What Does This Button Do?
CARS.COM — At first glance, this button doesn’t look like anything special. It’s obviously a side-view mirror control of some sort, but pressing it doesn’t automatically reveal the button’s multicontrol function. What looks like a simple retracting mirror button activates a different trick altogether.
A better clue is the car in which you’ll find the button fits — or rather the truck: the 2015 Ford F-150.
Related: More Curious Buttons
The optional power trailer tow mirrors on the 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck are trick towing mirrors with a power telescoping function that extends the mirrors up to 3 inches outward for a better view of the road — not to mention your trailer and other vehicles — while towing. Using the left and right arrows, you can extend and retract the mirrors for the extra outward distance, while flicking the control pad up or down folds the mirrors toward the window.
Priced at $165, the trailer tow mirrors include power folding and telescoping adjustability with power and heated glass, a turn-signal indicator, LED puddle lamps and more. The combined adjustability is more than what most compact sedans offer in the way of driver-seat adjustability.
PickupTrucks.com’s Editor Mark Williams was impressed by the mirrors on his first drive of the 2015 F-150.
“Manual and electric tow mirrors pull out almost 3 inches, while the mirrors fold into the door and window with ease,” he wrote of the Ford on PickupTrucks.com. “The F-150 setup is even easier than the Super Duty system because the latter requires you to sequence two settings before you can extend or fold.
“The optional towing mirror is quite a bit larger than the single-lens standard rearview mirrors and has the capability of incorporating an LED spotlight as well as housing side-view 360-degree cameras when equipped,” Williams continued. “In comparison, the 2015 Rams still use a manually pivoting, split-mirror rectangular unit, but all 2015 models will now offer one-touch folding capability. GM’s 2015 heavy-duty pickups offer new, larger towing mirrors for the lineup; they can be manually extended and have an optional power fold capability.”
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears
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