Retrofitting Aspherical Rear View Mirrors (ROW Spec Mirrors)

[PanEuropean]

Vehicles sold outside of the North American Region (NAR) are equipped with very different outside rear view mirrors than NAR products. The Rest of World (ROW) mirrors have an aspherical section on the driver side mirror. This provides the driver with a much wider view of what is behind the vehicle. The transition from planar glass to the convex (aspherical) section is marked with a dotted line. The outer 35% of the mirror area is aspherical.

The ROW passenger side mirror has a slightly smaller radius of curvature than US legislation specifies for the NAR mirror, thus providing a greater field of view. It also does not have a 'Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear' message stenciled on it, because no government in the ROW marketing region has thought it necessary to legislate that this warning appear on the rear view mirror.

I had ROW spec mirrors installed on my Golf, and missed the aspherical section when I traded in the Golf for the Phaeton. So, I picked up a pair of ROW spec mirrors, and retrofitted them. The process is quite easy, and you don't need tools to do it. If you do change the mirrors, keep the old ones, because the car will not pass a North American safety check with the aspherical mirror on the driver side, and with the warning message missing from the passenger side.

Michael

Adjust the mirror so it is pointing fully inward

Put your fingers behind the mirror, and gently pry it out
Make sure everything is warm (room temperature) before you do this.

Be aware there is limited room for movement with all the wires connected
One set of wires is for the heater, the other is for the anti-dazzle dimming.

Take careful note of how the connector is attached to the mirror, and how the wires are routed on the back face of the mirror

Vertical differences between mirrors

Horizontal differences between mirrors
This is where the real benefit of the ROW design is.

[car_guy]

OK, I'm interested. Now that you've teased us, how do we get them and how much do they cost? BTW, I appreciate your efforts on all your posts.

[PanEuropean]

Hi Steven:

I picked them up used in Europe for $15 (the pair). New, they cost about USD $525 each, because of the anti-dazzle technology (the electrical dimming capability) built into them.

If you don't need that, and just want plain old heated mirrors, I think they are about $80 each.

Michael

[car_guy]

Yikes, I don't think I'm $1,050 interested. Do you know of anyway I could find used ones in Europe or in NA? I would want the anti-dazzle feature. Did the ones you bought used have that feature?

[gezuvor]

Michael,

Do you have the part numbers for these? I'll see what I can find on pricing for the heated and the anti-dazzle versions.

[PanEuropean]

Let me see what I can get in Europe next week. Mirror part numbers are very tricky, because there are dozens of possibilities (NAR/ROW, RHD/LHD, heated/not heated, anti-dazzle/not anti-dazzle, clear/blue tint, etc.) I don't know how many of these choices apply to the Phaeton, so, it would be safest if I got a parts catalog printout from a European dealer.

Michael

[PanEuropean]

For the record, here are the part numbers for the North American Region (NAR) mirrors. I'll try to get the European PN's next week.

Michael

NAR Phaeton Mirrors
All NAR Phaetons are the same, there are no choices.

[PanEuropean]

I just finished driving around for a day with the aspherical mirrors installed - they are great!

The driver side mirror is convex in both the horizontal and vertical axes. I can see a good chunk of the body of a car to the left of me in the mirror even up to the point that the nose of that car is forward of the mirror - there is NO blind spot at all on the driver side of the car anymore.

The radius of the convex axes on the passenger mirror is of a lesser diameter than the radius of the convex axes on the NAR spec mirror - again, I can see a heck of a lot more of what is both behind and beside me in the ROW spec mirror.

I'll get the part numbers for them from a dealer in the UK on Monday and post the information here.

Michael

[PanEuropean]

With thanks to the Parts Department staff at Breeze VW in Southampton, England, here is a listing of part numbers for European specification Phaeton mirrors.

I have crossed out the mirrors that would not be of any interest to us in North America - those being either mirrors for right hand drive (RHD) vehicles, or mirrors with writing in other languages. Note that the part number suffix (typically two letters) is sometimes shown on the next line down from the part number itself - for example, the part number for the third mirror down from the top includes the letter suffix AG.

Michael

European Mirror Part Numbers

[PanEuropean]

Quote, originally posted by car_guy »

...I would want the anti-dazzle feature. Did the ones you bought used have that feature?

Yes, they did - you don't think I'd spend $7.50 each on mirrors that only have heat, do you - but I can't get the darn exterior mirror anti-dazzle function to work. It doesn't matter whether I have the original equipment (NAR) mirrors installed, or the ROW (aspherical) mirrors installed.

My exterior mirror anti-dazzle feature worked great for the first 6 months I had the car, then it just stopped working. I am totally perplexed by this. I don't want to "shotgun" the problem and start replacing parts here and there, however, I seem to have hit a brick wall in my troubleshooting progress. I made a post about it here: Inside rear view mirror dims, but the outside ones don't. It's really the only problem I have had with the car that either I or my VW dealer have not been able to fix quickly and easily.

Michael

[car_guy]

Since the anti-dazzle feature doesn't work properly, I'm sure you don't want to keep them on the car. Just let me know where to send the $15 plus shipping. Uh, how about $25?

Seriously, if you do see these anywhere at a reasonable cost (under $200), used or new (I'm dreaming), please either pick them up for me or let me know how to get them. I would cover the cost even if there was any sort of problem.

BTW, I'm not sure that this type of mirror is verboten in the USA. I've seen what appears to be original equipment mirrors of this type on pickup trucks or SUVs.


