Hello all…my 2023 ES Hybrid is at the dealer getting serviced and they stuck me with a 2024 RX.
i noticed that the RX has a digital rear view mirror. It was difficult to get used to at first but now that I’ve put a few miles on the RX I’m getting used to it. Does anyone this it would be possible to have my 23’ ES hybrid retrofitted to this digital rear view mirror? I’m guessing if this is possible it wouldn’t be cheap but since I generally keep my vehicles for well over 100k it might be something that could be justified over the years. I’m not sure if they added additional cameras for this or if it uses the feed from the backup camera.
o know they are fairly new but if anyone has any insight please let me know.

thanks

 

I was considering buying a Toyota Venza last fall and drove one. It had the tricky glass roof that changed from clear to translucent and it had a digital inside mirror. It also had a very restricted view out the back window using the optical mirror. At first, I liked the digital mirror because it had an unobstructed picture of the road behind the car. I then tried driving with the digital mirror and found it was difficult to use because of varying reflections on the mirror surface from the light coming through the glass roof. I mentioned it to the salesman, and he said Toyota recommends you not try to drive with the mirror on digital. He suggested the digital mirror was good for parking and I should depend upon the outside mirrors while driving. Just one of the several reasons I walked away from the Venza. Two days later, I read that Toyota was discontinuing that model. Later, I read the sad tales of people who had to have their Venza's cracked tricky glass roof replaced.

Anyway, the digital mirror might be OK for driving with a roof that does not let light through, like the ES with the shade closed. But I have no complaint with the view from my optical-only ES inside mirror. And my ES has the big screen panoramic view monitor and parking assist. That feature is far better for parking than a digital inside mirror and is better executed than the similar feature I had in my Avalon.

 

I imagine it's a different camera and a significantly better one than the ones found on the rearview camera on our ES. I get Toyota/Lexus is slow to adopt newer technology, but the camera quality on my 2022 ES is comparable to that of the one found on my 2008 Acura TL. Pretty bad.

I'm sure a retrofit can be done with more custom work, don't think there's real "plug n play" option. If there is one, that'd be an upgrade I'd be willing to put an investment in.

 

I put a wolfbox on mine. It's ok.
I put a cloth on the rear shade and there's no ghost view when I put shade up.

 

My Toyota Sienna has a the digital miror option. It seemed cool at first but I find the image varies significantly depending on the lighting conditions. Too much light and the image gets washed out. Not enough light and you loose a lot of clarity. Probably needs a better camera and better software imaging control. I am not sure if there is any real value for this in a car. In the mini van if it is full up with people blocking rear view mirror optics, the digital mirror can be handy but defintiely needs more refinement.

 

I have a great digital rear view mirror in my Telluride and it works great. It is especially nice to have when I have a full load in the back. I find myself not using it the majority of the time as I have progressive lenses in my glasses and the lens correction messes up the image when you're looking out of the corner of your eyes at the rear view mirror. My digital image is exceptionally clear and i use it some of the time. What I really like about it is the digital image is slightly wider than the regular image and is usually clearer when it is raining heavily. Overall, it is a nice option to have. The digital images that I really like are the ones that appear on the dash when I change lanes. Those images really help with the blind spots.

 

I hate the digital mirror on RX500h.

 

Since it is essentially an LCD monitor, I would think you can angle the 'mirror' to point to anywhere and still get the correct POV. I would guess you can angle the mirror perpendicular to you (extreme example) and away from the glare from the roof...?

 

It's a separate camera from the backup camera. The Digital Mirror camera is at the top of the rear glass. So I would imagine buying and trying to retrofit all the parts would get pretty pricey.