Question re digital rearview mirror

I have the digital rearview mirror on my Venza and it's distracting as all get out. I much prefer the regular mirror, although I do have a rear window wiper.

 

It will depend on how much and where the road grime and weather gets deposited on the rear window. That depends on the specific car model. Since few new Prii have been delivered, the experience you need to answer the question isn't available now.

My experience with Rain X on the rear window is thus, the water forms fine beads that will flow off the glass, but not without help. That help is airflow or enough water accumulates that the weight pulls the beads down. There is a cascade effect where water higher up that starts shedding pushes lower off. Water along the top edge can sit for longer than elsewhere. So Rain X with digital mirror should be as effective as Rain X with regular mirror. Though a camera at the very top of the window might be obscured for longer.

My understanding for having a digital rearview mirror is in order to remove the obstructions inside the car(people, cargo, headrests) that can interfere with using the real mirror. An exterior mounted one could circumvent obstructions involving the rear window glass, but will need cleaning itself addresses. The back up camera is usually angled in a manner than weather is rarely an issue, but that doesn't help for distance viewing.

 

We have a prime and feel the same. We also have a DRM on our hybrid Sienna. It works GREAT in numerous situations: blocked rear view (entertainment screen, cargo, etc), don't want to see the rear passengers/privacy, and/or poor visibility. It works especially well at night to reduce typical blinding lighting conditions. It does take some time to get my eyes to adjust to it.

The camera is located outside and has a washer. Sienna owners w/o this feature have found it fairly hard and expensive to DIY an OEM solution. DRM's have been short supply due to the chip shortage and from being shared across the lineup.

I put a cheap aftermarket DRM with outside camera in a Honda CR-Z hybrid which has very limited sight lines. No washer feature so just like a regular rear view camera, I needed to clean the lens more. Not a big deal but I didn't have to deal with snow/ice. That DRM simply installs in front of/over the OEM mirror with adjustable straps.

 

Sure. I got one for a CRZ hybrid which has very limited rear views and to function as a backup cam which that car didn't have. I got it on Amazon about 4 years ago but there are so many new and different choices now I'm not going to make a particular recommendation.

The two biggest pro's: better rear view 24/7 over a traditional backup cam which, of course, only works in R and NOT seeing (or seeing thru) the rear passenger section. The latter is more critical to a van or vehicle with a roof mounted flip-down screen or loaded with cargo, etc. Much less glare at night and auto-dimming. Price. Fairly easy installation, mounts on/over stock mirror. Higher video resolution camera (up to 4k) than OEM. Can see thru it to OEM mirror if it fails/loses power and very easy/quick to remove (rubber straps). Available with front/rear dash cameras/recorder for one stop shopping. Camera can be mounted inside when/if possible.

Con's: Reliability (OEM 3 yr warranty), quality, installation/requires power, mounts over/on stock mirror, and no rear camera washer (like OEM). Some folks can have vision/focusing issues.

 

For some reason I started obsessing about the fact that I didn’t order the digital mirror for my soon to arrive 2023 Prius. Glad to hear it annoys you. : } I just looked on Toyota’s website abs it doesn’t look like it was an option for the XLE AWD model.

Past few weeks I’ve been driving my 2009 Prius with the rear view mirror positioned so I can only see out the top rear window. Doing this because I think it’s about the same view as what I’ll have in the 2023. There will be so much to get used to. I guess I’ll live without digital rear view mirror since I’ve never had one.

 

I totally agree with you. I can't STAND the view out my 2018 Prime. That rear window is such an asinine design it just boggles my mind. I've toyed with drilling a hole in the glass and mounting a rear wiper on the thing. Or trading it it. Leaning heavily toward the latter at this point. Just too many terrible design decisions in the name of being different.

 

My wife's Venza Limited has a DRM which gives a patch work picture that is hard to focus on. It still is useful at times because it becuase it does give a brighter wider view. We only had to use the washer a couple of times to clear the lense(s) this last winter.

Our son in law just took delivery on a 2024 Prius Limited. On our first ride we were surprised how much better the image the image is on the DRM in his Prius compared to our Venza. Very useful in the Prius because the sleek design limits rear visibility.

A long time ago I had a Datsun 240Z. Really great car but a sleek hatchback with no wiper. I put vortex generators on the roof just before the hatch opening and a small lip spoiler on the hatch. That helped a lot. Next I started using STP VisionBlades twice a year on the rear hatch glass and that basically solved the problem.

VisionBlades has become Aquapel and I treat both our cars twice a year. It lasts much longer than Rain X if you get the genuine Aquapel not the fake Aquapel. Project Farm has a You Tube video on window rain repellants. Genuine Aquapel did very well beating Rain X. Fake Aquapel rated very poorly.