About six years ago I read about an alternative way to set your external rear view mirrors and I've driven like this ever since. Normal practice is to set the mirror so you can just see a bit of the car's side in the mirror. With this alternative method however you toe the mirrors out so that you can only see a bit of the car if you move your body and head from side to side. [The right mirror is set as far right as it can go and the left mirror as far left as it can go] Thus the mirrors point at your blindspots and show you far more of what is there than normal. You can't see the car right behind you anymore when you are at traffic lights, but those thoughtful car manufacturers installed an internal mirror for this very purpose! The logic is that you need not see a car in the external mirrors right behind you when you are moving, but that it is far more important to see your blindspots when on the move. You quickly learn to use the internal mirror to see what is right behind you when stationary and/or to move your head from side to side to see the "normal" view in the external mirrors. So who else has their Yeti mirrors set this way?

1 third on the side of the vehicle, 2 thirds on the road. (Im talking about wing mirrors).

I've never quite understood why one would want to see a part of your own car in your own mirrors since you KNOW it is there! Why waste mirror real estate showing you something you already know about AND that can't drive into you?!

I've never quite understood why one would want to see a part of your own car in your own mirrors since you KNOW it is there! Why waste mirror real estate showing you something you already know about AND that can't drive into you?!

To orintate the driver and to ensure tha blind spots are coverd.

To orintate the driver and to ensure tha blind spots are coverd.

Ok I understand the orientation thing, but you must agree that you see 1/3rd LESS of your blindspot as a result? You certainly are not seeing more of it...

I've never quite understood why one would want to see a part of your own car in your own mirrors since you KNOW it is there! Why waste mirror real estate showing you something you already know about AND that can't drive into you?!

+1, in every vehicle i drive be it a car or 44T truck they get set so i can just about see the side of my vehicle.

I'm with the original poster. I keep mine so that I cannot quite see the side of the vehicle on either side but I get a much quicker sight of something in the blinds spots.

By opening the windows and moving the glass by hand. Something else not working....

My wing mirrors are set to show the smallest bit of flank and the largest bit of road possible, I like to see behind with an eye movement rather than a head movement as the eye moves quicker.

More disturbing to me though is the blind spot caused by the drivers side front screen pillar.

My wing mirrors are set to show the smallest bit of flank and the largest bit of road possible, I like to see behind with an eye movement rather than a head movement as the eye moves quicker.

More disturbing to me though is the blind spot caused by the drivers side front screen pillar.

I agree on both counts!

As I have to reverse frequently into a very tight space, and often with a trailer that's no wider than the car, I have my mirrors so that the side of the car is just (and only just) in the extreme inside edge of the mirrors. What I have found though with my SM is that, thanks to the shape of the mirrors, it's helpful to tilt the mirrors so that the widest part of the lens, and therefore it's widest field of view, is just at the right height to reveal other vehicles that would otherwise be in a blind spot.

It takes a bit of fine adjustment, but it works!

I've never quite understood why one would want to see a part of your own car in your own mirrors since you KNOW it is there! Why waste mirror real estate showing you something you already know about AND that can't drive into you?!

My son statrted driving at age 15 with the Under 17 Car Club. Instruction was to set nearside mirror so that the driver could check that doors were closed properly.

John

Anybody else found this with there SM. I have to adjust my offside mirror first as the control for this moves the nearside as well. The nearside one only moves the nearside, perhaps a switch glitch, but overcome by doing it in the right order.

Anybody else found this with there SM. I have to adjust my offside mirror first as the control for this moves the nearside as well. The nearside one only moves the nearside, perhaps a switch glitch, but overcome by doing it in the right order.

It's not a switch glitch! Most VWs do that and your manual explains it as well. It means you only need to set the one mirror and the other gets adjusted "automatically" to suit.

It's not a switch glitch! Most VWs do that and your manual explains it as well. It means you only need to set the one mirror and the other gets adjusted "automatically" to suit.

Thanks for that, I must admit I find the manual frustrating, covers too many options, without making it clear what applies to what. But as far as automatically to suit goes, I'd sooner tune mine to suit me.

Cheers.

But as far as automatically to suit goes, I'd sooner tune mine to suit me.

Cheers.

Same here. I always change the second one anyway since the car tries to be too clever and adjusts it for you but never quite perfectly right!

Anybody else found this with there SM. I have to adjust my offside mirror first as the control for this moves the nearside as well. The nearside one only moves the nearside, perhaps a switch glitch, but overcome by doing it in the right order.

Could you possibly be referring to the "simultaneous mirror adjustment" function: Setup --> Convenience (or Comfort) --> Mirror adjust., pp. 26-27 of the manual?

P.S. That's a function of the Maxi-DOT display -- forgot to mention.

Edited 27 July, 201015 yr by bi1b0

Could you possibly be referring to the "simultaneous mirror adjustment" function: Setup --> Convenience (or Comfort) --> Mirror adjust., pp. 26-27 of the manual?

P.S. That's a function of the Maxi-DOT display -- forgot to mention.

You can via maxidot select both mirrors to adjust or each individually; personally not keen on the duel adjust so pleased I have the maxidot.

TP