Marek_Norway

Hi everyone,
I found on ebay side mirrors for GLK with autodimming and blind spot assist. Does anybody know if I can change my basic GLK side mirrors for these with autodimming and bsa? Is it just "plug and play" change or do I need to code this option into the car computer? I have 2009 GLK with park assist....thank you.

balticgreen

The blind spot assist is not contained wholly within the mirror so it won't be a matter of simply swapping mirrors. The triangle lights in the mirrors are just that--lights. The lights are illuminated by software (which you probably do not have) that processes information from radar sensors (which you don't have) at the rear of the car. Parktronic uses ultrasound, not radar, so you can't use the sensors you already have.

super7pilot

Why would one need such a thing anyway? But then, We have become pretty lazy these days. I tell you. It's just to damn hard to lean forward in your seat then look in your side mirror, Thus revealing ones blind spot. Yep It's just far to hard to do that. So I need a monitor for that. I also got me some back up sensors that automatically apply the brakes. So I just get in, Put it in reverse and floor it without looking. Same thing going forward. I can actually turn around and change the babies diapers and the car will stop before I hit some thing. As the car nanny will look after me.

As you can tell. I'm not a fan of being able to just pour ones flabby body into the seat of a car & incoherently blather the destination you want. Then return to eating Twinkies, Sleeping, Or gaming while the car takes you there. I suppose I'm old school. I want to be in control of the car. Not have the car control me.

But it could be a great philosophical and practical discussion of why we love cars so much, But look for ways to not drive them while we are in them pretending to drive. What's the point?

fcch

Well said.


Also, the BSA won't pickup on a vehicle that is quickly overtaking you as you pull into them.


What ever happened to driver's ed ... we learned Signal, Mirror, Blindspot.


my 2¢ (cdn)

Mort

^^^^^LOL can't do $0.02 in Canada any more have to do $0.05..LOll ( sorry don't have a fancy cent icon)

mikedr

BSA is a necessary function for me. If I see the red triangle, I don't even think about getting into the next lane. If I don't, I still check.

super7pilot

That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.


I nor anyone else should ever get into the next lane without looking PERIOD. No matter what the car says. Given that. why would it be "as you say" necessary for you?


Not trying to give you nor anyone else a hard time. But I find that "I HAVE to have it, But I double check any way" is a rather curious position to have.

I suspect it's more to do with. Well! my car has bla,bla,bla. Which makes me cooler than others. But I could be wrong.


I personally just think it's more to go wrong and makes most folks lazy drivers that depend far to much on the nanny in the dash.


Just look at the majority of issues folks on this forum are having with their MB's Most of the reliability issues have to do with the electronic gizmos. DEF anyone? Sirius?

mikedr

I phrased this wrong. I meant to say, when I want to change lanes:

(1) If the red triangle is on, then I don't look over, and don't even try to change lanes.

(2) If the red triangle is off, I (still) look over, and then change lanes.

I use the red triangle for two purposes. First, if it's lit, then I assume there's a car in the lane, and I won't even try to change lanes (i.e., won't look over, etc.). Second, it provides better situational awareness, particularly when vehicles sneak up on you.

super7pilot

First of all. You know what they say about assuming.

A mirror IS a situational awareness device and is it's only purpose. And if a blind spot mirror light/sensor can break and not work (thus the act of double checking when it's not activated) Then what if it breaks and is stuck on? You might be doing a heck of a lot of right turns to get where you are going.

See. I just think you are trying to justify the expense of a useless gizmo that the salesman convinced you that you had to have or you might crash & die if you don't. What did you do before buying the MB? I'm sure you didn't hire a guy to sit in the back seat to monitor the next lane. I think you probably used your MIRRORS. See, you said it yourself and was the bigger part of my point. "you don't even look in the mirror if it's lit up" In other words. You "unlearned" a safe driving habit that you were taught when you learned how to drive. All because the nanny in the dash is the boss now. Lazy, Lazy, Lazy.

mikedr

What am I assuming unsafely? If it's red, I assume that there's a car there, don't look, don't even try to move over. How is this unsafe in the least? It's an additional situational awareness mechanism. For example, if my peripheral vision detects that the red light has lit up, I know now that someone is in my blind spot. No one, I hope, constantly turns their head to see if people are in their blind spots when they're not expecting to change lanes, but it's good to know if someone is there.

My prior four vehicles all had this feature as well.

I don't understand why people buy luxury cars and complain about the bells and whistles that come with them. There are a lot less expensive vehicles that are more reliable than MB.

Adaptive cruise I use, too. And the 360 degree camera. Shoot me now.

super7pilot

I see that you are taking it personally. It's just a general discussion. Nothing personal toward you at all.

You see I'm just the opposite. If my Garmin says turn here. I will have first looked at the GPS to see the name of the street then I will make a visual confirmation of this before I turn. I had my BMW satnav try and turn me down a newly changed traffic pattern in Germany. It tried to send me down a one way street that was previously a two way street. What saved my being rather embarrassed, having an accident? I didn't assume the GPS was the be all end all. It is just a "guide" And I will make the final decision.

