[prgla]

I don't have the blind spot option on my '15 GLA, I wish I did.

I almost hit a car to my left when changing lanes last week. I rely on my mirrors, but I can't get the driver's mirror to adjust so that I can see the critical spot from 6 to 25 feet behind the mirror and 8 to 15 feet to my left.

No matter how I try, I can always see my vehicle in the mirror. I can turn it in such that I can practically peer into the back seat window but I can't adjust it to show me where danger lies. The problem seems to be in the way that the assembly is mounted to the vehicle. The mirror does turn a lot relative to the housing, but the housing is pointed much to close to the vehicle.

I have always been able to make this adjustment in any vehicle that I've driven (although I do note that most folks seem to want to see their own car in the mirror, I do not).

Has anyone else had this adjustment problem? Does anyone know if the mirror can be adjusted to fix this?

Thanks,
Paul in RI

 

[Oceansol]

take it in. should be able to adjust it.

 

[Boris_Balkan]

I added little convex mirrors to mine. Works great!!!
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Fit-System-C0400-Passenger-Adjustable/dp/B001DKT0DO/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1431541144&sr=1-1&keywords=convex+mirror[/ame]




.

 

[SSBGLA45]

Boris has the excellent solution to not having blinds spot assist.

 

[nightscar]

^ ^ ^

I was going to suggest the same thing and it also comes in different shapes and sizes.

 

[WeGla250]

I am surprised that more GLA and CLA owners are not complaining about the blind spot. If you are a normally proportioned 6 foot or taller person and do not have the Blind Spot Detection Option, you should be experiencing the same safety issue as I am. I have contacted MBUSA several times concerning the design flaw and safety issue. I have been told that there is not a design flaw or safety issue and that not all drivers should be able to eliminate the blind spot. My dealership is sympathetic and trying to investigate if anything can be done.
I indicated that there is an unresolved item on my latest MBUSA dealer service survey and attached the following write up in the survey's comment box. I will continue to do so for future surveys. I also sent a copy of the comment to Consumer Reports and plan on sending a condensed version to the NHTSA. Maybe others should do the same.
Sorry for the long post.
Bill

THE FOLLOWING IS THE COMMENT:

I purchased a 2015 Mercedes Benz GLA250 on 8/06/15. During the past months, I have notified Mercedes Benz USA (MBUSA) several times concerning the following issue.

I am very disappointed and dissatisfied with MBUSA. MBUSA has far from met my expectations as a reputed world class manufacturer of high quality, superbly engineered automobiles. More importantly MBUSA’s lack of concern for consumer safety is irresponsible and disturbing. MBUSA will not admit to or take responsibility for a reported and documented safety issue related to a design flaw in left side rear view mirror functionality on the GLA250.

Depending on the driver’s seat position, adjustment of the left side rear view mirror to eliminate the blind spot may not be possible. I am a normally proportioned 6 foot man. When I place my driver’s seat in a comfortable position, I cannot adjust the left side rear view mirror to eliminate the large blind spot. The glass in the mirror appears to have enough adjustment but the mounting angle of the bracket that supports the mirror enclosure is incorrect.

Engineering design criteria should have required that the left side rear view mirror be capable of providing blind spot visibility for all positions of the driver’s seat. MBUSA has been notified and has denied all knowledge of the design flaw and the resulting safety issue. MBUSA will not allow me to discuss this issue with a knowledgeable individual and even went as far as to state that not everyone should be able to eliminate the blind spot. The same design flaw and safety issue existed and probably still exists for the Mercedes Benz CLA. GLA and CLA forum threads have documented the existence of this problem for more than a year.

The left rear view mirror enclosure’s mounting bracket or possibly the enclosure itself should be redesigned to provide adjustment for blind spot elimination. Until the suggested redesign or another solution can be implemented and/or dealer retrofitted, the Mercedes Benz Optional Bind Spot Detection system should be made standard on the Mercedes Benz CLA and GLA with a no cost retrofit upon request.

The enjoyment I hoped to attain by driving my 2015 GLA has been significantly reduced by being uncomfortable while driving on multi-lane roads with the reduced visibility resulting from the design flaw. MBUSA imposes a very high standard for customer satisfaction on their dealerships, too bad MBUSA as part of a large corporation refuses to adhere to that same standard.

As a workaround I am using Gorilla brand duct tape on the bottom of the mirror enclosure and bracket to provide and maintain the necessary mirror enclosure angle. I tried a small convex blind spot mirror and don’t like the result.

 

[bertie]

I don't think I've ever had a vehicle that did not have some blind spot so I use the old school shoulder check

 

[WeGla250]

Not even using the proven "head against the window and adjust until you can just barely see the side of the car" technique will not work with the GLA.
Either a high percentage of GLA owners are shorter than 6 feet or they don't understand how car mirrors in association with peripheral vision are suppose to work.

 

[buddy1965]

I am a new owner of the GLA250. I definitely have identified the blind spot issue. I almost feel like an accident will happen based on that blind spot. I always check and turn my head to see. I saw the suggestion of another person who suggested the small stick on mirror. I think I will try that.

 

[WeGla250]

We should not have to use a blind spot mirror to correct a safety issue on a new Mercedes Benz. Mercedes Benz should step up to the plate, admit there is a problem and fix it. Complain to your dealer, MBUSA, NHTSA and any other agencies that could help us. Any lawyers out there?

 

[Oceansol]

" I am a normally proportioned 6 foot man." —Me too, and I have no issues with the mirror. Do you sit waaay forward or waaay back in your seat?

