LoveCT

Not sure if this has been discussed before.
I have a 2013 CT. My side mirrors auto-tilt on reversing. All was well until I noticed something today. Neither of the two side mirrors tilt back to the same position where I had entered it to the memory (through SET + 1 or 2 or 3). But they stop part way when reversing the next time. Not really sure if this is by design. Could you guys shed some light?

Yeah I cross-posted in another forum asking the same question. I thought the non-CT owners could chime in here as well.

Thanks.

lexuslover

To the best of my knowledge, the mirror will go back to the position it was in just prior to tilting down in reverse . If they aren't returning to position after tilting down, then you've probably got some kind of motor issue ... Covered under warranty of course.

LoveCT

I don't see this as a motor issue to be honest. After the mirrors have auto-tilted and on reverse, I can tilt them further manually. Because both are doing this, this maybe some sort of a software glitch. I am wondering if other owners could check this. What I do is this:
1. Turn the car to on (keep your foot on the brakes throughout the process).
2. Put the gear in reverse
3. Position the side mirrors tilted downwards to be able to see my rims (or wherever your rims are), so that you can protect your rims from curb scratches
4. Press Set+1 or Set+2 or Set+3. Hear a long beep
5. Put the car in drive (do not move)
6. Put the car back in reverse
7. Check to see if the mirrors have tilted back to step 3
8. Let me know what you find.
Thanks

Raidin

Doesn't the memory function only work in Park?

LoveCT

Hi Raidin, You can't program the reverse tilt without putting the gear in reverse. Either that, or I don't know if there's any other procedure.
I forgot to add that in order to have the reverse auto-tilt to work, your side mirror selector button should be "pushed" to either "L" or "R". Not in neutral

Raidin

I didn't know you can "program" the reverse tilt feature at all. I'm going to mess around with it and see how this works.

LoveCT

I played around a bit, trying to see why the side mirrors tilt do not go to the position of my liking even when set. Let me try to define the problem better first.

While reversing, the side mirrors do not memorize new tilted position even after I adjust it. Every time I go in reverse, it tilts to a spot disregarding previous adjustment.

I think I have a rationale to prove that the reverse tilt is not something you can program, but Lexus Engineers have put the reverse tilt it as a "function" of the mirrors’ position for forward movements. To check that hypothesis, here's what I did:

I put the car in PARK, keeping the car running. Then I tilted the side mirrors to a position where I felt I could see where my rear tires were. I put that position in the memory for Set+3. I make sure the mirror selector was not in neutral position, i.e. either it was selected to "L" or "R". Then I put my car in reverse. Of course, the mirrors tried to go further down but could not, as it was pretty much near the tail end of where it could be.

Then I tried to program the reverse tilt, which was a position "HIGHER" than the previously set, just to check my hypothesis. Then I hit SET+3 again. It gave a long beep, telling me the setting has been memorized.

Now, if the memory entered was working correctly as intended, the mirrors should point to show me the rear tires on a forward motion, OR when the mirror selector was in neutral during reversing. When reversing, and mirror selector was put to L or R, it would actually move up and not down, because that's how I programmed it.

When I tried to reverse, lo and behold, the mirrors, instead of going up, tried going down again. This can only prove one thing. The reverse auto-tilt is a function of where you set the mirrors for forward motion, and you can't program it. Either that, or I don't know how to program reverse tilt properly

But I really like to see where my rear tires are from the curb, just to be careful that the rims don't get a curb rash. Here's my Plan B to achieve that:
Put the mirror selector to neutral or middle section, so that mirrors don't auto tilt on reverse.
Upon reversing, push the memory button 3, as this is where I set my desired mirror position on reversing. Upon moving forward, push the memory button 1, as this is my desired position for the side mirrors when moving forward. Don’t really like this setup, but when was Plan B better than Plan A?

Oh, by the way, my car is equipped with rear view camera. The side mirror tilt could very well be something that Lexus Engineers devised to work in tandem with rear view camera and capture the entire rear quarter panel. It’s another hypothesis, but I am interested in learning what other CT owners have observed. Please let me know the year of your make and if equipped with rear view camera.

Thanks again.

ceads9

This kind of goes with the same area , Do the CTs have the easy exit feature like my HS and RX and the ESh I'm driving now. I didn't see the a way to enable it

LoveCT

If you mean, the seat goes backwards when the car is stopped for easy exit, no we don't.

lexuslover

you are correct - that is not a customizable option AFAIK on the CT.

in your original post I thought you were referring to the fact that the mirrors would not go back UP after going back into D. that would be some kind of motor or software problem as you suggested.

all you are doing when you SET the memory after moving the mirrors down in reverse is teaching the mirror a new position that it will take in P or D. the SET does not memorize reverse mirror positioning unfortunately. so any manual adjustments you make to lower the mirror to view the curb is just a manual adjustment and must be made every time. the factory setting for Reverse is to tilt the mirror to a predetermined angle each and every time -- this is not customizable.

in the RX forum one member suggested the following if it's that important to you:

SET position 1 - to your regular position that you enjoy driving in

SET position 2 - to your regular position WITH MIRROR TILTED AS LOW AS YOU WANT

then when you are parallel parking you can just hit #2 and it will tilt the mirror for you to your own customized angle (keep the mirror adjustment in neutral between L/R). of course when you go back to Drive you need to hit #1 again, but it beats doing a manual adjustment each and every time if you parallel park that often.

I don't know if any other lexus models have the memorized tilt angle feature. we recently got a new car that has this feature and I am parallel parking daily at my son's new school so it's actually been a nice feature to have - so I can sympathize! I've avoided curb rash for 4 months so far

lexuslover

you could SET position 3 for Easy Exit LOL

LoveCT

OMG, why did I not think about that! Great suggestion! I will hazard to bring this at the dinner table tonight, cuz the wife puts the seat way close to the dash, so much so that I notice she hits her knees sometimes when getting out.

Raidin

Yea, that's what I do when I don't have auto tilt down mirrors. I was going to mention that, but looks like it's covered now.

Of course, if the auto tilt down is still useful to you in other situations, you can leave the mirror switch on L or R, and each time you go into Reverse, and they tilt down, just press 3, which will move them to where you programmed setting 3 at. That way you can use either or as you see fit.