Dave_D

Hi all,

I've been driving my 2010 Transsyberia for over a year now and love, love, love this car. One bizarre thing though: my awareness of other traffic has taken a nosedive. Straight on driving is fine, but when backing up, merging, or changing lanes, for example, I keep having "oops" moments, a la "Cripes! I never saw that guy," usually followed by a well-deserved middle finger.

And it's not just me: The very first tech to take my 1-week-old baby into the garage backed it into another vehicle - $2,000 damage. "I've been doing this for 30 years and never done anything like this." No kidding. Same here. To put things in perspective, I'm a grad of the Porsche Driving School and took second at the Silver State Classic in September. I pride myself in being safe and courteous (if spirited). Okay, very spirited. But please believe me: Running into folks is way outta character for me.

The only thing I can put my finger on is that the stiff sport seats hinder upper body rotation for the purposes of routine over-the-shoulder viewing. It could also be that the double-insulated glass - its dead quiet in this SUV - has eliminated any intuition of vehicles around me. Maybe the mirrors are more convex than is typical and those vehicles are really, really "closer than they appear." I dunno. I'm stumped. But I need to figure this out or there's gonna be another accident.

Has anybody else experienced this with their Cayenne? I greatly appreciate any input.

PutterMcGavin

I know some people hate them (I did too when I first used them...) but you might want to invest all of $6 in a pair of the round "convex" mirrors you can stick onto your side mirrors. I put on in the bottom outer corner of each mirror and I can't drive without them now. Instead of having to turn your head to check the dead spot you jsut glance at the mirror. Safe and easy.

As far as backing up I can only suggest an aftermarket back up sensor system. Something else I've learned to be come incredibly dependent on

mcbit

I'm definitely suffering from a close up blind-spot I definately have to religiously look over my shoulder to make sure nothing is almost alongside me.

Not much problem with backing up though!

Andy E.

The Cayenne has indeed severe blind spots. The parking proximity sensors help quite a bit as does the dipping passenger-side mirror.

One thing that I've done is set the mirrors out a tad more than normal so as to avoid cutting people off when changing lanes.

Dave_D

Thanks, everyone! It's nice to know that I'm not alone. If it's a car thing - not a me thing - there's hope. For starters, I think I'll try those convex mirrors. Couldn't hurt. Great suggestion!

And if this is really just about blind spots, then the other thing I simply must do is find a vacant lot and do some practice driving. If I can familiarize myself with 'em, it'll help lots.

Thanks again!

Dave

JAGMAN1

I too have more of those oops moments in the Cayenne than other cars I've had. I don't think that it is a blind spot issue either as the visibility is pretty good.

My two cents is that it has to do with the noise insulation in the Cayenne. The car is really quiet at highway speeds. As such I can't hear other cars (road noise) as they pull up along side. Add that to the raised ride height of an SUV and takes away two important though subtle sensory inputs...

Divot

You lack skillz!

I went 500 miles in a driving rain-storm, arrived at my destination in a downpour, pulled into the parking lot, and backed into a freakin' lightpost I didn't see out of the back. I had to buy a new bumper cover.

I will never admit that a tree branch was involved in straightening out the tail-pipe to prevent more melting.

deilenberger

Uhhh... it's all in the mirror adjustment.

MOST people adjust the side view mirrors so they see behind the vehicle. They are SIDE-VIEW mirrors - not rear-view mirrors. If I had to guess - 95% of the drivers on the road have them adjusted wrong.

How to adjust them correctly?

As a first go-around - there is a simple setup routine that gets you in the right ballpark. It's a bit hokey and you look goofy doing it - but it works.

Sitting in the car - move your head so facing forward - your left temple JUST touches the drivers side window. Without moving your head, adjust the left mirror so you can just see the left side of the truck.

Then move your head so it is directly in line with the rear-view mirror. Adjust the right side mirror so you can just see the side of the truck without turning your head.

