[S6F]

rendering them of little value. My wife’s Audi’s blind-spot method is much better, with larger and brighter warning lights on the mirror frame closer to the driver. Do you agree? Is there a way to make ours brighter?

[clee1982]

guess it's personal preference I think it's pretty good as it is

[ZulaM5]

Or just set your mirrors up correctly to remove blind spots.. or look over your shoulder.

[clee1982]

Originally Posted by ZulaM5

Or just set your mirrors up correctly to remove blind spots.. or look over your shoulder.

You can't "remove" blind spot, at least I don't know what mirror would do that (without adding more mirror)

[claykin]

Originally Posted by clee1982

You can't "remove" blind spot, at least I don't know what mirror would do that (without adding more mirror)

Sure you can. Adjust the mirror out further so you don't see side of your car. You might need to push it out a little bit further. That should work around any blind spot.

I'm ok with the blind spot triangle but personally I prefer the type of triangle GM and others use. The G30 triangle is way better than the mirror housing triangle used on F cars.

[Phas]

Originally Posted by clee1982

You can't "remove" blind spot, at least I don't know what mirror would do that (without adding more mirror)

Yeah..right!!

Use this method and adjust your mirrors AND be aware of yoyr surroundings.

Cheers

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by claykin

Sure you can. Adjust the mirror out further so you don't see side of your car. You might need to push it out a little bit further. That should work around any blind spot.

I'm ok with the blind spot triangle but personally I prefer the type of triangle GM and others use. The G30 triangle is way better than the mirror housing triangle used on F cars.

+1. I move the mirrors until I can barely see any part of my car and then I move the mirrors some more. I check the mirror settings when I am at a stop light and can see that when the car next to me is beginning to fade from my peripheral vision, the car behind that car is about halfway into my side mirror view. Set up that way, there is no blind spot.

But I do use the blind spot warning anyway. I always used to use my mirrors and turn and quickly look back. Now I do both but also look for the warning.

[ksoze]

The Blind Spot warning in the side mirrors is not as well designed as others.

What is really missing is Blind Spot warnings in the HUD. A huge miss for BMW not implementing it as has been done on lesser cars. Is not a substitute for physically checking, but allows one to have an idea who is creeping up without taking your eyes off the front of the road.

[clee1982]

Originally Posted by ksoze

The Blind Spot warning in the side mirrors is not as well designed as others.

What is really missing is Blind Spot warnings in the HUD. A huge miss for BMW not implementing it as has been done on lesser cars. Is not a substitute for physically checking, but allows one to have an idea who is creeping up without taking your eyes off the front of the road.

If it's on HUD isn't it just going to be constantly on the when you're in traffic?

[ksoze]

Originally Posted by clee1982

If it's on HUD isn't it just going to be constantly on the when you're in traffic?

It is essentially on at speed, where you would usually not have cars inches from you. It is helpful to know who is around you without taking the focus off the road. Shows a car to the right or left of the HUD image. I had it on a Genesis and it is missed.

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by stevefoster

rendering them of little value. My wife’s Audi’s blind-spot method is much better, with larger and brighter warning lights on the mirror frame closer to the driver. Do you agree? Is there a way to make ours brighter?

Blind spot detection is a waste of time. Rather, adjust your side mirrors to increase your field of view and eliminate blind spots. It is mind boggling to me why this is not thought in basic driver's education. When you adjust your mirrors as per video below from the BMW Performance Center instructors, you will never need to relay on this particular electronic nanny that all it does is to encourage people to adjust their side mirrors pointing straight back, which is wrong in the first place.

[LuvMyE92]

I had an Audi and thought the blind spot warning lights were too bright and just turned them off. I think the BMW thing is fine.

I used to turn them off, but one day I was being careless and started to change lanes and at the last moment noticed that the light was on. So it saved me. And yes, my mirrors are adjusted perfectly, I just didn't look closely.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by ZulaM5

Or just set your mirrors up correctly to remove blind spots.. or look over your shoulder.

+1. I do all three. Just move the mirrors until you can just barely see the edge of the car and then move the mirrors some more.

[Qsilver7]

One can also upgrade to the Euro wide angle mirrors...which will increase the viewable area from 17° to 45°. So even if you don't have your mirrors "adjusted properly"...you still can usually see up to about 3 lanes behind you especially vehicles that are in the "blind spot" area.

The US DOT (dept of transportation) poo poos these mirrors because they feel Americans need a 1:1 viewable ratio mirror on the driver's side...yet they do allow the convex mirror on the passenger side...with the prerequisite warning "objects in mirror are closer than they appear".

