Side mirrors melted

[SubaruRaptor]

I think he needs to talk to a plastics expert. It's not normal. Maybe too much black dye will weaken the plastic.

Lolwut

Sponsored

 

[AugPal]

Lolwut

Like I said, it's not normal. If it was normal we would hear a lot more about it,ie, my wiper blades are plastic and they melted, My license plate frames melted, the plastic bezel by my door handle melted, my dashboard melted...etc,,,

My 3 piece 5ft bed cover is plastic. If I park it by reflective windows will it melt into the bed?

Like i said, it's not normal

 

[SubaruRaptor]

Like I said, it's not normal. If it was normal we would hear a lot more about it,ie, my wiper blades are plastic and they melted, My license plate frames melted, the plastic bezel by my door handle melted, my dashboard melted...etc,,,

My 3 piece 5ft bed cover is plastic. If I park it by reflective windows will it melt into the bed?

Like i said, it's not normal

My guy, it's normal lol. I even posted other links of it happening.

 

[AugPal]

My guy, it's normal lol. I even posted other links of it happening.

I saw your post and the melted mirrors. (thanks for posting those) I still don't think it should be happening. or normal.

Is the plastic too thin? It's the plastic too weak for being outside the truck? Are the automakers going to start warning people to not park your car or truck near reflective mirrors or they might melt?

Like i said my 3 piece bed cover is plastic. If I park it by reflective windows will it melt into the bed?

Just saying

 

[SubaruRaptor]

I saw your post and the melted mirrors. (thanks for posting those) I still don't think it should be happening. or normal.

Is the plastic too thin? It's the plastic too weak for being outside the truck? Are the automakers going to start warning people to not park your car or truck near reflective mirrors or they might melt?

Like i said my 3 piece bed cover is plastic. If I park it by reflective windows will it melt into the bed?

Just saying

Plastic melts under intense heat. Focused sun gets hotter then you expect and can start a fire. It's not materials issue.

 

[AugPal]

Plastic melts under intense heat. Focused sun gets hotter then you expect and can start a fire. It's not materials issue.

Let me first say, I respect what you're saying. I'm just stunned by the mirrors melting.

So you're saying it was car owners fault for parking by reflective windows, and the car owner should pay for the repair?

 

[UpInTheAir]

I think this stuff happens all the time. Have heard of people's siding melting from their neighbor's windows reflecting light. Pretty sure there have been numerous instances of cars catching on fire because people left water bottles inside which focused the sunlight.

 

[Stu x 4]

I think this stuff happens all the time. Have heard of people's siding melting from their neighbor's windows reflecting light. Pretty sure there have been numerous instances of cars catching on fire because people left water bottles inside which focused the sunlight.

I'm in the window biz and the LowE coats that make the glass energy efficient, does "reflect heat" and yes, I've seen vinyl siding deform from reflecting the sun acting like a magnifying effect. The LowE coat is multiple layers and very simplistic definition it is a "silver oxide", spray enough coats and you have a mirror. As far as the car mirror caps, all I can say is WOW…and not in a good way. I too would take it in for warranty try.

 

[AugPal]

I was reading in a different forum and a person mentioned the three different types of plastics an outside mirror could be made out of and their melting point (Celsius). Found it interesting.

ABS – acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene 190-270
ABS/PC Alloy 245-265
Polycarbonate 280-320

250 degrees C equals 482 degrees F

 

[SubaruRaptor]

Let me first say, I respect what you're saying. I'm just stunned by the mirrors melting.

So you're saying it was car owners fault for parking by reflective windows, and the car owner should pay for the repair?

I am saying there is no choice for the car owner here. It is considered an "act of god" by the insurance company. Right time, right place, right conditions, right angle, right weather, right rotation of the planet, right everything (gamblers will say its time to buy a lottery ticket).

The owner should file an insurance claim. Any insurance adjuster worth their salt will be able to look at this and correlate the findings in this thread with the evidence provided by the owner. The fact they are also not the only one on the planet this has occurred to, id surmise any of the larger insurance companies will have seen this already.

There is literally nothing anyone can do to prevent it and good luck trying to "do the math" and pinpoint the building, the window, the parking angle, the sun angle, time of day, rotation of the earth, wind, temperature, etc to prove to an insurance company that someone else is at fault.

 

[TwoTone]

I saw your post and the melted mirrors. (thanks for posting those) I still don't think it should be happening. or normal.

Is the plastic too thin? It's the plastic too weak for being outside the truck? Are the automakers going to start warning people to not park your car or truck near reflective mirrors or they might melt?

Like i said my 3 piece bed cover is plastic. If I park it by reflective windows will it melt into the bed?

Just saying

Just because you "think" it's not normal and it shouldn't be happening doesn't make it true.
The new glass that's getting put on buildings and houses are creating this issue.
It's not as uncommon as you think.

Just google window reflection melting house siding.

 

[Deneway]

I know cars have been melted plastics due to the sun's reflection off an adjacent building. But yours looks like someone took a plumbers torch and intentionally damaged the mirror. .

 

[Ranger Dave]

Wow, unfortunately I’m pretty sure I know what happened as this also happened to me on a Ford Escape with similar mirrors.
- Reflected heat from a nearby window made with “high performance” glass (most new homes and office buildings use this stuff which has a reflective coating, I’m an architect and contractor).
In my case, the additional reflected light from my neighbors home melted the mirror and trim pieces.

 

[Ranger Dave]

Trust me, I sure understand how you feel about the plastic being damaged by reflected heat. Unfortunately, with the automotive materials being utilized today, this kind of damage is not unusual. I do wish however that auto makers would inform clients of this type of damage so we can be more careful where parking vehicles. Also, since this is often caused by buildings, it’s my personal opinion. This should be paid for by the homeowners or commercial building insurance.
When I discussed this with my neighbor, he brushed it off as not his problem. In the end, I believe the people I dealt with on this matter, did classify this as a “act of God”.

 

[Muffin1]

As others mention above about reflecting off low E glass i just saw an episode of the home improvement show 'Ask This Old House' where Tom Silva GC went to a person's house who had a small section of the vinyl siding melted the homeowner had no idea how, he figured it out pretty quick that an adjacent window was reflecting to that area, so he installed a framed screen to the outside of the window just like the one on the inside.

He then used velcro in 4 corners, he didn't want to drill into the frame, it can be removed for cleaning the glass, then he went on to replace the vinyl strips. I thought of the OP right away and said holy cow it's a real thing.

Sponsored