[boxterfan67]

2002 LL Bean OBW H6 rear view mirror never seems to dim at night. I even have the original manuals that came with the car. Really tired of driving at night when the cars behind me seem to have Q beams for headlights. It really sucks. I'd just as soon have the good old flip button on the bottom if this continues. Subaru trying to be too fancy? Any ideas before I yank it off and go low-tech?

 

[coz375]

There is a sensor on the windshield side of the mirror. Turn the mirror off, cover that sensor and turn the mirror on. Keep the sensor covered and the mirror should dim. It should dim automatically from then on. I believe the calibration instructions are in the directions. I have three of these. Two of them I installed myself. I had the same problem with one of them and I did what I just described and it's been working ever since.

Good luck.

 

[Saint J VT]

Even with mine working since the car was new ('05), I am not satisfied with how little it dims. When someone with bright lights is following me for a while, I might as well not even have the "auto-dum" feature.

 

[boxterfan67]

mirror

There is a sensor on the windshield side of the mirror. Turn the mirror off, cover that sensor and turn the mirror on. Keep the sensor covered and the mirror should dim. It should dim automatically from then on. I believe the calibration instructions are in the directions. I have three of these. Two of them I installed myself. I had the same problem with one of them and I did what I just described and it's been working ever since.

Good luck.

Thanks coz, I'll give it a try. Sounds like you're a dedicated Subie fan, missing only the WRX STI. That one in the works???

 

[OldStyle]

My '03 doesn't auto dim either. Thanks for the suggestion coz375 I will try it.

I was thinking there might be a way to install a micro switch to bypass the sensor and make it a manual override? Thoughts?

I know you can install the basic factory mirror to the same mount but I do enjoy the compass feature....

.

 

[jp1203]

Hmm, mine works quite well, I don't notice cars behind me with bright lights through that mirror--just through the side views. I've heard that the '01-'02 mirrors had issues that got corrected for '03+. There is an override button on mine, but it leaves it in "bright" mode...to my knowledge there's no way to force it to stay dim.

 

[Wagondude]

My '06 requires a reset from time to time. power off amd back on at the switch does the trick.

 

[coz375]

My daughter just picked up a 2013 WRX.

 

[Quispamgolfer]

I too having same problem with the auto dim mirror in that it does not dim at night. I did the "repair" per coz375 last night and mirror finally dimmed!! For me the mirror stayed dimmed all them time now with the black tape over the front sensor so I have to turn it off (green LED off) for daytime driving. Not a big deal it is now a manual dimming mirror just turn it on when need to dim. Is this what people are experiencing with black tape over the front sensor repair?

 

[thatgarrett]

If it's taped over that means it always thinks it's dark and will always dim, it should work normally if you take the tape off and not dim in the day.

 

[Quispamgolfer]

Agreed however w/o the tape mine does not dim at night. Same headlight brightness between the rear view and side mirrors when car is behind me at night. I have to do this taping thing as days are getting shorter.

 

[KansasMatthew]

Not sure about the older mirrors, but the newer mirrors have 2 sensors. One facing the windshield and one facing the rear window.

The simple explanation: when the rear facing sensor reads brighter than the front facing sensor, the mirror dims.

You can test this by parking in a garage and shining a flashlight into the rear facing sensor, or you can cover the front facing sensor.