Parking Assistance: Door Mirror Tilt Down Function

Fresher Saab car owners who are not yet sufficiently familiar with the philosophy of functional Scandinavian design are often surprised by the smart features woven into Saab cars. Some of these features also surprise Saab car owners who drive them longer, as there are many of these features and sometimes they are not even documented enough.

Preventing car door dents

One of such functions is the function of lowering the side mirrors when driving backwards (Tilt Function), which is intended for easier and correctparking of the vehicle. Correct parking can prevent accidental side impacts on the doors of your Saab.

Preventing car door dents in parking lots can be a challenge, but there are several steps you can take to help protect your Saab:

1. Park in a well-lit area: This will reduce the chances of someone accidentally opening their door into your car.
2. Avoid parking next to larger vehicles: Trucks and SUVs have wider doors, which increases the chances of someone denting your car.
3. Use door protectors: There are various types of door protectors available that can be attached to your car doors to absorb the impact of someone opening their door into your car.
4. Look for empty spots: Try to find a spot that is as far away from other cars as possible.
5. Use a parking assistant: If your Saab is equipped with a parking assistant, use it to help you park in a way that minimizes the risk of door dings.
6. Park in a designated spot: If you’re parking in a public lot, look for a spot that is designated for smaller vehicles.

By taking these steps, you can help protect your Saab from door dents in parking lots.

In the basic equipment variant, all newer Saab 9-3 and 9-5 models had side mirrors for the possibility of manual adjustment from the cabin, via buttons on the driver’s door. But in addition, Saab has built a number of other options into these mirrors, from heating, folding in/out, then memory functions, to Tilt function for easy parking. There are also numerous combinations of these functions, so in practice you can find Saab cars with numerous variations.

Tilt Function

To explain to you how this function works and how you can activate it, you need to know that all these functions are controlled via the Driver Door Module (DDM) and the Passenger Door Module (PDM). These modules are located in both front doors, and enable and control all of these functions, plus functions related to vehicle locking and door windows.

Regarding this function, the key thing is that you can store the position of the side mirrors if you have a memory module on the seats.

Memory Function, Storing Positions of Mirrors

The DDM and PDM each have 3 memory slots for their respective mirror’s 2 potentiometer values. When a new seat position is recorded, the DSM sends a message on the bus. The DDM and PDM will then store the potentiometer values for their respective mirrors for that memory slot ( 1-3 ).

Position storage is not directly related to the Tilt function, but it can be helpful if you do not have the Tilt button integration, and you have a storage function, which we will explain later.

Saab Tilt Function Description

Tilt function is provided for mirrors with memory. When you press the tilt button, a bus message is sent from the Driver Door Module and is used by the Passenger Door Module. The Passenger Door Module manoeuvres its mirror 10° inward and 3° downward in relation to the potentiometer value. The mirror resumes its original position when the button is pressed again or once the car has moved forward 20 m. The road distance is provided by the ECM and the engaged gear is provided by the TCM or UEC (manual gearbox).

So, only the mirror on the front passenger door moves.

As you can see, this feature does not automatically tilt down in reverse, only when the corresponding button on the door is pressed. Then when you shift out of reverse, the mirrors automatically normalize. Why is this solution done in this way, so that the function is activated on the button?

Well, the answer is in the functional design – when you move the selector in reverse, the system does not know whether you are just going backwards or you also need parking assistance. That’s why there is a special button that allows you to emphasize to the system that you need assistance.

However, some readers and Saab fans report that this difference, allegedly with the first generation Saab 9-3, the Tilt function was automatic, while with the second generation a special button was set aside for this function.

M2 for Storing the Mirror Position

And that’s not all, one of the readers had the following suggestion if you do not have this function integrated but you have a memory function. If you have a seat / mirrors memory function on your Saab, they suggest the following: “You could set M1 setting for you driving. Then, while keeping the seat as is, tilt the mirrors down to where you want them, and save the setting in M2. ” We haven’t tried this, so if you have this feature combination in your Saab, give it a try and let us know via the comments on this post.