Now go drive. It WILL feel unnatural. Get over it. Give it a day.

You'll find that as vehicles start to move up along side you - they will pass from the rear-view mirror to the outer edge of the side-view mirror - to the inner edge and then to your peripheral vision.

Really. And you'll become a convert.

After you get used to this - you won't have to do the head-dance, you'll know when it's adjusted correctly by just sitting in the vehicle and scanning the three mirrors, and looking for the very tiny overlap between the rear-view (center) mirror and the two side-view mirrors.

The 50+ driving courses teach this a different way. They have someone walk around the car from the drivers side window, around the back, to the passengers side window. They then have the students adjust the mirrors so that person walking is NEVER out of sight.

I'm a bit of a fanatic on this since I ride a motorcycle a lot - and "didn't see'you" is the usual refrain when someone starts moving into the lane I'm occupying because they're just looking behind them in all three mirrors.

BMW performance driving courses also teach the same technique.. so try it. Bet you'll find you don't need those blind-spot mirrors since there won't BE a blind spot.

FWIW - I have no problems with blind spots on my Cayenne. None at all.

deilenberger

Except for "normal" - you've got EXACTLY the right idea - use SIDE VIEW MIRRORS for viewing what is along side the vehicle. Keep the center REAR-VIEW mirror for what's behind it.

Dave_D

I'll be sure to tell Hurley Haywood, Andrew Davis, et. al., that they're teaching it all wrong. ;-)

But seriously, my mirrors are as described and have been for decades. But that's not to say you're not onto something. I've always preferred to look over my shoulder rather than rely on side view mirrors, however well aligned they may be to my noggin'. It could very well be that the seats, the interior layout, or something else very subtle is handicapping these old habits and I've got to get used to relying on those mirrors more. Could be.

I wish I knew. It's frustrating. It's sorta like folks who only use their turn signals when it's convenient. How do you know when you don't need 'em? Like them, I'm most likely to see the light when running some poor bastard off the road. "Sorry!" "Oh, and thank you!!! I know what made me do that now!" :-D

Thanks again for the input! It's all appreciated.

Dave

Andy E.

Or, we adopt the European right-of-way defensive driving habits. You are responsible only for your left-side and not your right. When merging to the right lane, the other driver in that lane is responsible to get a visual on you and give you right-of-way. Why do you think most older European cars never had a right-side passenger mirror?

deilenberger

Somehow I suspect race car drivers have been doing this way longer then you'd suspect.. that helmet makes it really a bit risky to do rapid over-the-shoulder lane change checks.. as does the speed they're travelling at.

Give it a try. It costs nothing. And do give it a day to get used to it. So far out of about 10 people I've convinced to try it - all of them are using these settings, and one in particular keeps bringing it up as being an amazing improvement.

As we get older we tend to turn our heads less - both from physical changes and from the need to concentrate our attention on the rapidly changing landscape in front of us. Anything we can do to help compensate for that is gonna make you (and everyone around you) safer.

Turn signal use in NJ is restricted to "Oh, I'm in the middle of turning so mebbe I should turn it on now.." or not at all. Signaling ahead of a turn or lane change - almost unknown. One of the losses of reduced funding for public education - driver ed. They used to teach things like that.

mcbit

In almost every car I have driven over the last 37 years adjusting the mirrors from seat centre so that I can just see the side of the car has not left me with a blind spot. Obviously the adjustment of the mirrors is influenced by the field of view of the mirror which is narrow in the Cayenne.

"Objects in your mirror may be closer than you think" In my Cayennes the opposite is true as far as I'm concerned.

Still I'll give the advice a try and report back.

Shawn Stanford

I notice that I have trouble seeing around the enormous A pillars...

Andy E.

+1. I've come close to striking pedestrians that I didn't see crossing an intersection; only because of the massive driver's A-pillar. Now, I have to swing my head forward to to see around the pillar before proceeding.