Just wondering whether anyone has noticed whether their side view mirrors are notoriously dirty.

I live in the Boston area and with all the rain and snow we've been having recently, I've noticed that my xB's side view mirrors won't stay clean enough for decent visibility. I'm not expecting crystal clarity, but not being able to see whether a car is coming up along side you is definitely a safety issue.

I know, I could just roll down the window and wipe the mirror with a towel or something, but I don't recall other side view mirrors on past cars getting dirty so easily and quickly. Perhaps the housing on those side view mirrors extended farther over the mirror and somehow sheltered it more?

Anyhow, does anyone know of any fixes to this problem (apart from hanging your hand out the window to swipe the mirror )?

Thanks,

 

i haven't noticed mine doing that, but then again my windows are tinted so dark i can barely see the side views at night, never noticed anything though.

there's rain-x that you can get. you rub it onto the mirrors and windows and it makes it so that the rain just slides off of it. i use it on my windshield only, but it works good, i rarely use my windshield wipers... as soon as i start moving the water just rolls off. any autozone or pepboys would have it.

 

must be the shape of the xb!

its not sooo aerodynamic

 

maybe its because you are driving in reverse?

 

yeah i have the same problem, but its not just with my mirrors, its my whole car. always dirty.

 

they get dirty quick...
and the back of our cars are so flat.... they are dirt magnets

 

LOL

 

I've noticed that the xB doesn't handle water particularly well in the rain, or even if the top is covered with heavy dew! Water tends to pour off the roof onto the driver's and passenger's window and mirror. This is the first car I've had that doesn't have rain gutters, and I miss them,

George

 

mine do that too. And when i wash it, i have to buff the mirrors with like 3 towels before they will dry :?

 

Well, one of the good things of being square is that when it's snowing and you have your car parked outside, the snow just slides right off the windows and won't stick.

 

Also, the windows don't frost as readily! The steeper the windows, the more they are exposed to the sky, and the more heat they radiate.

George

 

George, there's frost in North LA?

Actually, you're probably right. I grew up in Alaska and my parents' had less trouble with frozen windows and snow build-up on the windows of their '74 VW camper than they did with their 1980 Fiat Strada.

Dylan

 

I got the fix for the mirrors deal.. WASH IT... my mirrors are never dirty.. But due to mine being BSP I wash it 3 times a week... and seems I never have dirty mirrors..

 

Hmm... I wonder... do you have a fix for this problem I keep having? I will drive and drive and drive my car for many miles and then all of a sudden it kind of does a "ka-chug-a-chug" sound and then stalls and won't go anymore. I don't know what's wrong. The only thing I've noticed is that this funny light keeps coming on near the letter "E" on big circular gauge above my dashboard.

Just being a pain, sorry...

Seriously, though, are there any products similar to a rain guard that some people install over their door windows that can be attached to the side view mirrors? You know, something that may deflect the rain and dirt and keep it from building up on the mirrors?

Dylan

 

SOOO your saying "E" doesnt mean enough... damn I should have known that!
<hits head>
STUPID STUPID STUPID

Well as far as the side view mirriors i would possibily recommend just some rain-x... I have always used it on pretty near every window on the exterior of my jeep... couldnt hurt, right?

 

"And while 'E' has always stood for 'Excellent' in my book, in this case, it means we're out of gas!"

(Extra credit: Identify the above quote.)

 

LA County is a big place, including everything from beaches to deserts to snow-capped mountains!

Where I live, the temperature occasionally drops below freezing, but our usual winter lows are in the high 30s or low 40s.

Even if the air temperature remains above freezing, surfaces pointed at a clear night sky will radiate heat away and condense water. If the temperature drops near freezing (say 38 or so), the surfaces will frost over.

vertical windows aren't as exposed to the sky, so they do not frost over as readily. The windshield of the xB is the most susceptable to frost.

George