I have a problem with our new Countryman All4. While I'm only average height I cannot elevate the view of the driver's side mirror to a degree where I don't have to duck my head to see out that side.

Even with the seat adjusted to the lowest position I have a very limited view. For my wife who is 5" shorter it's not an issue, but frankly I hate it.

The dealer says there is no way to adjust it higher.

Let me edit this, I'm not posting to see if you're happy, I am posting to see if there's a fix.

 

i have my seat pumped up all the way ... much better view than when down all the way

 

How tall are you? I have the same issue and have thought about those blind spot mirror stick ons, less than $10.00 . Tacky but maybe a solution?

 

Well I'm actually a tad over 5'8", but my torso is disproportionately long. I have small round blind spot mirrors on both sides.

I've been doing this to all my cars for years, I don't want to cross over into a another car.

However that being said I would prefer the be able to see speeding cars approaching from the left side more than say 50 feet back and 10 feet left...

 

That's rude. I had some ideas, but it seems that I'm not allowed to post since I don't have this issue (and I'm extra tall).

 

DWooderson,

Noted; I should have been more clear. I was a bit perturbed that a certain person(s) implied in my first two posts that the problems I was hoping to address were mine own fault for either not doing enough research, or that the problem didn't exist or wasn't worth anything but a pithy comment.

In the other post I acknowledged that your post was exactly the sort of information I was seeking out.

 

i installed these euro wide angle (convex) mirrors

very happy with them

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2012-C...ors/ES2608510/

 

Pricey option...vs adding the stick on

 

much better view than the stick on and does not look tacky like the stick on

 

Apologies, had a bad day at the office. So, my 2011 CMS mirrors will practically point to the sky, and I don't think there was a design change from my MY to your MY, was there? I can't imagine a case where anyone would need to duck to see out due to limited adjustability.

Do your mirrors have the power fold feature? Mine do not.

Anyway, I was thinking, if you adjusted the mirror all the way down, pointing toward the pavement, and then gently push the mirror up, I wonder if it will correct the issue?

Something else I would do if I were in your shoes would be to check out other cars like yours at the Mini dealership (2015 ALL4 with same mirror equipment), and if those adjust differently, press the issue with your SA.

Good luck, I think this is a safety issue that you should get resolved.

 

I can empathize. I have the same problem and was forced to lean the seat far back to get my head further away from the mirror.

Near as I can tell it's a design oversight. The mirror housing overhangs the mirror too far so as the mirror tilts to provide more view it becomes obscured by the housing. I have the power fold mirrors. and have considered the euro mirrors from ECS.

I do suspect this might be a countryman issue. The girlfriend's R50 is no problem.

 

I have the same problem but on the passenger side, I can only see the top 60% of the passenger side mirror. Why Mini design the side mirror so low is buffling to me.

 

The Euro Blind Spot Mirrors are nice. The Countryman side mirror design in general tend to cut off the bottom of the mirror ( and more you put the seat back ) , the blind spot mirrors help on the side to side angles and a little bit below as they are slight convex all the way, with the ends being even more convex.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51169803189/ES2608510/




If you have the electrochromatic version ( auto dim ) from the factory, you will need these.

Blind Spot Mirror Electrochromatic - Set

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51169803799/ES2608511/



Thanks

 

This is going to be a little difficult for me to explain but (here goes). When the mirrors are assembled there are several different 'indents' that the mirror can be positioned in before the remote control was attached. If your mirror won't adjust high enough that means it was set in an indent that was too low when it was assembled. From the mirror side place both hands on top of the mirror assembly and put both thumbs on the glass near the top edge. Now push on the top edge and you will feel the mirror click up a notch. If it's still too low push it up another 'click'. My mirrors didn't go far enough out for me so I pushed on the outer edge of the glass for a few clicks and now they adjust for me just fine

 

+1 what Whaap said...

Just take your finger tips onto the surface of the mirror edge of the direction you want the mirror to go and gently but firmly push you will hear and feel a click or two adjust until you are happy...

Motor on!

 

Is it that simple? It's funny because when I first got the car I don't recall the mirror being off that much, I wonder if somehow it got pushed out of place.

 

Yes, it's that simple. It's always possible that someone knowing about that little quirk played a rotten trick on you.

 

I've found that it will move if i'm a little too vigorous when cleaning the mirrors and yes, whaap's suggestion works just fine.

 

I hope this works out for you, because before someone mentioned the mirror indentations I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I'm doing different. I'm 6'3 and like to sit very upright and have no problems at all.

 

Agree 100%...never happen on my car....wish I could see the European Mirrors on a car before I pop $200+

 

There is a pic linked in picture above, before and after on the non electrochromatic version 51169803189 .

 

I installed the Euro mirrors over a year ago from ECS. They make a huge difference in viewing angles. Easy swap.

 

While we're on the topic of mirrors I'll pass something along that I learned a long time ago. This will be old news to some of you but I'm sure many of you don't know this. I spent 32 years investigating automobile accidents: 7 as a LEO in the suburbs of Detroit and 25 years as an insurance claims rep. The most common mistake made by drivers is not knowing how to adjust their mirrors.

If you can see the car that's in the same lane behind you in all three of your mirrors or even two of your mirrors you're doing it wrong. The three mirrors should be giving you a very broad panoramic view of what's going on behind and on both flanks.

It will take a little time for you to do this but, to start, make sure your inside, rear view mirror is adjusted so you're looking straight back down the lane that you're in. Drive on a multi lane road and allow traffic to pass you on the right. You want your right side mirror pushed out far enough that no one comes into its view until just before they leave your rear view mirror. As the passing car is exiting your rear view mirror it should be coming into your right side view. The same applies for your drivers side. A car passing you on the left should come into your side view a little before he leaves your rear view and not before that. Also, before the car leaves your side view mirror (either side) he should be in your peripheral vision. Of course doing a head check is good insurance.

It will all seem strange at first but do it for just a few days and you'll wonder why you never thought of it.

 

While I understand the merit behind this type of adjustment, it then ruins the ability to be able to see the curb or lines when back-in or parallel parking. This is where things like this Euro mirrors really come in handy because then you can adjust the mirrors to be able to see both the blindspots as well as the curbs when parking. Regular mirrors you have to choose one or the other.

 

Lean your head over and you can see the curbs fine.

Plus the amount of time spent driving on roads where I change lanes is significantly higher than the amount of time I spend parking. Not to mention that the curbs are not moving. If you know the car's extents well, you'll never need to look at the curb.