I've been noticing that my driver side Auto-Dim Mirror has a fogging upper half which has been getting worse. I thought that it was a lousy car wash and that I could microfiber it away but it isn't the case. Has anybody else experienced this phenomena and was there a resolution in removing it to like new condition?
I'm gonna try to capture this "fogging" by photo and post it. Its really odd that it affects the top half/two thirds of the mirror and the remaining is how I remember the whole mirror used to be.
That is the jest of it. You can see the "fog" in the last pic the best and use that as a guide to help identify it in the others more clearly. Has anyone seen this before? Is this normal? I can't remember this being like this ever and it seems to be getting worse.
the layers are split, you need a replacement glass.
the Auto Dim/Heated Mirror is designed in 3 layers, the Mirror, overlaid by the heat overlaid by the AutoDim.
at some point the layers have separated, which is a common problem with exterior auto-dim mirrors from any car manufacturer (since they all use Gentex Mirrors), in extreme Cold Weather Climate.
what apparently happens is the extreme cold breaks down the seal between the layers thus allowing moisture entering between the layers and causing fog, if the auto-dim layer is damaged you will also see the auto dim black chemical start to leak into the visible viewing area, and/or drip down the mirror.
I had the Gentex Auto Dim on my 2000 Silverado and my 2002 Impala and now again on my 2010 Avalanche.
being on the GM truck forums this is a common issue on 6-7 year old GMs and as the company Gentex is the one that also makes the mirror for Chrysler, Ford, and a few others stands to reason, same issue.
Happened to mine too, got real nasty looking. I decided to swap it out for a regular mirror glass, wasn't gonna shell out the dough for it to happen again!
- Separate the front glass layer from those beneath it (mine were connected at the edge only with thin black caulk)
- Clean out the conductive gel that was causing the clouding
- Reattach the front glass to the mirrored layer using silicone caulk. This leaves a thin air gap between the two layers. I purposely left some openings in the bottom in case moisture accumulates.
- Reinstall the mirror glass to the side mirror.
So I now have all functionality except auto-dimming. Occasionally water accumulates between the glass and mirror but I find it always dissipates.
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