2003MGM outer mirrors

[mgmgermany]

Hi,
as you know, I am driving around with my 2003 MGM in Germany where we have asymmetric head lighting on 99% of the cars on the road.
MGM`s interiour rear view mirror is fine as it is self-dimming and that works fantastic.
But the outside mirrors......
When driving on the right Autobahn lane every and I mean every car on the left lane blinds me extremely through my driver side rear view mirror. Audis and Mercedes etc. with factory HID light are extreme.
Never felt this extreme blinding before in any other car.

Anyone got an idea whether there are tinted heated mirror glasses available on the aftermarket?
Any suggestions for another solution?
Are aftermarket auto-dim mirror glasses available which fit the MGM?

Please do not recommend window-tinting, I had to remove the driver & front passenger window-tinting which my MGM comes with from SC due to our nasty legal regulations here.

Thanks, guys

JoJo

[Merc3517]

are you allowed to just tint the mirror glass? Personally I adjust my mirrors so when I am in normal driving posture the side mirrors will not blind me. I adjust them a bit low. So when I use one to see something I have to adjust myself a little but that is okay I am not to lazy to move my head a little bit. You could always just adjust the mirror down or out a bit when you are in these conditions that you are getting blinded, just enough to direct the light somewhere other than your eyes. This seems to be the simplest and cheapest solution to your problem. I guess you could spend a bunch of money to do the same thing but why?

[mgmgermany]

outside mirror

Yes, tinting the outside mirror should not be a problem.
I had to buy a mirror glass for our 1990 Mercedes and the aftermarket offered a blueish tinted and heated version, which was not only way cheaper than the Mercedes original one, but also remarkable reduces the blinding(although that was not a problem before).

I already tried to solve the blinding on the MGM by adjusting the mirror in several positions, but the result was not that good. Maybe it has to do with the assymetric front lights here in Germany, which throw a good amount of light to the outer right side of the road.

Not too lazy to move my head......

Any more suggestions?

JoJo

[tjc78]

The 98+ Town Cars had an auto-dimming driver mirror (at least my Grandfather's 98 Signature did). I wonder if they are interchangable with GM mirrors (at least the glass anyway). IIRC it worked with the auto-dim inside mirror (the sensor controlled both).

[yucatecd]

Dear Panthers,

I've got the same problem for different reasons. It isn't assymetric headlights; it's my old eyes and I'm tired of blocking the glare with my cap. There are many newish semi luxury cars with autodimming heated mirrors and, I gather in Europe many are achromatic as well.

Installing one of these mirrors (or two) is the answer to glare. Yes, it's a mod, not a bolt on but I'd think it would be easier with the 03MGM because its mirrors are mounted on a triangle in the window fronts - just like the autodimmers. For my 89CP, the triangles themselves would need to be modded.

I've already tried to buy Mazda autodimmers to get the process started but that screwed up so I'm seeking mirrors again. My mod will be more difficult than the 92MGM but seems possible.

[mgmgermany]

you are not alone.......

Hi,
good to see and read that I am not alone with this prob.

I am already (?) 52 and need some glasses for reading. Maybe the mirror blinding is due to my eyes getting worse with the age. But that does not help with the prob....

I know that AUDI has an option for auto-dimming outer mirrors, but they are far away from a fit. The control of this option on Audis is CAN-Bus controlled, a world that I am not that common with.

I will search around on this side of the pond and report if I find something that fits.

Greets

JoJo

[Merc3517]

I searched around a bit and I cannot find a direct fit auto dimming side mirror for these cars. I would imagine that the closest you will get is to custom make this from another mirror that is somewhat close to the same size and shape. It would be expensive anyway because I found heated mirrors with turn signals in the glass for like $150, that was just the glass (possibly the plastic the glass is in but not the whole housing). either way you look at this it will be a custom mod and won't be anything close to plug and play, at least until someone starts making auto dimming side mirrors for these cars.

The 98+ Town Cars had an auto-dimming driver mirror (at least my Grandfather's 98 Signature did). I wonder if they are interchangable with GM mirrors (at least the glass anyway). IIRC it worked with the auto-dim inside mirror (the sensor controlled both).

I would try to run with this idea first. It sounds the most feasible in my opinion. One might be able to switch around the housings a bit to make it a direct bolt on. This has inspired my curiosity of the subject and hopefully in the future I can play with this a bit and perhaps come up with something but that will be a while. Hopefully someone comes up with something before I can get a chance to play with it and save me the trouble lol.

[yucatecd]

Dear Panthers,
According to Car-Parts.com.the Townie autodimmers were the same from 98 to 2002 and 2003 and 2004 were different. They seem fairly common and I plan to visit some selected junkyards. I'd bet Merc 3517 is right that they'd be the closest fit.


Donald McCaig

[mgmgermany]

Dimming outer mirrors

Hi Donald,

If you find some auto-dims for the driver side of my 2003 MGM, get them and please let me know. Both sides (passenger & driver) are appreciated as well.

Wishing a successful "junkyard hunting" !

Thanks in advance

JoJo




According to Car-Parts.com.the Townie autodimmers were the same from 98 to 2002 and 2003 and 2004 were different. They seem fairly common and I plan to visit some selected junkyards. I'd bet Merc 3517 is right that they'd be the closest fit.

[yucatecd]

Dear Panthers,
I didn't make myself clear. I've an 89 CP. If the 98 Linc mirrors can be modded to fit my car- the triangular baseplates shouldn't be too big or wildly smaller - I'll ask Scott to do the mods. I have no idea whether any Lincoln mirrors will fit JoJo's 2003 MGM but the 2003/2004 might. If Germany has junkyards and he's willing and/or able to do the mod, he might start looking.

Donald McCaig