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I sent my 2007 Golf Rabbit Mk5 for repairs after someone clipped and damaged the driver side/wing mirror beyond repair. When I got my car back after the mirror was replaced, I noticed something seemed off about its field of view.

After some inspection, I believe the problem is that objects in the driver's mirror now appear at the same distance as for the passenger mirror, whereas they should appear nearer. I'm pretty sure this is the situation, and yet I cannot think of any way the mechanics could have messed up this repair, since the driver mirror is usually just a flat surface (in contrast to the passenger mirror which usually has a curvature).

Can anyone shed light on what could have gone wrong here, or am I just imagining the problem?

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  • Where in the world are you, the UK or any other RHD country?
    – Newbie Noob
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 19:48
  • @Gould: I'm in Ghana; we use the US system
    – prmph
    Commented Aug 16, 2018 at 10:00

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The mechanic installed the wrong part. The mirror glass is available in three versions with different curvature (flat, convex or aspherical). Which glass is used where depends on your country. In Germany, VWs have an aspherical mirror on the left side, convex on the right side.

Convex and aspherical mirrors help reduce blind spots. In an aspherical mirror, the outside section has a stronger curvature to eliminate the blind spot. These often have a faint line across the mirror to separate the different curvatures.

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  • Thanks for the reply, but do you have a reference for this? And where can I order the proper part?
    – prmph
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 19:01
  • added reference
    – Hobbes
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 19:18
  • But from your explanation and link, I see that there is only one version of the driver side mirror. So that is my point: it is not possible to mix up the passenger mirror with the driver mirror (it will not fit), so how come there is a problem?
    – prmph
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 18:09
  • Yes, I now realize the reference isn't what I was looking for. I ordered new mirror glasses for an Audi A3 a while ago, and distinctly remember both mirrors were available in aspherical and convex versions. Added more info
    – Hobbes
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 19:11

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