I know about the area in the lower windshield, but am afraid my V1's rear radar will be blocked then by a passenger. Now I know the blacked out spots on left and right side of rear view mirror are for toll pass cards, do you think the radar would work there too??

 

Check your PM.

Yes it will work in the spotted area behind the rear view just fine.

 

can you provide more data on this?

valentine told me "no" when i asked, though admittedly the guy i was dealing with did not impress me as knowing for sure.

i have mine mounted at the bottom and i agree that it's a crappy location for rear-facing radar. quite sub-optimal.

i'd like to put it up there too, but it seems to me like those black dots would interfere with incoming radar signals.

do you have some specific data or info on this? i'm sure it'd WORK since there's plenty of "space" in between the black dots, but it seems like a liability.

any info appreciated.

doody.

 

I tried it and I got all the radar signals that I normally get on my w202 as well. I have mine mounted above the rearview with the radar facing right at the black dots and I know all the areas where the motion door sensors trigger it. I drove around with the S mounted right above the rearview facing the black dots and it gets the same signals that I get in my w202.

Also the manual says the area behind the rearview (including the black dots) work for the electronic toll booth devices and I have tried that as well in that area and works fine. I've seen lots of other S-Classes (w220) with the devices mounted in that area. I see them go thru the tolls with no probs.

Give it a shot, whats there to lose? Pick a spot where your radar usually goes off and drive there with the radar mounted above the rear view and see if it goes off.

 

but those toll things are RF-based. it's an entirely different ball of wax. i always assumed that area was black-dotted for aesthetic reasons (if it was clear it'd look damn weird).

the thing is, to my knowledge, police radar signals cannot penetrate those black dots, so you MUST be decreasing signal strength. i'm SURE the detector will register something - it's a big receiver at the front and there are spaces between the dots - but theoretically you must be reducing the signal strength by 50% or more.

i guess i'll test it out BUT on the face of it it sure seems like it should be a sub-optimal place to put it.

doody.

 

Nope...no interference with signal or range AT ALL. I've gotten radar hits around corners, long stretch of highway. No difference in range than when I had it at the bottom of the windshield. Run a search...I was contemplating this too thinking that the black dots would affect range and sensitivity, but one member pointed out that he did work in this field and that the dots had ZERO effect on detection at all.

 

with apologies, gdawg, i have searched the archives extensively and cannot find such a post. perhaps you could suggest some key words for searching for that specific post?

many thanks,
doody.

 

Yes, I could not find it either...I did a search right after I posted. I think that was posted before the great crash of MBWorld and posts were lost in that crash. I will try and search again!

but just give it a try, no harm done, right?

 

you seem to know alot about radar detectors so if i may ask a question that has been bugging me. Iv been thinking about getting the escort 8500 but I have tinted windows. 5% in the back and 20% in the front. Will the radar detector still work correctly?

 

Now the black dots are actually from what I was told...a sunblock for when you look into the rear view mirror so that the sun doesnt shine in, like another visor almost.
Is there anyone we could call at Mercedes to find out? I bet they would know....

 

I think it should be fine. Our ML tint in the rear is pretty dark from factory, not sure how much percentage wise, but pretty dark. Still works fine.

 

Yeah, thats the main purpose of it. But the radar still works through it just fine.