Modified by car_guy at 11:30 AM 12-28-2005

[Jack Orr]

I hate to say this, but 99.9% of drivers don't know how to adjust mirrors properly. The trick involves adjusting the driver mirrow outward to a point where you can see a car approaching with no blind area and at the same instant when it disappears from the mirrow you can see the car out your window. It works. Same principle with right mirrow. Obviates necessity to install European.

[car_guy]

Quote, originally posted by Jack Orr »

I hate to say this, but 99.9% of drivers don't know how to adjust mirrors properly. The trick involves adjusting the driver mirrow outward to a point where you can see a car approaching with no blind area and at the same instant when it disappears from the mirrow you can see the car out your window. It works. Same principle with right mirrow. Obviates necessity to install European.

I disagree, at least for me. I try to adjust them precisely the way you suggest. I check the adjustment by looking at the mirror as I pass another car. I do this for both sides. Yet I find that I still have a blind spot when a car is in the adjacent lane but is still a few car lengths behind me. I would like a slightly wider field of view so I don't have to shift my head forward or back to check the entire area I need to scan before changing lanes.

Even when you turn your head completely, the Phaeton, due to its formal roof line, does not have the best sight lines to the rear quarters. I find myself relying on the mirrors in this car more than I ever have had to before.

[gezuvor]

Does anyone have a clear photo of these installed?

[PanEuropean]

Photos re-hosted.

[Kuwaity]

ROW some times does not include AGCC cars! Our AGCC spec cars are mixed between ROW and NAR cars. This applies to instrument panel, exhaust emission standard, service reminder, mirrors etc.

The production codes for my phaeton mirrors are:
5RT: outer right rear view mirror: convex (AGCC).
5SH: outer left rear view mirror: flat (USA).

The left rear view is not good. Right is just fine.

Similarly for my Bora/Jetta:
5RT: outer right rear view mirror: convex (AGCC).
Left is not mentioned but it is really flat! Not good either.

My friend A8 has the following codes:

6TR: outer right rear view mirror: convex, large viewing field (AGCC).
5SL: outer left rear view mirror : non-spherical

Ahmad

[PanEuropean]

Hi Ahmad:

Is there a text inscription on your passenger side mirror?

Michael

[Kuwaity]

Yes. Only on passenger side and written in English.

My Bora or Jetta doesn't got anything written on both mirrors.

Ahmad

[madreg98]

Hi Michael and Happy New Year. Just tried to do a quick post on the TOC and it said invalid so I am trying an PM. Have finished repairing and replacing parts on my newly acquire 2004. It is running like a top except for the clunk in the transmission but I will address that with a trans fluid flush and reflash. My question is that I would like to replace the side mirrors with the ROW. You provided the part numbers. Do you know of any way to acquire them either easier and/or cheaper than going through OEMplus?

Thanks,
Dennis

[PanEuropean]

Hi Dennis:

Other than perhaps watching eBay in the European countries, no, I don't know of any other way of getting aspherical mirrors.

Michael

[Subaruski1]

Bumping old thread.

What does "anti dazzle" mean?

Looking at these.
http://oemplus.com/index.php?main_pa...roducts_id=377

[aswede]

Bumping old thread.

What does "anti dazzle" mean?

Looking at these.
http://oemplus.com/index.php?main_pa...roducts_id=377

I smashed my right mirror the other day replacement is 4200 Swedish krona= 640u$
cause of the anti dazzle which is liquid crystals covered base of the mirror that auto tints.

Ab fab!

Jan in Stockholm

[perfrej]

I smashed my right mirror the other day replacement is 4200 Swedish krona= 640u$
cause of the anti dazzle which is liquid crystals covered base of the mirror that auto tints.

Ab fab!

Jan in Stockholm

Aj, aj aj!

Not good. Insurance take it?

[PanEuropean]

If you wish, you can replace a 'dimming' mirror glass with a 'non-dimming mirror glass' - you might get an error code on a fault readout, but that is not really of concern. Both versions of the mirror have the heating function, which is probably of more importance than the dimming function.

Michael

[aswede]

If you wish, you can replace a 'dimming' mirror glass with a 'non-dimming mirror glass' - you might get an error code on a fault readout, but that is not really of concern. Both versions of the mirror have the heating function, which is probably of more importance than the dimming function.

Michael

Already ordered but I thought I was lucky anyhow since the front cover of the mirror didn´t even got a scrath, my mirror hit a mirror on a parked vechicle. This winter has been bad here and people have parked their cars in the middle of the roads due to snow stacks in the parking lane. I had a trailer on my left on a very busy narrow citystreet in Stockholm. And do we speed? Yes./ Jan

[PanEuropean]

Photos re-hosted.

Michael

[Defiants]

I hate to say this, but 99.9% of drivers don't know how to adjust mirrors properly. The trick involves adjusting the driver mirrow outward to a point where you can see a car approaching with no blind area and at the same instant when it disappears from the mirrow you can see the car out your window.

It really does seem too simple, but "properly" adjusting the side mirrors makes all the difference.

http://www.smartmotorist.com/car-acc...correctly.html

It'll seem a bit odd at first, but as soon as you get your first "save" on a multi-lane road, you'll be changed forever.
If any of you ever drove with a WINK mirror, you know how much a truly effective rear-view mirror could be. Pity they were such ugly things.
I put a European mirror on the passenger side of my Audi, and only wish we got those here in North America..... as though they'd help.