Vanity Mirror
Vanity Mirror
A vanity mirror is an interior accessory designed to add a touch of style to a vehicle’s sun visors. Usually located on the upper side of a sun visor or in the back of a headrest in some vehicles, it can come with a protective cover to prevent the glass from getting dents and scratches. The cover allows for holding pictures and other small parts that can fit in it. Depending on the design of the sun visor, a vanity mirror can be accompanied by one or two lights that are operated by either a separate switch or a built-in one. The latter should turn on the lights when the protective cover is raised.
It goes without saying that your vanity mirror will not affect your drivability or performance, if it fails. However, it can make your interior less comfortable if you are used to it. Here are common signs of a failing vanity mirror:
Your sun visor can’t hold the mirror
A vanity mirror is usually attached to a sun visor with glue or 3m tape. As the glue or the 3m tape ages, the mirror can fall down one day. If this is the case for you, you may need to replace the sun visor or reinstall the vanity mirror.
Your vanity mirror lights do not function
If your vanity mirror bulbs burn out or the switch fails to work, the sun visor lights will not turn on when you raise the protective cover or operate the switch. In some cases the lights can flash while you’re moving the cover.
Vanity mirror lights illuminate all the time
If your switch fails and gets locked in the “on” position, your vanity mirror lights will illuminate no matter whether the cover is raised or not. We recommend you to address this issue as soon as possible since the lights can lower your battery’s charge, especially, in cold weather conditions.
Vanity mirror replacement
- Most vanity mirror lights come with incandescent bulbs that tend to fail frequently. That’s why before replacing the sun visor, check its bulbs for failure.
- Some vanity mirror switches are serviceable, while others are not. You may need to replace the entire sun visor if its switch fails to operate.
- Depending on the design of your sun visor, you may need to replace the entire unit or just reinstall the mirror.
- Some drivers replace factory sun visor bulbs with extremely bright ones. We do not recommend you to do that because bright bulbs or different than standard color bulbs can cause visibility problems.
