Most cars I've driven when car is in reverse brings the passenger side mirror down so I can get close to the curb. Doesn't seem like the Prius does this. Is there a setting that can be changed to achieve this or it doesn't have the said function?
I have this 'feature' on my wife's company 'car'. (Tahoe) Drives me crazy. I much prefer the back up camera, and the mirrors show you a consistent view.
You folks know those fresnel lenses people often put onto the backs of their way-tall vans to keep from running over kids toys (or heaven forbid the kids themselves) left on the driveway? On my Gen-2, I cut one of those such that the lower portion of it fits in the tiny triangular window forward of the front-passenger door. With that, I can literally sight down the right side of the car! Personally, I plan to use the back-in parking assistance feature as much as possible, but unfortunately, I gather it only works for parking between two cars. iPhone ? Pro
I have it on our BMW i3-REx and it is nice. But in the spring, another button will tilt both mirrors and fold them towards the body which keeps the male birds from seeing and attacking their reflection ... and pooping on the doors. Bob Wilson
To be fair, how well my fresnel lens setup works depends upon lighting. Sometimes the angle of sunlight washes out the downward view. But when it does work, it's really convenient. iPhone ? Pro
There was a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) addition for the Gen II that gave you this feature. The instructions were in Japanese but the wiring diagrams were easy to follow. I put it into my 2006 after ordering it from a website that had lots of stuff like that. There was a small plastic box with the electronics that mounted to the side of the air filter housing behind the lower glovebox. It had switch settings for the amount of dip the mirror would do when you put the car in reverse. When you shifted out of reverse, the mirror would return to its previous position. I had forgotten all about that until this thread came up.
Hopefully this picture will post successfully: Maybe not the best photo (not well-lit parking lot, and kinda odd angle), but you can see the right-side stripe pointing forward. You can also see the unfortunate reflected-light plume behind it. The previous fresnel lens I had there did a better job of avoiding the light plume, but it got kinda yellow over time... iPhone ? Pro
If I had that feature, my life would be very easy. I always make my window down when parking reverse, every time. But I hate doing it with buttons. I have to use it because that way I can park as cloce as possible to sidewalk, without touching. Please somebody make mods to prius and we can have that feature.
