kdtesta

I just traded in my 16-year-old ES 300 for a beautiful new 2019 ES 350. I love it! BUT...the one really annoying thing is the glare from headlights behind me at night. I have tinted windows, and at night, I see the lines above and below every headlight (from the defroster in the glass). Is anyone else experiencing this? No one at my dealership has heard this complaint or can suggest what to do. Could it be that the anti-glare function doesn't work? Does this have anything to do with having tinted windows? Thank you in advance for any comments, suggestions or feedback.

mcomer

The Electro-chromatic Auto-Dimming mirrors function by comparing the light from the front of
the mirror with that coming from behind. Quick way to test if it is working properly is to cover
the sensor on the back of the mirror (that facing the windshield) with a finger tip and start the
car. All three (3) mirrors inside and out will go dark green. Your tinted glass limits the amount
of light striking the sensor on the glass side so the mirror does not dim fully. The factory rear
window shade does this on my car also. Anybody have a cure or work-around for this?

jimv1983

The auto dimming mirrors are to avoid bright light from headlights at NIGHT. Maybe I'm missing something but wouldn't the SUN shade be down at NIGHT?

mcomer

Yes, I can retract the shade easily if the mirrors (particularly the outside ones) are not dimming enough.
The OP's situation seems to be that the window tint is affecting the system and is obviously not going to change.

Does a Sunroof become a Moon roof at night?

jimv1983

I just thought the idea of having the sun shade up at night was just strange. I don't have my ES yet (delivery next month) but when I get it I certainly won't have the rear sun shade up at night. It's like wearing sunglasses when it's dark outside.

It's even stranger if you use to to block out headlights if it results in the auto dimming mirror not working as well with the end result of more light in your eyes.

A moon roof and a sun roof are basically the same thing but I wouldn't ever call the shade a "moon shade".

signdetres

Is this your first car with tinted windows? Serious question, not trying to sound like a ****, lol.

Anyway, if your windows are freshly tinted, because it's still drying, the glare will be worse. Once it fully dries out, it'll get better, but it will still be present. It's something you get used to with tinted windows. If you Google it, you'll find tens of thousands (literally) of others who had the same question. It's totally normal.

In regard to the sunshade up at night, I have 20% tint all around, so when my sunshade is up at nighttime, it's basically impossible to see out of. Even before my windows were tinted, having the shade up at night still makes it really difficult to see out of. Not sure who in their right mind would keep it up during the evening.

Sunroof & moonroof are synonymous, nowadays. Historically, cars haven't always had moonroofs made of glass. These sliding panels in the roof that opened up to let sun in used to be made of metal, just like the rest of the roof, which is where the term sunroof came from. Basically, sunroof = metal sliding panel, moonroof = glass sliding panel.

jimv1983

Good point about the sun shade at night. As for the difference between sunroofs and moonroofs. There are some (both metal and glass) that's don't slide but instead are manually removed. I don't think they really exist anymore. I've also seen glass panels in a car roof that don't open. They just let light in. Would those still count as sunroofs? They are glass but they don't open.

signdetres

Don't quote me on this but I think "sunroof" and "moonroof" are exclusively for the panels that slide open (whether up and over the roof or in between the roof and the headliner).

As far as glass panels that don't open, I don't think those would count as sunroofs or moonroofs. I think you'd just call them what they are: "glass roofs." For example, the newer Tesla Model S' doesn't have the option of a panoramic sun/moonroof anymore and has the glass roof as standard and it's referred to as just that, a glass roof.

jhansen31

I recently purchased a 2019 ES 350 that had aftermarket tinting done. On a recent long distance trip, much of which was at night, I too experienced the glare you described.
Looking closely at the defrost wires you will see that the film from the tint leaves a microscopic air gap above and below each wire. The cumulative effect is the glare from each wire gives the pattern you have in your photo.
When you have multiple cars behind you, it is of course very distracting, at least to me it is. While others suggest that over time the film will bond more closely and reduce the glare I personally did not want to wait and had my dealer remove the tint. I find the rear window very small, to begin with, and actually removed the rear seat headrests to open up the viewing area. I keep them in the trunk should I need to use them. It is a shame that in order to get tinted windows you have to have it added as a film and not as a option for tint built into the glass. In any event having the tint removed solved my problem of the glare and for as small as the rear window is I do not think the tint is needed, besides you could always use the shade when parked to reduce to interior heat, etc.

AnthonyMJ

Sun roof as all metal that originally allowed non-convertible drivers to get sun into the car when driving. Moon roofs came along with glass panels that allow you to see the moon at night - hence the name. True sunroof are rare anymore on luxury cars. I last one that I had was a 1996 Infinity J30.