You may not realize that when you are setting up your appointment to have a windshield replaced on your vehicle that it’s important to know the type of rear view mirror that is currently on your vehicle.
Not Knowing Your Rear View Mirror Type Could Be Costly For Windshield Replacement
A lot of vehicle owners don’t really pay a lot of attention to the options they are selecting when buying a new vehicle other than for the benefits that they provide. This is often true when it comes to choosing the type of rear view mirror that you will want.
There are basically two types that are available for some vehicle models. One which you are probably most familiar with is the old flip style type which has been around for many decades. These are the ones that you have to manually adjust according to the glare that is present at the time of driving. Another model is the Electro-chromic rear view mirrors. These are great in the sense that there is no manual adjustment needed on your part. The Electro-chromic mirror technology was invented in 1982 by Gentex Corporation, www.gentex.com and first used by Ford and GM in the 1980’s.
This type of auto adjusting rear view mirror is simply a standard piece of mirror glass that has a piece of special material embedded within it. This glass is then affixed to one sensor that is capable of producing a charge, and a second one is attached to a non charging sensor. One sensor is located on the front of the mirror facing outwards so it can measure the ambient light. The second is attached to the backside of the mirror where it is able to sense the glare produced by vehicles approaching from the rear. The two sensors are able to work in unison to determine how much electrical charge the material requires. The more charge produced, the darker the mirror will become to protect from glare blindness. This type of technology can be applied to other types of vehicle mirrors as well.
Once the vehicle is manufactured with one style rear view mirror, you are not able to change it. Based on this you want to give some careful thought as to which you prefer before purchasing your next vehicle. Although the Electro-chromic option comes with this great technology and at times some additional features, there are also some drawbacks to it as well. It is often comprised of a lot more components compared to the flip type. These additions also inflate the price. Another big issue is that should it need repair or replacing it must go back to the car dealership to have this done. This is not a standard item that is stocked by after-market auto parts stores.
With all the additional features that now come with the Electro-chromic mirror such as lights, compass, etc., it means there are more parts that could potentially break down.
Something else to keep in mind as well is if your vehicle comes with the Electro-chromic rear view mirror then your replacement windshield must be the option that accepts electro-chromic rear view mirrors. It is absolutely important that you know which type of mirror is on your vehicle before you order a windshield replacement. This is because the mirror itself is attached to a bracket that comes with the windshield. The brackets for either type of mirror are different in size and shape. Also, these brackets are attached right to the windshield itself from the manufacturer. If you do not inform your windshield repair tech specifically as to which type of mirror you have, he could end up ordering the wrong type of windshield according to the bracket type for the replacement. If this should happen then you could end up with the cost of this mistake.
If you have any questions about having windshield replacement done for your vehicle just ask us and we would be glad to help.