I've been upgrading to the Euro wide angle (aspherical mirrors) since my e34 525iT. They are usually the 1st mod that I do. You can see how much more is viewable in the pics below from my f06 GC mirror upgrade. And even though the standard passenger side convex mirror is better than the 1:1 driver's side mirror...the passenger side wide angle (aspherical) mirror still has a larger viewable area than the standard convex mirror:

[themnmd]

I would agree that they could be brighter maybe a different color, red?

[Pictor]

Doesn’t the light get brighter if you try turning into the adjacent lane with another vehicle there? The steering wheel will also vibrate. I think it works well without being too annoying.

[AlteBMW]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

One can also upgrade to the Euro wide angle mirrors...which will increase the viewable area from 17° to 45°. So even if you don't have your mirrors "adjusted properly"...you still can usually see up to about 3 lanes behind you especially vehicles that are in the "blind spot" area.

The US DOT (dept of transportation) poo poos these mirrors because they feel Americans need a 1:1 viewable ratio mirror on the driver's side...yet they do allow the convex mirror on the passenger side...with the prerequisite warning "objects in mirror are closer than they appear".

I've been upgrading to the Euro wide angle (aspherical mirrors) since my e34 525iT. They are usually the 1st mod that I do. You can see how much more is viewable in the pics below from my f06 GC mirror upgrade. And even though the standard passenger side convex mirror is better than the 1:1 driver's side mirror...the passenger side wide angle (aspherical) mirror still has a larger viewable area than the standard convex mirror:

This is a brilliant idea. What is involved in swapping to Euro style? Just the mirror glass or the whole mirror housing? Is it a DIY?

[Warp Ten]

I like the Euro mirrors. Apparently just a change of the glass section? Heating and Blind Spot indicators still OK? I'd also like to know how you get them and roughly what they might cost. Will a US dealer install them? I saw your DIY steps elsewhere but would prefer dealer install if possible. Thanks--Bob

[Mach550]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

One can also upgrade to the Euro wide angle mirrors...which will increase the viewable area from 17° to 45°. So even if you don't have your mirrors "adjusted properly"...you still can usually see up to about 3 lanes behind you especially vehicles that are in the "blind spot" area.

Where can you order the euro mirrors? Do they dim as well? My drivers side mirror dims.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by AlteBMW

This is a brilliant idea. What is involved in swapping to Euro style? Just the mirror glass or the whole mirror housing? Is it a DIY?

You just swap the mirror glass. They pop out...and the replacements pop in. It is a simple DIY procedure that only requires an inexpensive nylone (non scarring) pry tool (like from Harbor Freight).

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

I like the Euro mirrors. Apparently just a change of the glass section? Heating and Blind Spot indicators still OK? I'd also like to know how you get them and roughly what they might cost. Will a US dealer install them? I saw your DIY steps elsewhere but would prefer dealer install if possible. Thanks--Bob

Originally Posted by Mach550

Where can you order the euro mirrors? Do they dim as well? My drivers side mirror dims.

BMW makes multiple types of mirror glass depending on how your car is optioned. The glass doesn't affect the blind spot feature...so if you have that option...it will continue to work the same way...same with heating and auto-dimming.

The best way to find the correct glass you need is to look up the 11 digit BMW part nbr on the Euro side of one of the online part database (select for your car except click on Europe instead of USA for the market)...and when you go to the VEHICLE TRIM diagrams...you'll see that there are usually two mirror diagrams. One is for models that have regular mirrors that only offer heat as an option, and the other diagram is for the mirrors that autodim (Electrochromatic or EC mirrors).

Here's two of my fav online part database sites...both are chock full of information that can be used for more than part nbr info:

1. https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select
2. https://bimmercat.com/

Once you have the correct 11 digit BMW number for the type of mirrors you have...then simply type "BMW xx xx x xxx xxx" into a google/internet search box to find vendors and BMW dealerships that sell them.

The last two purchased (for my e53 X5 and f06 GC)...I purchased from European sellers. The e53 mirror were purchased from Riga,Lativia...and the ones for my F06 GC were purchased from a guy in Berlin Germany. I think both were selling them on either eBay or Amazon.com.

And in both the cases above...the mirrors heat & dim just like the originals that came from the factory.

To remove the mirror glass...just position the mirror with the bottom jutting out as far as possible...then take a prying tool to a corner and pop it off the clip on the motor housing and continue around to the other 3 corners of the mirror glass. Once off, disconnect the electrical connector or connectors (some have one some have more than one)...reconnect electrical connections to the replacement mirror glass...then pop the new mirror glass back onto the motor housing. You're done.

In regards to a dealer installing them...I'm sure they'd take your money to do this...especially if you ended up ordering them from their parts department. If you buy them elsewhere...just call them to see if they would install "replacement" mirror glass (distinguish that its the glass only that you want them to do). Hopefully they break up their labor into quarter or half hours...if not, what ever they charge for an hour of labor is what you'll get hit with for about 5-10 minutes of work.