Infiniti doesn't make the mirrors, they just buy them from a supplier. All cars with auto dimming mirrors work the same way. As soon as you turn on the car the mirror powers up and goes into stand by. The anti-glare feature doesn't activate until it detects light being shone directly at it. I don't see why the system would work any other way; anything else would add unnecessary complexity.

 

My '05 Acura TL had this feature and it was normally off. There were on/off buttons on the mirror similar to the G. If you turned the feature on and did not turn it off, the next time you got in the car is was off untill I turned it back on for night driving. Whereas the G has the feature in default mode of "ON/Automatic" all the time unless you turn it off. I guess it's a complusive disorder to turn it off since it functions normally during the day . ;-/

 

This design is bizarre, and it makes me wonder why they made it "automatic" at all. If you already had to press a button every time you wanted the feature available, it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch to press a button when you wanted the mirror to dim.

Rest assured, the design in the G is the way the other 95% of the automotive world executes this feature.

 

My parents have two Acuras and the auto dimming mirrors works the same way as it does in the G. It's always on; even if you turn it off it'll automatically be on the next time you turn on the car.

 

I'll just leave it in (automatic mode) from now on since it functions like a normal mirror does during the day.

Thanks Everyone I appreciate your comments.

 

Perhaps the design is not bizarre at all. They may have made it automatic-on as a safety feature. Some drivers may forget to turn it on once it had been turned off during a prior drive. Now being suddenly blinded by someone’s high beams at night there may not be enough time to turn the feature on again, resulting in forward vision being temporarily impeded.

Yes, I know that true car enthusiasts like to make these decisions themselves, but in our litigious society where law suits flourish, Nissan may not want to take on another liability.

 

Read the thread. I was responding to a previous post, which was discussing an Acura that required the feature to be turned on each time. I agree with you.

Regardless, I don't think the auto-on has much to do with dramatic blinding scenarios or litigation. I think it's more about good design. People drove for 100 years without auto-dimming mirrors, and most survived the experience.

 

I see now that you were referring to an Acura, but I will differ with you a bit about driving for 100 years without auto dimming. I’m old enough to remember driving about half of that, when we drove without seat belts, air bags, dual brake lines, padded dashes, collapsible steering columns, turn signals, third brake lights and TPMS. Yes, most of us survived, but others were killed or crippled in auto accidents at a much higher rate than today because they didn't have these safety devices.

 

Yeah no kidding, I once found a collection of X-rays from car accients from the 1940s - 1960s. They were pretty bad, people had ***** and switches stuck in them. One guy had the grip from the end of the column mounted shifted embedded in the centre of his brain.

 

As I was writing my last post, I was thinking to myself that the logical response would bring up other safety accomplishments that we've made over the years. Then I shrugged it off, because a dimming mirror is really a convenience, not a life saver. I use mine, but I just got rid of a truck that didn't have one, and it really wasn't much of a bother to reach up there and flip the mirror if I needed to.

Auto dimming mirrors are options, and are superfluous for those of us with tinted windows. They don't work at all until a bright light hits them anyway, so your example of being suddenly blinded by brights is still possible. I'd be more worried about being blinded by brights coming towards me in the other lane, which a mirror can't fix.

Just my opinion.

 

That’s a good point. I remember GM introduced an auto dimming device in the fifties that would dim one’s own high beams to regular for oncoming traffic at night. Ford and Chrysler tried it too, but they didn’t work too well, and of course, most cars didn’t have them, so they were gone by the eighties.

I even remember back when the switch to cycle your high beams on or off was a button on the floor to the left of the clutch petal, certainly not as convenient as today’s arrangement. Then I remember.......................(no, I shouldn't ramble on.)

 

Has anyone found a way to make this stay OFF when you turn on the car without having to hit the power button?

And because I know someone will ask, my reason for wanting it off is I dont like it, and I never use it. I turn it off manually every time I turn on the car, even at night.

I like to see the headlights behind me so I know what type of car is following me at night. The cops in my area drive crown vics and dodge chargers, and I know what their headlights are. I like to know at night who is following me.

So regardless of my reasoning, is there any way to ensure that it stays off all the time when I turn on my car?

 

I find that it's even easier to identify headlights with the mirror on becuase it eliminates the glare and makes the headlight shape even clearer.

In any case, if pushing the off button is too much work you could always unplug it.

 

I dont want to unplug it because I use the garage door opener function on the mirror and Im assuming unplugging the mirror would disable that also.

And the glare doesnt bother me one bit. Ive been driving for years without the auto dim, and I havent used it all but the first few days I got this car and found out I could turn it off. So over my lifetime, Ive maybe only used the autodim driving for 2 weeks, tops, and I prefer to drive with it off.

So if anyone has found a way to make it stay off when you turn on the car, please let me know.

 

Somebody has OCD...