NHTSA Complaint #10403468 — 2010 LEXUS IS 250

THE AUTOMATIC DIMMING REARVIEW MIRROR ON MY LEXUS MAY PRESENT A HAZARD DUE TO ITS FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY DIM BRIGHT TRAILING HEADLIGHTS QUICKLY AND SUFFICIENTLY, SOMETIMES RESULTING IN A SEVERAL SECOND BLINDING BY HEADLIGHT IN FOLLOWING CARS. MY LEXUS DEALER SAYS THAT THE MIRROR IS TO "SPEC" AND THAT THEY CANNOT FIX IT. I DEMONSTRATED TO THE DEALER THAT THE MIRROR TOOK 5 SECONDS TO START TO RESPOND TO A TRAILING HEADLIGHT AND ANOTHER 2 SECONDS TO DARKEN. THUS, FOR EXAMPLE, A TRUCK COULD PULL INTO THE LANE BEHIND THE LEXUS AND THE MIRROR WOULD TAKE 7 SECONDS TO FULLY DIM THE TRUCK'S HEADLIGHTS. IN ADDITION, THERE IS NO WAY TO KEEP THE MIRROR DIM, THAT IS, WHEN THE TRAILING LIGHT CEASES THE MIRROR BRIGHTENS. IN ADDITION, IN A BRIGHTLY LIT SITUATION, SUCH AS ON A HIGHWAY WITH GOOD OVERHEAD LIGHTING, THE MIRROR "THINKS" IT'S DAYLIGHT AND WILL NOT DIM AT ALL, EVEN WHEN A VERY BRIGHT HEADLIGHT FROM A FOLLOWING CAR/TRUCK IS SHINING INTO IT. THIS IS A DANGEROUS APPLICATION OF A "HALF-WAY" TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS NOT BEEN DEVELOPED FULLY AND COULD LEAD TO A DANGEROUS SITUATION. FOR BOTH SAFETY AND UTILITY, A SIMPLE "FLIP" REARVIEW MIRROR THAT STAYS DIM AND IS DIM ENOUGH TO PREVENT BLINDING BY TRAILING HEADLIGHTS WOULD BE MUCH SAFER THAN THE HIGH-TECH, BUT UNSAFE, LEXUS REARVIEW MIRROR.