| Turn Smart helped to eliminate blind spots and passed our impromptu safety test.
Gizmos make the world go 'round. Some work, but many don't. So by the time we got Turn Smart in the mail, we were already a little jaded. While the manufacturer of Turn Smart didn't make wild claims, it was supposedly solar-powered and wireless.
What It Does
Like any aftermarket wide-angle mirror accessory, Turn Smart was designed to eliminate notorious blind spots in our field of vision, but its prize was the super-bright LED. You've probably seen a similar factory design on new trucks and SUVs, and they do seem to serve a function, especially at night. But would Turn Smart be just as brilliant?
Our kit came ready to install, and the instructions were easy to read. It took us about 30 minutes to install Turn Smart's transmitter at the rear of a midsize Nissan Pathfinder. We placed the three-wire transmitter there because the factory turn signal wires were accessible from the seven-pin connector, and it made sense. Once we located the positive left and right turn signal wires and the ground, we moved to the next phase of the installation.
Turn Smart came with full-length wires that were prestripped for simple installation. The kit also included Posi-Tap screw-on connectors. The solar-powered mirrors/blinkers were wireless, receiving radio frequency (RF) waves from the transmitter to operate via a short antenna wire that protrudes from the unit. The mirrors were mounted easily with double-side foam tape, and the instructions were careful to point out that the mirrors should never be mounted until you perform a preliminary test of the system. The Turn Smart mirrors don't require batteries because a solar strip in each mirror charges them.
| You have to be careful where you install the transmitter because the RF signal must be close to the mirrors.
The Test
Parked in the driveway, we confirmed that the Turn Smart transmitter received the left and right signal from the vehicle, as indicated by a red glowing light. Everything looked fine-until we drove away. That's when we lost the RF signal. So Turn Smart flunked the first test.
We called the company, and they graciously sent us another kit. We installed it, but continued to have trouble getting a constant RF signal from the back of the SUV to the Turn Smart mirrors up front. We lengthened the transmitter's antenna wire, but that didn't help.
After hours of mulling over our wiring, we decided simply to move the transmitter up front under the hood. Finally, we got Turn Smart to smarten up! In all fairness, Turn Smart's instructions say that radio frequencies don't like to be boxed by metal or glass, so putting the transmitter under the rear bumper could have caused our signal problem.
Satisfied that Turn Smart was operating again, we tested it in traffic. What we learned was that, on average, 8 out of 10 vehicles behind us in traffic yielded to our bright-red turn signals. Without Turn Smart, the cars that yielded dropped to 4 out of 10.
While we couldn't say how much time it took to charge each Turn Smart mirror by the solar strip, or even how effective the solar strip was in producing a lasting charge, the manufacturer did provide an optional 12V charger, and we used it to power up the mirrors.
| Turn Smart mirrors are solar-powered and wireless. The kit comes with everything you'll need for installation, including a test light, double-sided foam tape, and zip-ties.
The Results
From a safety point of view, Turn Smart does work. People respond to a turn signal better when it is higher in their field of vision, not down on the bumper like conventional blinkers. The only negative was that the RF signal from the transmitter didn't reach our mirrors from the rear of the SUV, seemingly the most obvious place to mount the transmitter.
We give Turn Smart a B+ for its ability to clear a lane in traffic and a C- for its lackluster RF strength. Turn Smart retails for $150.