 

[WeGla250]

Neither waaay forward nor waaay back. Just comfortable position, somewhat back. Do you use the head against the side window glass adjustment technique?

 

[gurneyeagle]

Not even using the proven "head against the window and adjust until you can just barely see the side of the car" technique will not work with the GLA.
Either a high percentage of GLA owners are shorter than 6 feet or they don't understand how car mirrors in association with peripheral vision are suppose to work.

I am a new owner of the GLA250. I definitely have identified the blind spot issue. I almost feel like an accident will happen based on that blind spot. I always check and turn my head to see. I saw the suggestion of another person who suggested the small stick on mirror. I think I will try that.

I installed a small convex mirror, but there is still a blind spot. The issue is with the mirror housing.


I have the mirror pegged as far as it will go to the left, but as the left mirror edge moves, it goes further into the housing, thus negating moving it further out.


BTW - I'm 6'1".

 

[WeGla250]

The mirror housing will manually folds in and out. If you manually fold the housing out approximately 1/4" you should be able to eliminate the blind spot. In fact there is a line on the vertical side of the the stationary frame that I use as my desired position.
The attached picture illustrates what i am talking about. I use Gorilla tape on bottom of enclosure and frame to maintain the adjustment.

 

[turbolink]

Great idea up to the point of the gorilla tape. But still a decent fix.

 

[WhiteRabbit]

I'm 5' 10" tall and have the same driver's mirror problem with my 2016 GLA 250. It will not adjust far enough to the left.

Fortunately I have Blind Spot Assist.
However, last night while changing lanes I almost hit a Nissan 370 Z in the next lane that somehow was not registered by the Blind Spot system.

 

[WeGla250]

Great idea up to the point of the gorilla tape. But still a decent fix.

I agree, the thought of using duct tape on your new Mercedes Benz to make it work the way it should have from the factory is very disappointing. I am working on another semi-permanent fix. I have found some small black rubber squeegees that look like wedges with a step on the thicker edge. I am going to place the wedge between the enclosure and the frame with the enclosure resting against the step. The step should hold the enclosure in position. I will attach the wedge to the frame using 3M Automotive Acrylic Plus Attachment Tape. (the double sided tape used for spoilers etc.) It will not be noticeable and has an advantage over the Gorilla tape in that the enclosure is not attached to the frame. Just another idea.

 

[WeGla250]

To understand how long Mercedes has been ignoring the blind spot problem take a look at the threads at the addresses below. The first address is for a previous GLA forum thread that died through lack of interest. The GLA forum thread references the second address which is for the CLA forum thread. It appears that the CLA had and probably still has the same problem as the GLA. Several owners took their cars into their dealer's service department and were told that there was not an existing fix for the problem.

http://www.glaowners.com/forum/gla-issues-problems/6713-drivers-side-mirror-angle.html

CLA 250 side mirrors view not covering blind spots. Please help!

 

[rvittori]

I have to agree that the blind spot on all of the Mercedes MFA cars can be a problem. I had the CLA250 without blind spot assist and always had to be very careful both on the left and right side. Our B Class is better but we have blind spot assist on it and when I got the GLA, blind spot assist was a must have.

I think the problem is not so much the car but the mirrors. If you don't have blind spot assist, you need to put on a convex mirror. MB should enlarge the mirrors and that would probably fix the problem but they would look out of proportion.

I have noticed that all the CLAs and GLAs on my dealers lot come with blind spot assist. I think they realized the issue and don't stock cars that don't have it.

 

[DonJulio70]

All cars seem to have blindspots, however the popular method to deal with them, according. To Sr. Google
Could This Accident Have Been Avoided?
Most people's reaction to reading the above claim is that the car in the left lane must have been in the Insured's blind spot, therefore it was an unavoidable accident. I believe that car crashes are not merely "accidents" - something unavoidable. I think that this, and most every collision, should not have occurred. Why? In this case, because I don't believe in "blind spots."

In fact, "blind spots" are a thing of the past! On any car or mini-van built in the last ten or twenty years (assuming it has a right side mirror, which everyone should have), the mirrors can be adjusted so there are no blind spots. How?

The first step is to adjust the rear-view mirror to do exactly that - give you a view directly to the rear. Position it so that it best covers your view straight out the rear window. Don't bother tilting it to one side or the other to assist with your view of traffic to either side of your car. That's what the side mirrors are for.

Next, lean your head until it almost touches the driver's side window. Then, adjust your left side mirrors so that you can just barely see the side of your car, and no more than that.

Lean your head to the right towards the middle of the car and adjust the right side mirror so that you can just barely see the right side of your car. You should NOT be able to see the side of your car when your head is perfectly upright. After all, why would you want to? When was the last time your own car ran into itself?

Check for blind spots by doing the following: While driving along a four-lane road in the right lane, note a vehicle in the left lane coming up to pass you from behind. Without moving your head, glance in the rear-view mirror and follow it as it approaches your car in the left lane. Just before it disappears from your view in the rear-view mirror, glance to the left side mirror. There it is. Now follow that vehicle in the side mirror as it begins to pass you. Then, just before it disappears from the side mirror, you should see it with your peripheral vision. Notice that without even turning your head, you never had a blind-spot. Then try it with the right side mirror. Watch as you pass a vehicle travelling in the right lane go from your peripheral vision, to your right side mirror, to your rear-view mirror. Again, no blind-spot. If there is a blind spot for even a fraction of a second, your side mirror adjustment needs some fine-tuning.