Based on nighttime driving experiences, I was beginning to think that the auto-dimming rear-view mirror in my Roadster was not performing as well as the one I had in my '11 R56. The headlights of following vehicles have seemed to be noticeably more annoying.

During a recent drive I happened to notice that the OEM wind deflector--even in the folded position--was casting a shadow across the lower half-inch of the mirror surface from the headlights of the car behind me, meaning that the sensor on the bottom of the mirror had no hope of being illuminated. No wonder that the mirror wasn't responding per its intended design.

I'm not crazy about stowing the wind deflector every time the top is up...but that might be where this goes (and I'm not even sure yet how far this will move the shadow on the mirror down). I guess it could leave it unfolded so it acts as a light filter, but that seems to unnecessarily reduce rear visibility and defeat the purpose of the RVM auto function. Or I could just suck it up and deal with it.

This also tells me that mounting my V1 below the mirror is probably not a good option since the optical path to the rear (for laser detection) would likely be obstructed.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

I don't have the auto dimming RVM but I've decided to leave my wind deflector installed and in the unfolded position full time. It does act as somewhat of a light filter and I seldom manually dim my mirror. When I first got the car, I would fold it down for top-up driving (seldom as that was in warm dry weather). I guess I've gotten used to it unfolded for top-up daytime driving also since it doesn't bother me like it did at first.

 

I leave mine up too, I find it annoying when it's down as the two layers of the folded mesh block too much visibility. I might try driving with it out next time I have the top down. I just installed it on the day I got the car and it's never been taken out since. Maybe I'll find out that I don't need it...

 

I noticed that the cartoon instructions in the wind deflector storage bag suggest that the deflector be folded prior to operating the top mechanism. Made me wonder if there's a possibility of it getting caught or rubbing on the top during up/down operation (which is the only reason I've left it folded).

 

I just tried without the deflector this morning. It was sunny and 30 degrees, and I managed a mile top-down before I stopped to put it back in....

 

I think that is referring to the manual top where you have to reach back to operate the top. Mine is a 2013 with the pnuematic mechanism and I haven't had any problems with operating it when the wind screen isn't folded.

 

Alright so here is the issue I'm having with the auto-dimming RVM:

I'm 6'3" tall and when the spoiler pops out of it's hiding place it casts a shadow over the sensor of the mirror on probably 50% of the cars behind me. This causes it to work (you guessed it) only half of the time. It works fantastic when it does work, but if it's not a truck and it's less then 5 car lengths behind me than no auto-dimming. It's a bit of a bummer. Does anyone else know if there are any tricks? Like maybe add-on sensors, or maybe something? The sensor on the mirror is also in control of the side mirror (which is what I really wanted auto-dimming on, to be honest) so they aren't dimming half the time, either.

It's the only complaint I have other than Pandora not working at the same time as the rest of Mini Connected.

 

So I did some experiments with a LED lensor flashlight (very focused beam not unlike a projector headlight) and was able to confirm that the spoiler raising up does enter the light path to the sensor on the auto-dimming mirror.

I brought it up to Mini of Portland and they said they had one other person mention it and that it would be submitted with my review to Mini.

It's also definitely blocked by the wind deflector whether it's folded or not. I wonder if a sensor could be retrofitted onto the back deck above the boot (but inside the cabin of the car, maybe between the roll bars or something) and hacked into the circuit?

 

That's a good idea -- i.e., providing feedback on this via the dealership of purchase. I think I'll do the same.