Acurafangrl

Test drove an aspec today and noticed the BSM is not in the mirrors but in a little box on the inside of the car. Is there a reason why Acura decided to integrate the BSM there as opposed to the mirrors themselves?

markAZ

There most probably is but how in the world would we know what it is? Probably money.

HotRodW

I won't pretend to know the motivation for moving the indicator from the mirror to the pillar, but I can think of a few potential benefits:

Moving the indicators closer to the driver would theoretically make them more visible in the driver's periphery.
The black pillar offers a higher level of contrast than the mirror in bright sunlight.
In certain conditions severe glare could wash out mirror-type BLIS indicators altogether.
Damaged mirror assemblies will be less expensive to replace.
A broken or missing mirror wouldn't affect BLIS functionality.
Pillar mounted indicators aren't a distraction to other drivers.

Texasrdx21

IMO - Would be much better if the BSM was in the HUD flashing at you, than on the pillar or mirrors. Nissan puts them on the pillar of serval cars too.

TheDatanator

• Audi has the BSM indicators in the pillar as well. I personally prefer it there as it is indeed in my peripheral view. Embedded in the mirror results in much less contrast. Then again if we drive like we should - and look at mirrors - this shouldn’t be an issue in most scene.

Acurafangrl

Interesting, guess I see why they would do it that way but it just looks a bit cheap, haha. We have a Subaru Forester that does BSM in pillars, didn’t expect that from Acura

ross7777

Our Inifiniti QX60 has them in the pillars.

Ludepower

My issue is the indicator Is they don't turn on unless going above 25mph?

I think they should be on at all speeds.

attofarad

My Arteon has them on the mirrors. They are much more visible than those on my wife's RDX -- larger and brighter, and in a better position (since you should be looking at the mirror). Sunlight is absolutely no problem.

attofarad

Clarification: the lights are on the side of the mirror housing, not the reflective mirror surface itself.

wmkim

That's definitely a negative on these cars. The indicators in the mirror are much better (IMO).

ESHBG

Selfish reason but I like when these are on the mirror of cars so that I can see them as the other driver...I trust people so little anymore that if I see I am in another driver's blind spot, I move out of it as quickly as possible if I can.

Gamera

Pure cost cutting move. I prefer it on the mirror which you have to check regardless when changing lanes.

axela3

i prefer it inside, during winter, snow will build up/accumulate in the mirrors and i can't see, like in my old suv.

jmhumr

Not sure why people are suggesting it’s a cost-cutting move. It’s just a diode at the end of a wire and the RDX already has cabling running to the mirror for the signal/motor/sensor. So it doesn’t really matter where they place the indicator.

My guess: Their studies showed that it’s safer because when your eyes pan over to the mirror, you’ll see the pillar light a fraction of a second faster than if it were on the side mirror itself.

JB in AZ

In my '19 it always got washed out in the bright AZ sun. The lights in the mirrors on my other cars did not. I dunno, maybe they could put a brightness adjustment on the pillar mounted lights? But I prefer them in the mirrors as well.

TheDatanator

Unless the cost to manufacture the mirror is higher than the piece of plastic in the door post. Otherwise all things remaining equal, it must’ve come down to a decision based on data.

… an alternative point of view would be they simply pulled it out of their rear end Not unlike many of the things on this car that could’ve been executed better…

gtssenior

Just a thought, but if the indicator came on in say parking lots at 5 mph as you go by a car, one might become numb to their illuminations at other times out on the road because they have been on so often..