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A-pillar blindspot - Thoughts?


commbubba19

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I noticed the edge since it's windshield is raked so aggressively, that the a-pillar is quite large. It doesn't help that the Mirror is mounted where it is either. Normally not an issue but i'm finding it difficult to navigate turns where you really need to see the road right where the a-pillar/mirror is. I noticed on some hondas and even the Lincoln MKC, they resolve this by mounting the side mirror on the door and put a small window in the a-pillar to help navigate turns.

 

How are you guys dealing with this? I'd really like to see Ford utilize the MKC design in the next refreshment of the Edge. It's a pretty obvious oversight IMO.

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The A pillar doesn't hide the entire curb and you can't actually see the front tire anyway. I guess you just get used to it.

 

I don't understand this comment.

 

If you're making a left turn onto a divided highway, the mirror/a-pillar block the view of the median completely. In standard vehicles where the a-pillar is not so large or far forward, or the side view mirror is not attached to the a-pillar but maybe the door, you can clearly see the median while making the turn to avoid hitting it.

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If there was one thing I had to get used to it was the curvature of the new Edge. With my 07, I basically know it's almost slabsided, so the edge of the road/pavement visually meet exactly where the outside edge of the tires are. So I can park very very close to the edge with practically no overhang. On the Gen 2, I was initially always 4-6 inches off ...

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been messing and one thing that i think may help is to raise the seat. i'm not tall but i don't like raising the seat unnecessarily higher than normal. after raising the seat about an inch i can see over the mirror vs trying to see through it and that helps. still getting used to the new seating position. i still think it'd be nice to have a little a-pillar window or mount the side view mirror to the door.

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The visibility around the A-pillar is very sensitive to where your eyes are; both forwards/backwards and up/down. So for some people it's not going to be an issue at all while for others it will be. As you've found, the best thing is to adjust where you sit, that will make a big difference. But the best thing you can do is look further ahead. Keep your eyes up and you won't need to look into that area of the A-pillar in the first place.

 

Door mounted mirrors tend to cost more because you need a lot more structure in the middle of the door to support them.

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There is one curved road on my way to work that is very narrow and makes a hard left then a right all at the top of a hill. I just make sure that I do the 15 mph called for around the left hand curve and stay on my side of the double line. (pray the other guy is doing the same. This is the only time that I noticed a blocked view. This is an extreme situation and not a normal road.

 

The A pillars are there for strength in a roll over accident. Older cars had wrap around windshields and better visibility but were no structural help if you rolled it. It's a game of give and take.

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The reality is that if you do not like restrictive A or B or C pillars, it is the fact of life for newer vehicles these days. The A pillar issue is just as big of a problem in my Corolla as well. These pillars keep getting bigger because of the newer safety regulations. It is mostly to assist with keeping the integrity of the roof in the event of a rollover.

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I have not noticed this being an issue. The visibility is quite good, with the exception of not really knowing where the front right corner of the car is, and the nose of the car is a lot shorter than I am used to. It took a while for me to stop parking 2 feet short of where I should be.

Well, there's a fix for that (heh, heh, heh) http://m.ebay.com/itm/Bores-731-511-Bumper-Guides-various-models-LED-pair-/400921110257?hash=item5d58c2a6f1%3Ag%3AOPMAAOSwNSxVV6Sb&_trkparms=pageci%253A70a4af3d-9fb0-11e6-9b2c-74dbd180f6a8%257Cparentrq%253A1ca14f151580a6a5e9bd8717fffc180d%257Ciid%253A1 Edited by enigma-2
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