Thread: D4 - Blind spot monitors

Originally Posted by Tombie

I’ve recently driven 3 different vehicles with the mirror based blind spot indicators.

None had audible alerts.

Only audible was for lane exit warning.

MB do …. on the rare occasion I get to drive my wife's toy, I set all sorts of sh off.

Edit:

I have to amend my earlier post …. my MB doesn't make any noise either, unless you use the indicator when somebody is in the blind-spot detection area. It only changes from Amber (armed) to Red (detecting).

It's actually very good.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Interesting observation. I haven’t found a blind spot on my D4 mirrors.

I wonder if they changed the glass profile.

Two D4s since 2010 …. they definitely have a blind spot on the LHS. After a few scares … more so for the other guy ('cause I couldn't see them ), I started checking LHS mirror, then turning head. I've been reminded quite a few times when I get lax with the head turn. Fortunately I don't just jump lanes and passive realisation very often consists of "nothing in mirror … turn head .. arrrgh …. WTF did that come from?"

Haven't analysed where it is exactly or it's relationship to seat height, etc., but I've had cars as big as 4WDs 'just' appear on multi-lane roads.

May I ask, how do you set up your mirrors?
How much of the side of the vehicle can you see?

By the time I lose the vehicle in the side mirror it’s already in my peripheral vision.

Yeah, same Tombie. I think most people are taught to set their mirrors so they can see the side of the vehicie or the back door handle, etc. Just setting them a bit further out so you just lose sight of the side of the vehicle does it for me in the Hilux and it sounds similar in a D4 - can see the vehicles in both lanes in my mirrors until they actually appear next to me in my peripherals.

Blind spot monitors are just a bit of a gimmic IMO.

Originally Posted by Celtoid

Two D4s since 2010 …. they definitely have a blind spot on the LHS. After a few scares … more so for the other guy ('cause I couldn't see them ), I started checking LHS mirror, then turning head. I've been reminded quite a few times when I get lax with the head turn. Fortunately I don't just jump lanes and passive realisation very often consists of "nothing in mirror … turn head .. arrrgh …. WTF did that come from?"

Haven't analysed where it is exactly or it's relationship to seat height, etc., but I've had cars as big as 4WDs 'just' appear on multi-lane roads.

Ditto ... I find that I can't get the LHS mirror turned out as much as I'd want or expect it to, in other words I can't set it up like my other cars.

It’s mainly old people that find the convex mirrors inconvenient. They can’t adjust. I think they are a blessing! Maybe if you can’t adjust then you shouldn’t be driving 🤣 But each to their own hey. Lol
I have BSM and find it awesome. Never had it before and while I don’t rely on the system it’s a fantastic back up. Sometimes, just sometimes, we can all get a little inattentive occasionally so if these things just save you once, well that’s great. I pretty much always know what’s going on around me, but the other day had a little black sports car come flying up behind me weaving in and out of traffic, I went to change lanes and luckily I saw the little light on in the mirror, whilst I most likely wouldn’t have run him off the road, I was able to stay in my lane without looking like a total idiot.

Originally Posted by Tombie

May I ask, how do you set up your mirrors?
How much of the side of the vehicle can you see?

By the time I lose the vehicle in the side mirror it’s already in my peripheral vision.

Years ago I probably had the mirrors 'looking' further in … as in seeing more of my own car. I actually changed that due to a TV ad by some sports driver/rider … can't remember whom. I then turned the mirrors out further so that I have a lot less of my car in view …. dunno… less than 10% of the mirror and more of the road.

I was pretty surprised by the blind spots considering the D4 hasn't got the smallest mirrors in the world. Whilst the pillars do definitely get in the way, turning your head gives a true perspective and something would have to be really small or coming in at an oblique at just the 'wrong' angle, to miss....which probably does happen too in multi-laned-multi-merge environments.

I guess there are a lot of variables …. traffic density and speed. In my main driving conditions (generally heavy traffic), I tend to spend a lot of time looking more forward trying to anticipate the next knob-move in front of me (no indication before rapid lane change, erratic speed changes, braking for no particular reason, etc., etc., etc) so I maybe get less time to monitor the side mirror to build a picture of the traffic beside me. That way I haven't been tracking a car that suddenly 'vanishes' for a short period of time.

I never saw it as a flaw of the car …. I thought it was inherent in all cars due to the perspective of looking across the car into a mirror....thus the term 'Blind Spot'. I always assumed turning your head was just good driving practice …...

Arapiles, are you sure what you heard was the cross traffic alert? All part of the BSM. That beeps and warns you. (On the D4anyway, not sure about the others)