dipping interior mirror
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 22
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From: south coast England
My Ride: 530d SE - silver grey, black leather, auto, active xenons, active steering, bluetooth, business satnav, 6cd, poplar wood trim. chipped by West tuning - 260bhp - more torque than Ican use and still 37mpg !! fantastic!!
Previous bimmers.. 318is, 323coupe, Z3 1.9 and 2.8, E39 540 sport, E46 330ci convertible (still want an 840!!)
I hope you can help; I recently bought a new 530dSE in the UK (spec below) got rather carried away in all of the excitement and didn't notice that the interior mirror was a manual dipping type, 
This is bl**dy annoying not least because every BMW I have ever had, apart from my first 318is has had it as standard fit!! Now its and extra (next time I expect i will have to tick the box for doors!!) I know - should have read the brochure ---
-- due diligence is not my forte when buying a shiny new toy!!
anyway - thats the sad history..now the question...
Can I retrofit the auto dipping mirror and if so has anybody done this and where did they source the mirror - BMW new part or off an E39/E46 ???
any help gratefully received!!
cheers!
Dave
This is bl**dy annoying not least because every BMW I have ever had, apart from my first 318is has had it as standard fit!! Now its and extra (next time I expect i will have to tick the box for doors!!) I know - should have read the brochure ---
-- due diligence is not my forte when buying a shiny new toy!!anyway - thats the sad history..now the question...
Can I retrofit the auto dipping mirror and if so has anybody done this and where did they source the mirror - BMW new part or off an E39/E46 ???
any help gratefully received!!
cheers!
Dave
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Joined: May 2004
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Yes, you can retrofit an auto-dimming mirror with a compass in it. It looks like about $350 US for the parts.
Part numbers for E39 look the same as the E60, so you can probably pick one up used.
Haven't done it myself, but it sould be a fairly simple process - don't think there's any software impact.
Part numbers for E39 look the same as the E60, so you can probably pick one up used.
Haven't done it myself, but it sould be a fairly simple process - don't think there's any software impact.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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From: California
Dave M:
Welcome to the forum. Is an "auto dipping" interior mirror one that dims automatically when headlights shine on it? Is bl**dy that much of a swear word in England? Is so, what is somebody that has blood all over them called? I really need to get out more. I am curious, not being a smart a**. I do know that the retro fit auto dimming mirror takes away the garage door opener in our standard mirrors. Once again, welcome.
Welcome to the forum. Is an "auto dipping" interior mirror one that dims automatically when headlights shine on it? Is bl**dy that much of a swear word in England? Is so, what is somebody that has blood all over them called? I really need to get out more. I am curious, not being a smart a**. I do know that the retro fit auto dimming mirror takes away the garage door opener in our standard mirrors. Once again, welcome.
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You know, I forgot that the E60 had moved the garage door opener to the mirror till I looked. So, that would be a problem if that's a standard feature. It should still be possible, though, since the 545 has the auto-dimming mirror with UGDO standard.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Berkshire UK
Hi Dave M,
Reference the dipping mirror, the way it works is it has a sensor in the mirror looking backwards and a senor in front looking forwards and it compares the darkness in front of the car to the dazzle from behind to decide to dip or actually dim electronically. All this means that you also need to make sure you have the right windscreen to allow the forward looking sensor to operate properly.
Good luck with the retrofit and welcome to the forum.
Reference the dipping mirror, the way it works is it has a sensor in the mirror looking backwards and a senor in front looking forwards and it compares the darkness in front of the car to the dazzle from behind to decide to dip or actually dim electronically. All this means that you also need to make sure you have the right windscreen to allow the forward looking sensor to operate properly.
Good luck with the retrofit and welcome to the forum.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: New Orleans, LA USA
My Ride: E90 M3
Model Year: 2011
Remember that it's the mirror with the compass that is in the accessories catalog that doesn't have the garage door opener. You should be able to order the mirror with garage door opener from the parts department.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Pittsburgh, PA USA
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
I agree with what kscarrol said. Why not get the entire part w/garage opener instead of the compass mirror?
Also, I'm not sure I'd be too worried about the windshield type (as D2NET) said. I don't think the windshields are anything special if you have the auto dimming mirror.
Also, I'm not sure I'd be too worried about the windshield type (as D2NET) said. I don't think the windshields are anything special if you have the auto dimming mirror.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 22
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From: south coast England
My Ride: 530d SE - silver grey, black leather, auto, active xenons, active steering, bluetooth, business satnav, 6cd, poplar wood trim. chipped by West tuning - 260bhp - more torque than Ican use and still 37mpg !! fantastic!!
Previous bimmers.. 318is, 323coupe, Z3 1.9 and 2.8, E39 540 sport, E46 330ci convertible (still want an 840!!)
Thanks guys!
next stop BMW spares dept. I'm not too worried about the garage opener - my garage is fully with motorbike and my trackday car so my new toy has to sit on the drive
I'll psot up some pics once I've had a bash (fiting the mirror that is..)
cheers
dave
next stop BMW spares dept. I'm not too worried about the garage opener - my garage is fully with motorbike and my trackday car so my new toy has to sit on the drive
I'll psot up some pics once I've had a bash (fiting the mirror that is..)
cheers
dave
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 17,310
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From: Pittsburgh, PA USA
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Dave,
You might find the following helpful:
RA__Removing_and_installing_or_replacing_interior_rearview_mirror.pdf
(If you think you're going to need to disconnect the battery, take a look at this post first. -- there are specific instructions on how to do this properly and it's not as simple as you might imagine. The link will take you to instructions on removing the instrument cluster but to do that, the same battery disconnect instructions apply so obviously you can skip anything that deals with removing the cluster!)
Good luck!
You might find the following helpful:
RA__Removing_and_installing_or_replacing_interior_rearview_mirror.pdf
(If you think you're going to need to disconnect the battery, take a look at this post first. -- there are specific instructions on how to do this properly and it's not as simple as you might imagine. The link will take you to instructions on removing the instrument cluster but to do that, the same battery disconnect instructions apply so obviously you can skip anything that deals with removing the cluster!)
Good luck!
