block it as I've done on all other cars in the past.


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## Reliev

I drove 6 hours with trucks behind me it made me miss it if it's supposed to do this I'm going to email my advisor Monday. I had it work fine in my other 2 vechiles.


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## Reliev

Just checked drove around the block in pajamas but it turned blue this time so weird must have been a fluke it didn't work for a stretch driving at night maybe it didn't indicate or something not sure but glad it works now.


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## Franklin L

Has anyone heard if this will be fixed soon? I while I do have a very light tint on my car, the dimming is so severe that it’s really dangerous to drive at night. I’m using my backup camera, but this blocks the map. I’m probably going to add blindspot mirrors and unplug the wire to the rear view mirror if there isn’t an imminent fix.


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## PNWmisty

Franklin L said:


> Has anyone heard if this will be fixed soon? I while I do have a very light tint on my car, the dimming is so severe that it's really dangerous to drive at night.


I wonder if your tint is interacting with the mirror dimming? I've driven quite a bit in the dark but have been able to see fine to the rear. But I don't have any window tint (beyond the OEM tint) either.


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## Franklin L

I’m sure my tint adds to the darkness, but it’s very light on the front/ sides so if there’s an ambient light sensor somewhere, I don’t think that’s being affected. I heard 44.2 might improve the mirror dimming, but I haven’t seen anyone discuss their experience so far.


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## MelindaV

Franklin L said:


> I'm sure my tint adds to the darkness, but it's very light on the front/ sides so if there's an ambient light sensor somewhere, I don't think that's being affected. I heard 44.2 might improve the mirror dimming, but I haven't seen anyone discuss their experience so far.


44.2 changes how it acts in reverse, not during the drive.
I also don't have issue driving at night due to the mirror(s) auto dimming.


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## atebit

I’m on 46.2 (just upgraded earlier this week). Early this morning pre-sunrise the mirrors did not dim at all and it was 1+ hours of glarey driving. This is the first time I’ve noticed the problem. It was working fine the night before...


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## 284665

Franklin L said:


> Has anyone heard if this will be fixed soon? I while I do have a very light tint on my car, the dimming is so severe that it's really dangerous to drive at night. I'm using my backup camera, but this blocks the map. I'm probably going to add blindspot mirrors and unplug the wire to the rear view mirror if there isn't an imminent fix.


I agree, it's really dangerous with tinted windows.


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## Guest

Aftermarket tint is aftermarket tint. Anything bad happening due to that is responsibility of the user not manufacturer.


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## bebopblues

Just took delivery of my Model 3, and I'm getting double reflections on the rear view mirror when driving at night. I get one normal reflection on top and another green-ish one below it, seems like auto dimming green. This only happens on the rear view mirror, the side view mirrors are fine. I think it is a defect. Anyone else has this issue?

It's hard to capture it on camera, but here it is:


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## ADK46

I have not noticed this, nor have I seen a discussion about it. I'll have to look more closely the next time I'm out at night.

There are a bunch of layers that might come apart. You prompted me to look into how they work:


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## garsh

@bebopblues, let your service center know. It's pretty easy for them to replace the rear-view mirror. I've had mine replaced (for a different issue).


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## Baymax3

Had the service centre check my mirrors while I was in getting an error checked. Asked about the mirrors and was told they looked at it and it is working as designed. Made short video 



 that shows that they are not working as they should. Going to give up on the auto dimming mirrors. Anyone installed a broadway wide mirror? If so which one.

Thanks


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## MelindaV

Baymax3 said:


> Had the service centre check my mirrors while I was in getting an error checked. Asked about the mirrors and was told they looked at it and it is working as designed. Made short video
> 
> 
> 
> that shows that they are not working as they should. Going to give up on the auto dimming mirrors. Anyone installed a broadway wide mirror? If so which one.
> 
> Thanks


I'm glad i am not driving next to or in front of you. Please do videos like this when you are not driving, and especially when not in traffic. Or better yet, have someone else recording while you drive


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## bebopblues

I brought it in today and they swapped it out for new mirror and it's all good now. Took 2 weeks to get a service appointment. Hopefully they will build more service centers so it doesn't take weeks to have minor things like this fixed.


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## Vafree

My Tesla 3 mirror has turned yellow and crinkled. I’m not sure it ever dimmed.


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## BluestarE3

Vafree said:


> My Tesla 3 mirror has turned yellow and crinkled. I'm not sure it ever dimmed.


I don't understand what you mean by "yellow and crinkled". Can you post a photo?


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## Hugo

Baymax3 said:


> Had the service centre check my mirrors while I was in getting an error checked. Asked about the mirrors and was told they looked at it and it is working as designed. Made short video
> 
> 
> 
> that shows that they are not working as they should. Going to give up on the auto dimming mirrors. Anyone installed a broadway wide mirror? If so which one.
> 
> Thanks


This seems to be my issue too. Thanks for documenting this. Amazed that Tesla still is telling you that nothing is wrong. I'm getting tired of having to reorient my rear mirror every morning. My previous cars allowed me to flip a manual lever that would force dimming to be on or off (at a predetermined percentage, it seemed).