There was a case of a couple who were traveling just over the border from me in Oregon just before I moved to Europe in 2010. The GPS told them to turn here. They did and went down an unimproved forest service road in the winter. They got stuck, I can't remember the final outcome for the couple. Why did they do that? Well, they assumed that the GPS was correct and would never make a mistake. And thus, Never questioned it. And why would they ever bother to even look at a map to get the general outlook/route of where they needed to go prior to taking their trip. And that's my point. They, You & many others give over your driving to a nanny. If you really needed to be in the left lane. But the red light was on and you just assumed it was correct and not verified it by looking in the mirror (which is what it was designed for) Then you might not make your turn like you wanted.

My MB has none of those bells and whistles (ordered it that way) I consider most of them just a waste of money. And is a big reason why I am in a 2014 MB GLK250 for $34,000 instead of nearly $60,000. That $60k GLK250 is mechanically the same as mine. For $26k I can look in the mirror to see what's next to me, Use my Garmin if needed. I have low payments, And a nice vehicle with which to tow my Caterham.

koalatm

Not sure why everyone is so negative about this feature. I find it very useful. It's not a replacement for shoulder checking, but it's a great aide and like mikedr, I won't even bother shoulder checking if I see a red triangle.

It's safer, because you're keeping your eyes forward and on the road ahead, instead of having to waste time looking over your shoulder just to find out if someone is there or not.

super7pilot

It's not a replacement for shoulder checking, And that is the key. It WILL come to pass that the sensor will take the place of looking in the mirror. Just as blindly following ones GPS can lead them astray as most don't really know the general route to their destination. They just follow the voice in the display.

Have you seen the Infinity commercial where the woman just throws her SUV into reverse and nearly hits the school bus? The first time I saw that advert, I thought geez look how fast she was backing out of her driveway & of course without looking. Or the advert from the same maker that shows the guy drifting out of lane from sleeping. After the car beeps to wake him. Does it show him pulling into a hotel or a rest area? Of course not, It shows him continuing on only to be distracted (again) and starring a rather very long time into the rear view mirror. But again, The systems save him. Ok fine. But then he in fact smiles and laughs after twice nearly having an accident. People learn from such things. The driving standards here in America are already abysmal to begin with. I can just see it. Hey! I have a sleep monitor in my car. Now I can drive longer, Because it will keep me awake. Cool!

As I said. I'm just old school about driving. It also doesn't help that while working on nuke missiles in the military. I was offered the chance to go to the military truck driving school. A few of the things I had to learn were looking in the mirrors (often), Reversing a tractor & 53 Ft. trailer through a slalom course using mirrors only. (way harder than it looks), And yes! Parallel parking against a curb with that same truck & trailer combo.

I have a good friend that flies an Airbus A320/A330 for Delta airlines. It, as well as most new planes have a function that will actually land the plane automatically (hands free ) Luckily the pilots only occasionally use that feature. Why? According to my friend. The pilots need to know how to fly the plane without relying on the nanny's. They get rusty & start to form bad habits if they use the auto land function too often. It's also why they carry Jeppesen charts in a plane that has an incredibly sophisticated on board navigation system.

So yes! While these new functions on our fancy cars can be fine if used as an AID as you elude to. But you know as well as I do. Those functions will be used as a crutch for the clueless & uninvolved driver. I.E. Most of America's drivers.

And as has been said. The MAJOR source of reliability issues on modern cars are those same electronic gizmo's that most seem to love. I just don't think it's money well spent. I could have nearly doubled the price of my GLK from all the superfluous gadget's.

koalatm

[QUOTE=super7pilot;6141710]It's not a replacement for shoulder checking, And that is the key. It WILL come to pass that the sensor will take the place of looking in the mirror. Just as blindly following ones GPS can lead them astray as most don't really know the general route to their destination. They just follow the voice in the display.

Your point is moot, given that any safety feature can be misused. This is no different than [poor drivers] assuming ABS or traction control will solve poor driving skills or not matching your driving to the road conditions.

I'm glad you're happy with your GLK. That's all that matters! I love our loaded up GLK and I'm glad I have the fancy gizmo's. For me, if I wanted a stripped down base model to save money I'd have just purchased a base model Ford Escape or some such thing.

super7pilot

Nice try at a veiled insult. I look at it differently. I just didn't want to over spend on things that "I" didn't think I need. I wanted good value for my money, the GLK delivered. But. If what you say is true. (essentially) go big or go to Ford or some other blue collar builder is a bit pretentious on your part. If it's about the size of one's wallet (as you inferred) How come your in a GLK as opposed to a fully loaded ML class with the AMG option? MB wouldn't even offer a base model of anything if they didn't sell them. I choose the MB because it is a nice vehicle, Well built, gets great fuel economy, And handsome as well.

