charlie65

First post.
We upgraded our 2003 TL to a 2017 RDX Elite.
Like any new vehicle, it takes a bit of getting used to new features and technology (BIG curve....)
Right away, I noticed not only the vent bezel reflection in the side mirror, but the "Carnival Fun House" mirror effect. I realize that the outer vertical portion is convex for blind spot detection, but it seems the rest of the mirror has distortions as well.
I'm going back to the dealer shortly to talk about this issue and see if there's a resolve.
Has anyone out there found a solution to the "Carnival Fun House" mirror effect? At this point in time, I'd really like to change the entire mirror to a simple mirror. Is that possible?

On a side note, the Navigation system is a stumbling block for me, as I've been a Garmin user for a lot of years. I just installed my Garmin Nuvi to make navigation simpler and a lot more accurate.

Thanks for any replies to the "Carnival Fun House" mirror effect....

thoiboi

Pics?

Comfy

Carnival fun house...... What is that?
I don't think there is an option to replace the mirror to a plain one without losing the warranty for the mirror. Of course you are free to simply fix a plain mirror from any other vehicle which nearly fits the housing providing you do not have the blind spot detection and other nannies installed in the mirror.
Welcome to the RDX club.

charlie65

"Carnival Fun House" Sorry for the non explanation.
I remember as a kid one could take a tour through the house of mirrors in the carnival; what you would see was distorted views of yourself... skinny, wide, thin, mixture of all.......

A pic wouldn't accurately portray what I see in the mirror, as it appears distorted while in motion. Maybe it's just me, as I'm a pretty picky person, but of all the multi dozens of vehicles I've driven in my life I've never experienced the almost nauseating view in a door side mirror.

Thanks for the welcome to the RDX forum!!

rosen39

If he doesn't know what a carnival fun house is, then he surly would not understand "rotary dial telephones".

RDX-Rick

I had the same problem several years ago in a brand new Mazda Tribute. As I moved my head to check the mirror before changing lanes, , any vehicles that I could already see, suddenly appeared to get larger, which gave the impression they were moving towards me at very high speeds. This trick of the eyes would cause me to quickly abort my lane change and swerve back to my original lane. I had the mirror replaced within a week.

Himecraig

Yes, the bezel reflection my wife noticed right away on the test drive.
The salesperson said many others noted this as well...enough for the dealership to lodge a complain to Acura (sales speak for much to do about nothing)...once home we took the various stickers off the window and I thought about maybe blacking out the shine on the trim.

Yes, the mirror is distorted to my eye as well. There appears to be sharp lines defining the edges of the mirror and the center seems buldge out.

Try adjusting the vehicle settings for the audible and sensitivity levels to find a sweet spot for your driving habits...not sure if the car adjusts to a particular driving style tho. At least it will take your mind off the mirror for the time being
Im sure it's a matter of getting use to the features and letting your mind accept the change...but for sure its not as intuitive as the crv touring we compared our rdx advance with.

As far as navi...pretty sure if I cant program an address on the fly...but I think I can program using voice commands...and still figuring out the difference between linking an iPhone and using its full capacity and using acuralink without phone sync.

Its fun and frustrating because each drive I need to teach myself something new in the rdx.

BLEXV6

I too have noticed the reflection and all of the lines etc in the drivers mirror. I assume it has something to do with the night dimming feature. Once you get used to it I don't even notice it. On my 2014 there is an outer blurry section that annoyed me but I don't notice it any longer.

The Navi works well, and I have no issues with mine.