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## Hugo

Hugo said:


> This seems to be my issue too. Thanks for documenting this. Amazed that Tesla still is telling you that nothing is wrong. I'm getting tired of having to reorient my rear mirror every morning. My previous cars allowed me to flip a manual lever that would force dimming to be on or off (at a predetermined percentage, it seemed).


FWIW, I left my house around 630a today for a errand, and my rear view mirror DID dim. I got back in the car around 710a, and it did NOT dim.

This is frustrating.


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## MelindaV

Now that I am not driving to work and back home hours before/after the sun rises/sets, I've been watching when the auto-dimming happens. Yesterday, on the drive home, autodimming turned on at 6:10pm. Sunset was at 5:43pm (2019-2-19 in Ptld, OR). So, 25 27minutes after sunset. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed it dim around 5:45 - looking back at the sunset times then, it would also have been about 25 27 after sunset...

Wondering if this is set per each time zone, (and that is why it is 27 minutes after sunset here), or if local sunset/sunrise is taken into account. What time are others seeing the Autodim kick in vs your local sunset time?


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## Tom Bodera

Dimming activate yesterday at 5:50pm. Sunset was at 5:54pm.


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## Bokonon

MelindaV said:


> Wondering if this is set per each time zone, (and that is why it is 25 minutes after sunset here), or if local sunset/sunrise is taken into account. What time are others seeing the Autodim kick in vs your local sunset time?


Yesterday, left work at 5:05pm and noticed that my mirrors were not auto-dimmed (the sun was shining directly in my rearview mirror for a stretch -- ouch!). By the time I arrived home at 5:30, the mirror had dimmed, but I did not notice the precise moment when it did. Sunset in Boston yesterday was 5:21pm.


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## PaulK

Sunset here was 5:54 today. 
My mirrors went dim at 6:19.

Melinda, that’s 25 minutes after Sunset! 
Also, it is 2 minutes before the end of civil twilight. it is when the Model 
3 enters... the Twilight Zone 

I also note that placing the car in reverse or park turns off the dimming. I wonder what the issue is that they can’t use the port in the rearview mirror or the rear facing camera to activate the dimming?

Unrelated but maybe interesting:
At 5:50, the map changed to night mode.


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## MelindaV

MelindaV said:


> Now that I am not driving to work and back home hours before/after the sun rises/sets, I've been watching when the auto-dimming happens. Yesterday, on the drive home, autodimming turned on at 6:10pm. Sunset was at 5:43pm (2019-2-19 in Ptld, OR). So, 25 27minutes after sunset. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed it dim around 5:45 - looking back at the sunset times then, it would also have been about 25 27 after sunset...
> 
> Wondering if this is set per each time zone, (and that is why it is 27 minutes after sunset here), or if local sunset/sunrise is taken into account. What time are others seeing the Autodim kick in vs your local sunset time?


(not sure what was wrong with my math, but should read 27 min not 25).

tonight, sunset was at 5:47pm and auto dimming started at 6:14, 27 minutes after sunset.


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## PaulK

We need more data points. But on the West coast dimming seems to have a close correlation to sunset (25 vs 27 minutes).

But in Boston it dimming is much closer to sunset (maybe within 10 minutes), and in Ontario, Canada the report is dimming occurring before sunset.

Maybe resolution of sunset is not precise (nearest very major city?) or there's some other math going on.

FWIW, I used www.timeanddate.com for sunset time in Santa Rosa, CA (where I was driving yesterday when I observed the dimming). Nearest major city is San Francisco, which had sunset 1 minute earlier. Still doesn't match yours, Melinda... but closer (26 vs 27).


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## garsh

PaulK said:


> Maybe resolution of sunset is not precise (nearest very major city?) or there's some other math going on.


The time of sunset for any individual depends on what timezone they're in, and at what longitude and latitude they reside.

If Tesla's programming isn't taking all three factors into account, then it will be "off". My guess is that they are only taking into consideration time-zone, or maybe timezone and longitude.


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## MelindaV

garsh said:


> My guess is that they are only taking into consideration time-zone, or maybe timezone and longitude.


that was my first thought too. but @Tom Bodera's and @Bokonon's, both in eastern but Toms dimmed at 5:50 and Bokonon's before 5:30 - so obviously not simply timezone, because if that were the case it likely would have been a time somewhere between the two.

@PaulK and I are in the same time zone, and have sunset time within 10 minutes but very different Long/Lat and obviously nearest city and both have it dim 25ish minutes after sunset (so maybe just a wild coincidence).


