When I purchased my Nissan LEAF last year, I didn't want leather seating that the SL trim level had. That meant going with the lower SV trim which saved me some money, but gave up HomeLink among a handful of other nice-to-haves. The car did come with an older style framed GenTex auto-dimming mirror, but without HomeLink (or for that matter, a button to disable the dimming). The stock Nissan mirror also seemed inconsistent in dimming response; it often did not dim enough, even to the point where I wondered if it was functioning.
This new mirror is a great upgrade. I had to splice the new connector in as my LEAF used an older style connector. Some careful lineman splices, solder, and heat shrink for a professional job... I wired the mirror in to just use the existing ignition switched 12V and ground from the old mirror. As a result, the HomeLink buttons are inoperative when the vehicle is off, which I prefer as a security measure. The mirror retains the HomeLink programming even with power removed, so there is no problem there.
Dimming performance is far superior to my stock Nissan LEAF mirror. There is no question that this one actually works. As well, the frameless design is less visually distracting during the day. Once you go frameless, the framed mirrors look so bulky in comparison... hmm, kind of like glasses.
I like that the buttons softly glow, and even dim down at night automatically. I did position the mirror "upside down" to better match the shape of my rear view window. This puts the buttons on the top edge, and the home link symbols that glow through the mirror when buttons are pressed are also upside down, but who cares... those are brief and generally my hand covers them up anyway.
The mirror has great transmitting range - much further than my remote, and you only have to briefly press the button on the mirror. No need to press and hold. It seems to send the signal long enough on its own. Between having the buttons at the ready and only needing to tap them, I feel like I can concentrate better on driving without having to fumble around for a remote.
I had to add a Genie Dual Frequency conversion receiver to my Sommer opener, as the Sommer opener is not compatible with HomeLink by itself.
All-in-all, this is a great upgrade. I've purchased another one for our second car.
| Manufacturer | Gentex |
|---|---|
| Brand | Gentex |
| Item Weight | 1.8 pounds |
| Package Dimensions | 12.2 x 6.7 x 4.6 inches |
| Item model number | 50-genk80a |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | GENK80A |
| Position | Left |
| Special Features | Frameless |
| Lift Type | Remote |
