What's that thing on the rear view mirror?

[kafir]

so i'm driving my 06 X & notice an oversized fob between the mirror & windscreen w/ a wire attached. it has a button on the top. i'm thinking it's part of the navigation, but the manual says nothing. also couldn't find any answers here in the forum yet. it's a fleet vehicle, so maybe my company put in some tracking device?

any guesses?

 

[kafir]

ok, i think it might be some sort of "homelink" type thing, which can talk to my garage door opener. the homelink website has images which look nothing like mine, but it seems to be the best i can come up with.

i don't think it's a handsfree cell phone (cellport) device, as the button is highly inconvenient to touch with short notice at highway speeds.

does this sound reasonable?

 

[Bigkondor]

My guess is a tracking device. Homelink would be on visor in easy reach.

 

[JasonF]

I think maybe the compass is in there?

 

[IAmTodd]

Its for the compass.

 

[Stic-o]

Actually I think it's for the mirrior to automaticly change for night driving glare, kinda like the flip down part on a normal one

 

[IAmTodd]

Actually I think it's for the mirrior to automaticly change for night driving glare, kinda like the flip down part on a normal one

Nope, for the compass.

 

[Stic-o]

Nope, for the compass.

Sorry, I'm not use to these new fangle things, I thought it was a big step up in my '99 when I got Electric windows and a Automatic trans.

And a bigger step up in my wifes....It has Cruise Control OOWwwww!

 

[IAmTodd]

lol. Yea, they put the dumb thing on there. And our's always falls off.

 

[kafir]

Its for the compass.

then is the button on top to initiate manual calibration?

another n00b question: does "auto 4x4" mean it will detect when to automagically engage the x-fer case into 4wd? (searched the forums already for an answer to this; sorry if it was covered somewhere else)

 

[Mista808]

Actually I think it's for the mirrior to automaticly change for night driving glare, kinda like the flip down part on a normal one

I think he actually is right. My boy has the same thing in his WRX STI on his rear view mirror. It's a sensor that senses the high beems behind you and dims that mirror.

 

[kafir]

I think he actually is right. My boy has the same thing in his WRX STI on his rear view mirror. It's a sensor that senses the high beems behind you and dims that mirror.

strongly disagree, as the manual describes that function as being automatic (when so equipped); also, i have the flip down/up feature typical of most rearviews. if i'm wrong, then why would they equip a manual feature for an otherwise automatic one? my eurotrash car has autodim, & no manual "override" feature.

...which seques into: why is it when i flip the mirror, images appear to be "funhouse" in nature, or distorted as you'd see in the right side view? (my vision is corrected to 20/20, so i don't need no eye dr.)

 

[FordLover]

The sensor for the rearview mirror is in the actual mirror housing. There is a sensor for the auto headlights up there I believe, and something for the compass. Anyhow it's one of those two.

 

[kafir]

another n00b question: does "auto 4x4" mean it will detect when to automagically engage the x-fer case into 4wd? (searched the forums already for an answer to this; sorry if it was covered somewhere else)

in 5" of snow, i found out the answer myself last night & today to this: yes, it's fully automatic.

man, it hooks up nice on even the most hardpacked slicker-n-snot surface. of course, new tread makes a world of difference. also, when it detects broken traction (while coasting) it compensates by lightly braking. pure genius!

that feels almost as nice as passing an AWD S4!

 

[IAmTodd]

Thats advance trac doing the braking. Control Trac takes care of accelerating.

 

[kafir]

ok, mystery solved:
the button, when holding it down for 5 seconds, brings up a "zone selector" on the dash, in order to set the proper magnetic regional setting for the compass.

now that i think about it, i remember seeing this zone map of the US in the manual.
i also remember iamtodd writing "it's for the compass".

mmmmm.....humble pie.....