Interior Rearview Mirror Problems of Volkswagen Passat

Blinding glare problem: I purchased 2010 vw Passat komfort 2 weeks ago which has a silver shiny plate around the shifter. When sunshine hits this plate, it radiates lights into driver's eyes. If you happen to look at it, you get blinded for a few seconds like someone pointed the bright flash light into your eyes. I am still keeping the original plastic cover to reduce the brightness but eventually it will peel off. I cannot paint it in a dark color since it would void my warranty. The other part that produce glare is the silver portion of dashboard which is slightly tilted. When the sun is behind your back and hits a dashboard, the silver part of dashboard reflects on the sideview mirror creating an image that looks like someone put white tape on it. Half of the sideview mirror is blocked for a driver's view. Third problem is the night glare in the rearview and sideview mirror from the headbeams of the other car behind my car. If the rearview mirror is in a dimmed position, than a dashboard reflection is showing in it. And if you need to look at the sideview mirror, the headbeams light are shooting the extremely bright light straight into the eyes. This dark and bright contrast gets you blinded & disoriented. I am not sure is something wrong with the windows. I consider all of the above design feature very deadly. I am always driving with sun glasses, during a day drive, without them, it would be impossible. I complained to vw customer service & dealership, sent them an e-mail and a few pictures, the case manager did not offer any solution, only excuse that this is a vw design feature & as such they cannot change anything.

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I would like to report the failure of the automatic dimming rear view mirror on my 2001 vw Passat. It is a donnelly mirror, part 3bo857511e (also has the number 4231909 on it). The electromagnetic fluid suddenly created a bubble and leaked when I had it replaced. I have since learned that these mirrors were used in a wide variety of cars and have routinely failed and may contain Mercury and other very toxic substances. This presents a definitive safety hazard as one does not expect their rear view mirror to fail, absent being struck and broken, and to possibly leak toxic particles/fluid into the car or the air of the car. Also, one can't safely drive without the mirror and they often cost hundreds of dollars to replace (mine was $227. 30) and must be replaced immediately if the health hazards are to be minimized.

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