Donnelly Rear View Mirror

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
There's a little something that's been on my mind for a good while now, so I figure I'd make a quick thread about it and see if anyone can shed some light on this for me. My 2004 has an auto dimming rear view mirror made by Donnelly with temperature and compass readouts. I know it's aftermarket, but I want to know how aftermarket. Were these rear view mirrors common as dealer installed add ons, or was this just a popular model mirror at the time for DIYers? The quality of the install on my mirror leads me to believe it was a DIY project by the previous owner since the wire that give it power is just stuck into the fuse box with a simple tap, but the fact that I've seen several other first gens with identical or very similar mirrors leads me to think it was a popular dealer add on at the time. My X was first sold at a Larry H Miller Nissan dealership in the Denver area if that means anything to anyone. Also, where does the mirror get its temperature reading from?
 

Brunnie

Bumpers Installed
Supporting Member
Location
Colorado Springs
I'm no expert on first gens, but I did stay at a holiday inn express once, so here's my 2 cents.

Many of the 2nd gen owners put in a Gentex mirror, just like a Donnelly, that came out of a GM product; mine was from a Saturn Vue. The stock Xterra/Pathfinder/Infinity temp sensor was located on the radiator brace below the hood latch, so that is where most of us put ours as well and power came from a fuse tap.

More than likely, especially if you find "extra wires" running through the firewall to the front, yours was a mod by the previous owner. What I find ironic is that a $200 option now can be installed for under $20.
 

BrettX

Test Drive
My old 02 Xterra had a Donnelly auto-dim mirror installed as well. green displays underneath for temp/compass.
 
Top