2019 Civic HB EX - broken autodimming mirror?

[anonymouse]

Had our Honda dealer upgrade our manual mirror in the 2019 EX Civic for an auto-dimming (Honda Sensing) kind.
It looks something like the one in the image below.

I don't believe it's functional - based on my other Honda vehicle, I don't see the mirror darken at night.
I notice there are a couple of square shaped opening (lights or sensors) towards the bottom.

Are these simply passive sensors or is either of them supposed to light up when operational at night?
In my older Honda vehicle, I notice a green lamp light up and also a power button between the two openings, however I see none in mine.

What specifically is "Honda sensing" and how's it supposed to work on this mirror?

Any help, assistance gratefully appreciated!

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[Donkeyhotay123]

This is a common complaint. There's something about the Civic HB booty shape, windshield wiper, and mid-spoiler that blocks just enough light from the sensor, but not the light from hitting your face.

 

[tsupersonic]

I have them on my EX-L Hatch and they work great at night. Is it installed properly?

Don't confuse Honda Sensing with auto-dimming rear view mirror. Honda Sensing is the suite of safety system. The auto-dimming rear view mirror is just a convenience feature.

 

[anonymouse]

Thanks for your responses - I don't see the mirror turning darker at night but not sure if its the issue Donkeyhotay123 brings up or if it's a defective unit.

 

[anonymouse]

I have them on my EX-L Hatch and they work great at night. Is it installed properly?

Don't confuse Honda Sensing with auto-dimming rear view mirror. Honda Sensing is the suite of safety system. The auto-dimming rear view mirror is just a convenience feature.

Thanks supersonic, I was asking about Honda Sensing based on the item description on Honda's estore page(s) ...

 

[rwsmith123]

Thanks supersonic, I was asking about Honda Sensing based on the item description on Honda's estore page(s) ...

The two squares on the front are sensors, there is no indicator light on the mirror.
The only input to the mirror that affects dimming is a signal from the gear shift that tells the mirror not to dim if it's in reverse, otherwise the mirror will dim if it is dark outside (there is a sensor on the back of the mirror that detects that) and if there is a bright light from behind (the two sensors in the front detect that). To see if the mirror is working correctly, test it during the day as the change will be more obvious in the daytime, cover the sensor on the back of the mirror with duct tape, turn the car on so the mirror has power, if it's a sunny day there should be enough light on the front sensors that it dims, if not shine a flashlight at the front sensors.

If it's not working I would suspect a wiring problem. There are only 3 wires, ground, power, and signal from reverse gear. Maybe your car model didn't have the reverse gear signal available and that input wasn't used and it either needs to be grounded or tied to the voltage?

 

[anonymouse]

Thanks so much for your response. This is exactly what the dealer service guy tested, put his hand on the sensor on the back of the mirror.
The interesting thing is that the mirror worked perfectly when he covered the back sensor (detecting day/night) with his hand.
They also tested dimming in reverse which did work properly.

It appears that the back of the mirror is not detecting night time properly and barely dimming, thus unable to reduce bright lights.

They've ordered a replacement mirror to see if that fixes the issue.
The service guy said that if there are lights on streets falling on the back of the mirror sensor, then the dimming effect is diminished.
But when I drove around in my other Honda with similar auto dimming feature, I saw no such issues and the auto dimming worked perfectly.

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