Hello everyone,

I noticed something melted the mirror. What could have caused this? Has anyone seen this before??


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Take it apart and find out, might be a heating element or wiring came loose if knocked hard. New part is only about $200 and its a 10 minute job to change it out.

Sun reflecting off a window or mirror. Reflection landed on your mirror at about a 45 degree angle. The base is discolored and slightly bubbled.

^this

You can see a band/strip of damaged material at a constant angle.

Some modern windows are more reflective due to treatments to improve R value. Think mirrored tints, but not as silly.

A lot of newly built neighborhoods are learning the hard way with melted siding due to neighbor’s windows + sun at the right angle.

Hi amir_gh,

Looks like it took a lot of HEAT/CURRENT (if an electrical problem caused this), to melt that shell! My question is... Why didn't the fuse blow??

~rig~ Best to you; Cheers!

Exactly the same thing happened to me a couple years ago. We were living in San Diego for a few years and a window above our garage reflected the sun into a damn near laser beam. Anything in its path melted.

My vote is environmental, too. Windows/mirrors from a building or other source just happen to focus on that one spot.

What about the paint on top of the door?

We have a plastic table at work that got melted like that but two ~2ft diameter waves of melt! (attributed to sun reflection) but I'd rule out it coming from wiring or something inside before making that assumption.

Looks like a cigar lighter and somebody just burnt it.

Ok I feel stupid. I bought a brand new mirror and it melted overnight again. I never thought it was my house. Anyway I spent hours trying to find the source and I found it! It was my garage window reflecting the heat back into the car it was so hot that almost burned my face! I covered the window temporarily to figure out the solution. Any ideas how fix this window?



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the damages in the picture were not caused by a lighter or vandalism. they were caused by sunlight reflecting off a concave glass building and onto the OP's mirror. the concave shape of a glass building will concentrate a large amount of sun rays into a small area, in this case the OP's mirror. the more concave, the more of an impact

this is not unique to toyotas or crappy parts. any vehicle in the wrong place at the wrong time is susceptible to this. as the sun changes in the sky relative to the building this effect is amplified up to a maximum effect, as the earth moves around the sun the effect goes away. which means one week you could get your mirror burned, the next month it's fine

Not trying to be a jerk, but many people literally suggested it was a window reflection doing the damage. Hate to see that you have another mirror to replace, man

I suggest finding an outdoor rated "diffusion film" and applying it to the outer surface of the window. It may not hold up for years, but will work and be a cheap, easy and less-ugly solution compared to the paper/cardboard They allow light transmission while eliminating direct glare/beams/focus.

I have used similar products for interiors where the light was too-harsh, but still wanted. My wife picked some pretty neat film that casts rainbows throughout the room when it sees direct light... never closes the blinds and isnt worried about privacy

example product: Amazon.com

I learned this lesson when I had turf installed in my back yard last summer. The windows on my house laser beamed across the turf throughout the day, melting lines across my yard.

Tint the window, problem solved. Turf Shield Window Film is a good DIY option.

Many modern windows for structures have a coating that reflects infrared (heat) light. I have them on my house. They are called "low E" windows.

In the winter, it reflects the infrared light back into the house, keeping it warmer, and in the summer, it reflects the infrared light back outside, keeping the house cooler. You don't want to delete that feature, for your heating/cooling bills will increase.


Other solutions? Can you change your parking position, even by a few feet? A white sock over the car's mirror?