truliejulie

Just purchased a 2011 GL550 with tinted windows all around. Rear view mirror is constantly dimmed, even during the day. Can’t find anything in the manual; covering the sensor on the mirror does nothing. Are the tinted windows the problem? How can I fix this? It’s a real hazard during daylight driving...

lkchris

Your vehicle came from factory with tinted rear window. If additional tinting was added, it should be removed. It’s more likely you require a new mirror.

DennisG01

You're thinking backwards... IF the driver's and passenger's side windows being tinted (and the other windows having MORE tint) were to cause a problem, it would PREVENT the mirror from dimming, not make it dim.

eric_in_sd

Check whether your headlights are on all the time. If the ambient light sensor is covered or broken, the mirror would think it's nighttime, but would also see lots of light, thinking it needs to dim.

SteveE400

I don't think the auto-dimming mirror is linked to whether or not the headlights are on. In my prior car (Lexus LS430), they were. In the old car, I was able to put black tape over the sensor on the back of the mirror, and the mirror dimmed whenever the headlights went on. Quite handy in the city.

In the E-Class, when I taped over the sensor on the back of the mirror, with the lights set to "Automatic" but NOT on, the mirrors were dimmed fully all the time (even in full daylight). Since these cars have no "off" position for the lights, I can only assume that the dimming system is active at all times, and that my tape trick won't work.

I would like to be able to dim my mirrors at will. Anybody know how?