Jagwar

We are having the same problems. Side mirrors are blurry, fuzzy, and out of focus. There is also a reflection of the chrome trim for the vents closest to the doors that reflects on the windows, which doesn't help. It's all very distracting.....
Reported to dealer who said it's the same on all 2017 RDX's. I'm not sure if they really meant ALL RDX's or just some with certain packages. We have the "advanced package"
Called Acura Care Client Relations. They "researched" the problem and said these are special mirrors that come with the package....they are capable of being heated and have dimming feature at night. I really don't care about that, but would like to be able to see clearly using the outside mirrors! The client relations person said "it is a normal characteristic for this vehicle and the trim level. It's how the vehicle is designed." They are unable to switch out the mirrors for something else. (We had a loaner 2016 RDX, base package, and the side mirrors were fine...)
Regarding the outer vent chrome trim that reflects onto the windows, she said that there is a countermeasure which is to replace with vent covers that have a flat black trim. they won't match the vent covers in the center of the dashboard, but it should help that part of the problem. The dealership will do that for no charge.
By notifying Acura Care Client Relations, you can go on record about the blurry mirrors and the vent chrome trim problems. They tell me that they do keep track when people notify them of problems and that there may be fixes available down the road. Call Acura Care Client Relations at 1-800-382-2238 to go on record.

Himecraig

^what do you drive ?

Jagwar

Forgot to say....we have a 2017 RDX with advanced package. The pic that was posted by Himecraig is a good representation of the problem....caused by the blurry and out of focus mirrors, compounded by the reflection off the chrome vent covers.

chickdr

Our front windows are tinted at 25%. I don't really appreciate this issue. Maybe it would help? I don't know what Acura will do. Even if the mirror was swapped to a new design the reflection would remain.

rockyboy

Your eyes haven't adjusted to it. After a while, your eyes get used to it and you won't notice the distortion exept on the convex outer portion, which is normal because you want the wider field of vision for that portion.

rockyboy

First world problems...

charlie65

Maybe some can get used to it but I find it's impossible to visually focus on what's going on behind me. Even your comment indicates there's a distortion, so my point being, the mirror image is distracting, and I'm becoming increasingly frustrated by this defect. I call it a defect because of all the vehicles I've driven in my life, I have never seen this distorted look in any side mirror.

Jagwar

I went 2 days ago to our Acura dealer and had the chrome side vent covers replaced by black ones. This was covered by Acura Care Client Relations as "Good Will". Interesting that when I called to make the appt to have this done, I was told by the Service Dept at the dealership that "we keep a supply of these black ones for people like you why don't like the reflection caused by the chrome vent covers". (See Himecraig's post of 9/12/16 for a good pic of this phenomenon.) The black covers help a lot, but you still can get some reflection in certain light.....much better, though.
If you have the chrome vent covers and the reflection onto your windows from the side vents bothers you, call Acura Care Client Relations, 800-392-2238, and ask them to authorize changing them out to black. They do not look as snazzy as the chrome, but they are an improvement.....

Also.....While waiting at the dealership for the above work to be done, I sat in several RDX's in the lot. Most had some of the fuzziness some of us are complaining about in this thread, but a few did not. I'm guessing they are different models than my "advanced package", since Acura Care Client Relations told me my mirrors are part of "your particular package".

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

Pics of the black vent covers please? Thanks

thoiboi

Tint your windows

Himecraig

id like to ask you again...what do you drive? What precentage tint do you recommend?..And I'm pretty sure tint will only make the reflection pop out more.

Jagwar

5 Acuras: Here's a pic of the black vent covers that were installed in my 2017 RDX.https://acurazine.com/forums/attachm...1&d=1474587304

Jagwar

I agree with Himecraig.....tinting would likely make the reflection pop our more.
By the way, I forgot to mention that the replacement black vent covers blend in quite nicely on the dash in addition to reducing the "distraction" factor.
Acura would only change out the outer 2 vent covers as a "Good Will" gesture, so the 2 center ones are still chrome.

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the photo, looks pretty good.

chickdr

Mine are tinted and I think it helps as never notice this issue and my girlfriend doesn't say anything about it either. I got 25%(illegal in GA, but matches the rears so I take the chance) but I think 35% would also be good.

Comfy

Hmmmmm..... This looks like the vent covers for my 2014 RDX. I thought the newer ones would be a little different at least. I was thinking of jazzing up my existing black vents a bit but now may be ill leave it as it is.
I don't know how much different is the new mirrors are from the pre facelift cars but I don't have any problems with my mirrors. The outside edge is a bit convex after the marked line but it doesn't bother me. Someone said the new mirror is out of focus...... That's really intriguing.