FAQ: Side Mirror Problems (heated, auto-dimming, tilt)

robotennis61 wrote:

what causes the mirror to turn gold?

I have seen them 'goldish' and 'greenish' when everything is okay. But then they turn nasty green and once the fluid leak out, well it's just uuuuugly.

woggy, does your mirror still darken/tint?

That's how my tint failed, it went gold first then starting turning green about a year later.
My experience was once it turned a goldish color it no longer tinted or changed, just stayed gold for quite a while, until it started oozing fluid, then it went a funky green color bleeding down from the top of the mirror,
I changed it out with a tint only mirror but am still looking for a heated one also.

deekster_caddy wrote:

robotennis61 wrote:

what causes the mirror to turn gold?

woggy, does your mirror still darken/tint?

nope

And it's not just on Riviera's. My brother bought an '00 Audi S4, and the driver mirror hadn't leaked, but it turned yellow and didn't function any more.

Robotennis61;
The mirrors are sealed and once they loose the seal the fluid leaks out or in the case of both Derek and myself, we have cracked / broken good used ones while trying to install.
In my case it was an $80.00 mistake. And these used OEM are very hard to find. I finally got one after about a year of searching and broke it installing it. Yet I installed the non-heated one without a problem, go figure.

Is the tinting mirror standard? I don't see it on my options list.

I don't know Jack, what year is your riv?

Jack the R wrote:

Is the tinting mirror standard? I don't see it on my options list.

If your inside rearview mirror has a switch labeled OFF/AUTO then it has the Electrochromatic Day/night mirror option.
My 1998 owners manual states it is an option for what that's worth.

Rickw wrote:

Jack the R wrote:

Is the tinting mirror standard? I don't see it on my options list.

If your inside rearview mirror has a switch labeled OFF/AUTO then it has the Electrochromatic Day/night mirror option.
My 1998 owners manual states it is an option for what that's worth.

I've got a switch at the bottom of the mirror with the options off-m-c/m.

Do you have an owners manual.? It should explain. My 98 does not have that lettering.
Do you have a compass in the mirror.?
Can you see a small hole near the switch on the mirror for the photocells that sense the light from behind. i also have a small green light that stays on when the compass and auto dim feature are on.

Rickw wrote:

Do you have an owners manual.? It should explain. My 98 does not have that lettering.
Do you have a compass in the mirror.?
Can you see a small hole near the switch on the mirror for the photocells that sense the light from behind. i also have a small green light that stays on when the compass and auto dim feature are on.

I have the manual.

It doesn't say how to tell if the driver's side mirror is auto dimming or not. It just says it's an option.

My mirror isn't either of the ones pictured in the manual.

It does have a compass, and a photocell in the mirror.

Jack the R wrote:

My mirror isn't either of the ones pictured in the manual.

I don't know what to think about that. The only thing that comes to mind is; it isn't an original OEM mirror.
But I couldn't say or tell without seeing it. Is it possible that the mirror got swapped out with something from another GM product somewhere along the way.????

Jack the R wrote:

Rickw wrote:

Do you have an owners manual.? It should explain. My 98 does not have that lettering.
Do you have a compass in the mirror.?
Can you see a small hole near the switch on the mirror for the photocells that sense the light from behind. i also have a small green light that stays on when the compass and auto dim feature are on.

I have the manual.

It doesn't say how to tell if the driver's side mirror is auto dimming or not. It just says it's an option.

My mirror isn't either of the ones pictured in the manual.

It does have a compass, and a photocell in the mirror.

If possible post up a pic or two, please.

Bert

The two in my manual don't have the compass/temp guage on them. I'm guessing there was a third option, and this was it.

I still dont know for sure. It looks like a auto dimming mirror to me. It looks just like the one that was in my old Park Ave.
Sorry if I just caused more confusion.


Bert

That doesn't look like my mirror.
What year is your car, I forget.?
As i mentioned earlier it could be out of another GM car with the same options, so it functions Ok but appears different.

Mine's a 97.

It also displays external temp which implies a sensor outside the car. If this is an aftermarket mirror or a mirror off another car, somebody did a lot of work to make it all functional.

Mine doesn't display outside temp, presumably because the HVAC panel does.
There is an OAT sensor (outside air temp) mounted in front of the AC condensor which feeds the HVAC panel via the PCM. The PCM needs to know OAT for various things.
If your mirror isn't stock then as you said someone did a great job hooking it up.

If the sunlight hits the area on my mirror just so, where the compass reading is, I can see the circuit board (LED's) with the capability to read temp in *F or *C.

I just assumed it is not wired in these cars because of the HVAC reading OAT.

Jack the R wrote:

Mine's a 97.

It also displays external temp which implies a sensor outside the car. If this is an aftermarket mirror or a mirror off another car, somebody did a lot of work to make it all functional.

looks like a JCWhitney mirror. Gentex makes 'em too. They are not cheap. Nice job on the install, though, if it all works. See http://www.jcwhitney.com/CIPA-DUAL-DISPLAY-AUTO-DIMMING-MIRRORS/GP_2010458_N_111+10201+600015521_10101.jcw for the current version.

Albertj

You got my curiosity up. I broke out the options list again. It says a manual mirror was standard, then later on it lists a "prestige option package" with the electrochromatic inside and outside mirrors. Would the Prestige pkg have been installed by the dealer, or the factory?

Wherever this mirror came from, it looks completely natural in the Riv and functions perfectly. If not for this thread I would have never guessed it wasn't stock.

But anyway, I guess I'm stuck with the auto-dimming outside mirrors too Luckily they're still in top shape, but how long can that last?

As for the mirror (stock or not) I'd say it does not matter

My auto-dimming outside mirrors are OK too. I suspect it's because my car is parked under roof (garage, carport or parking ramp) pretty much all the time unless it's rolling somewhere.

Albertj

I may have been wrong about the mirror displaying temp. I would have sworn that it did, but I didn't see it when I drove today.

My Riv is garaged too, maybe the problem is with heat causing the fluid to expand and burst its seals? I'm sure it gets much hotter (for much longer) being in the sunlight, than being heated in the winter.

It could be the heat, or it could be the cold. Probably doesn't matter, as I've yet to see an electrochromatic mirror that hasn't failed, on a Riviera or any other car from the time. It's just one of those technologies that wasn't quite "there" when these cars were made.

AA wrote:

It could be the heat, or it could be the cold. Probably doesn't matter, as I've yet to see an electrochromatic mirror that hasn't failed,

Come see mine (knock on wood).

My Riv stays out of the heat but I can't do anything about the cold winter months - yet.

Come see mine (knock on wood).
My Riv stays out of the heat but I can't do anything about the cold winter months - yet.[/quote]

just wait your time is coming!