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## Bokonon

MelindaV said:


> that was my first thought too. but @Tom Bodera's and @Bokonon's, both in eastern but Toms dimmed at 5:50 and Bokonon's before 5:30 - so obviously not simply timezone, because if that were the case it likely would have been a time somewhere between the two.


Dumb question, potentially unrelated, but: are the mirrors dimming on a different schedule from the display switching over to night mode? Shouldn't it be the same schedule? Or, I guess another way to ask it: wouldn't the simplest programmable logic be to dim them on the same schedule?

My guess was similar to garsh's, that the firmware takes your GPS location and periodically compares it to a calculated "day/night map", and determines day/night settings based on that comparison. In other words, it would include time of day, latitude, and longitude.

Civil twilight is supposed to be 5:25 here today. I'll try to pay attention to the mirrors around that time and see if there's a change.


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## MelindaV

Bokonon said:


> Dumb question, potentially unrelated, but: are the mirrors dimming on a different schedule from the display switching over to night mode?


yes. I left work pretty early yesterday - around 5:15p and the sun was still up🌞. The screen flipped 15 or so minutes later (I think when the headlights came on) and before official sunset, then the mirrors didn't dim until 6:14p


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## Bokonon

MelindaV said:


> yes. I left work pretty early yesterday - around 5:15p and the sun was still up🌞. The screen flipped 15 or so minutes later (I think when the headlights came on) and before official sunset, then the mirrors didn't dim until 6:14p


Hmmm, maybe the mirrors go by end of civil twilight / beginning of nautical twilight ? That was 6:16pm yesterday in Portland. Though that wouldn't match my observation from a few days ago... unless I was wrong about the mirrors having dimmed by the end of my commute.


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## PaulK

Tonight’s test:

5:53 display/map went to night mode
5:56 sunset 
6:22 mirrors dimmed
6:23 end of civil twilight. 

Therefore,to compare to my notes on Wednesday: map went to night mode a minute later... 3 minutes before sunset (on Wed it was 4 mins before sunset)

And the mirrors dimmed 4 minutes later... 29 minutes after sunset (on Wed it was 25 mins after sunset). 

But today dimming occurred just 1 minute before end of civil twilight (Wed was 2 minutes before). 

So, maybe it tracks closer to civil twilight than sunset.


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## Bokonon

My observations from today confirm that I must have mistakenly thought my mirrors were dimmed upon arriving home the other day due to the lower ambient light levels in my neighborhood. So, scratch my 5:30 data point.

Today:

5:20 - started drive
5:23 - screen switched to night mode
5:25 - sunset in Boston (~12 miles east of location)
5:45 - Parked at home. Mirrors not dimmed.
5:53 - Civil twilight ends in Boston (~5 miles east of location). Was unable to return to car around this time to confirm that mirrors had dimmed.

There's probably some fuzziness baked into the dimming time, i.e. the firmware isn't evaluating whether it should dim the mirrors in real-time, much like how SoC % is only recalculated a few times per minute. So I wouldn't be too surprised if the calculation were based on end of civil twilight (as @PaulK suggested above), but only performed once every minute or two, so there could be small variances by date and precise location.


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## MelindaV

Bokonon said:


> ...but only performed once every minute or two, so there could be small variances by date and precise location.


I tried to get out to my car before the time the mirrors dimmed yesterday, but got to the car a few minutes later and mirrors were already dimmed....
but I did notice yesterday, they did dim when the clock flipped from 6:13 to 6:14 exactly. (or at least as exactly as I could observe while sitting in creeping along traffic).


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## PaulK

MelindaV said:


> but I did notice yesterday, they did dim when the clock flipped from 6:13 to 6:14 exactly. (or at least as exactly as I could observe while sitting in creeping along traffic).


In both cases, I was sitting in my car, parked, so I was able to watch closely and did notice: in my case the dimming occurred - both times I was watching - well after the minute ticked over, maybe a full 30 seconds into the minute.

Maybe we need to factor in the phantom battery drain since last charge, divided by the TPMS's altitude error delta, to correct for astronomical twilight as perceived by Elon's roadster in space. Where's Karen to figure this out for us?


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## MelindaV

PaulK said:


> In both cases, I was sitting in my car, parked, so I was able to watch closely and did notice: in my case the dimming occurred - both times I was watching - well after the minute ticked over, maybe a full 30 seconds into the minute.
> 
> Maybe we need to factor in the phantom battery drain since last charge, divided by the TPMS's altitude error delta, to correct for astronomical twilight as perceived by Elon's roadster in space. Where's Karen to figure this out for us?


I hadn't even considered Starman in the formula!


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## C141medic

I’ve noticed that my rearview mirror isn’t dimming at night as much as my side view mirrors. Lights from other vehicles behind me are quite bright when I look through my rearview mirror. Has anyone experienced this? Short of a service call is there any way to determine if my rearview or even side mirrors are functioning correctly?


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