Truthfully, I had a rather hard time finding a vehicle that would get good fuel economy hauling the Caterham behind it and especially when it wasn't towing. Most other makers won't allow anything but a fuel guzzling V6-V8 to haul more than 1000 Lbs. My trailer and the Caterham only weigh 2100 Lbs.

In America, All the makers limit you to 1000 Lbs towing in their cars in an effort to push a person into a higher profit SUV with lower fuel economy. It's rather sad that companies do that. MB was the only company (at the time) that offered any vehicle that could tow the small load I needed it to and still remain fuel efficient when not towing or even when it is. Kudos to MB for that.

koalatm

It really wasn't a veiled insult, apologies if you took it that way. I'm just saying if it were me, I'd have gone with a less expensive vehicle if I wanted a stripped down model.

We have a GLK as it was the right size of vehicle. The ML is too large and my wife didn't feel comfortable when she test drove it.

Love the Caterham. Really fun car to drive. I was lucky enough to drive one on a track day a few years back and was grinning from ear to ear!

MBKLUE

Pompous, self-absorbed and know-it-all are words that currently spring to mind....

super7pilot

No worries then.

Yes! The Caterham is a hoot but is a rather eccentric/Marmite sort of car.

Again. I look at it a bit differently, I don't think that going basic means one has to stoop to cheaply made either.

But to be honest. I went to MB as a last resort. At first I went to VW looking at the Jetta/Passat TDI sportwagon to tow the seven. But I kept finding something odd. "the tow ratings" VW makes most of their Golf's & Jetta's for the US & EU markets in Mexico. They are identical in structure. The EU tow rating (as set by VW) is 1600 Kgs or 3500 Lbs. Check out this video. That golf is pulling 2500 Lbs in that video. Yet VW USA says 1000 Lbs max. I made a call to VW USA to ask about this. I told the nice gal at VW that I suspected that the low tow rating in the US was not due to the lack of capabilities of the car. But had more to do with marketing the SUV line where one had to get the V6. What she said actually shocked me. She said "yes! That's correct" Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, I was right. It is the same with virtually every auto maker that sells in the USA. All their cars are rated at 0-1000 Lbs. Yet the same chassis that the car uses suddenly become fine to tow as long as the body is square and is called an SUV. And most importantly of all. Has a price increase of about 10K over the car of the same chassis construction. HMMM!!!

At least MB put in a very thrifty diesel into their SUV. Whereas most every other maker make you buy a V6 so that you can spend money on fuel neeedlessly. How nice of them. Of course the makers can get away with it because of the American misconception that to tow anything bigger than a bicycle requires an 8 liter V10. Luckily that attitude is (slowly) starting to change.

super7pilot

Ouch! Just a bit on the harsh side.

koalatm

I'm not even sure if that was directed at you or I, but either way it wasn't necessary.

All is good, sorry for the mis-communication on my end.

The way I look at it is that the Tiguan (as an example) has the same engine as my GTI. You have to figure the towing capabilities are pretty close.

And then of course the TDI versions have a ton of torque, so they're probably even more suitable.

I used to be big into track days and autocross... had an '01 S2000 and an '04 S2000. I remember guys towing trailers with their S2000 and that thing only had around 140 ft-lbs of torque!!

super7pilot

Koalatm
Some folks just don't understand that others on a forum can argue their point vigorously, have a bit of a disagreement and say oops sorry about that, Then in the end still keep it civil. maybe even learn something.
I enjoy the back and forth. If we only discuss things with folks we agree with, We are not likely to learn new points of view very easily.

My view on driving and a lot of the driving aids was formed because of my unique driving history.
After retiring from the military where I worked on nuke missiles. Of all the things I might of done after my service. I went and started a small trucking company. Which I sold after owning for 10 years & 1.3 million accident free miles. (Of course I am far from being perfect)

I have also lived in Japan and Germany. I drove for 5 years in Japan and saw 1 accident. I drove for 4 years in Germany and have driven all over Europe on a regular basis, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, France, UK, Ireland, Scotland and others. In all that EU driving I saw 3 accidents. Within a week of coming back to the USA. I saw 3 accidents & a soccer mom in a mini van run a red light.
So it's no wonder I have a rather dim view of the typical American driver and the aids they depend on. To often, The aids are a crutch where if those aids failed for some reason. I'm sure they would probably have an accident in short order. Of course for a good driver those aids are just that "aids"

In reality I think it should be much more difficult to get a license in the first place. No mater how good the aids are. There's just no substitute for good basic driving skills.

On towing:
The TDI is very suitable indeed. But the manufacturers hold the threat of warranty denial over one's head. Of course the VW guy in Kaiserslautern Germany said oh just go ahead and tow. Easy for him to say.

But we enjoy our GLK 250 very much. And glad we bought it.

super7pilot

As you have driven a Caterham before. Thought you might like to check out my seven.

koalatm

Very nice! Looks to be in fantastic condition. I'd love to own one someday, but I don't think my wife would let me