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I'm working on a writeup but in the meantime, here are some notes on the progress. This thread will serve as a support thread for the writeup, has a little more detail not essential to the procedure, and some background info. Once the writeup is finished I'll add the link here.
The car is a 2006 VW Jetta TDI but you can add it to any mk5 Golf too. The mk5 Passat procedure is the same except with different part numbers. As far as I know, it will also work on mk6 Golf and sportwagen. I don't know about the mk6 North America Jetta since it uses a Polo wiring layout and I don't know if the control module is compatible. A scan of the CECM coding and options will show if it might work so if you have one, please post a follow up with a screenshot. The 2012 mk6 North American Passat comes with a rain sensor according to early specs.
I bought a used OEM rear view auto-dimming mirror and new rain sensor. The rain sensors are on sale for $9 from ecstuning so I couldn't pass it up. The final cost will be around $160 with the used mirror vs. the $500 with all new parts it was back in 2006.
My windshield had a few stone chips in it that I've lived with and the last chip convinced me to get a replacement windshield instead of filling it with repair epoxy as with the first few chips. My insurance company covered it but was reluctant to use anything other than the direct replacement. After a few phone calls to verify that the rain-sensor windshield was CHEAPER than the direct OEM replacement, they agreed. The older part number rain sensor windshield (1k5845011p) 1k5 845 011 p is discontinued and is therefore significantly cheaper (still a bunch of new ones in dealer stock as of this writing). The superceded part number for rain sensor (1k5845011bm) 1k5 845 011 bm isn't as cheap. The standard replacement for the mk5 Jetta is (1k5845011bf) 1k5 845 011 bm.
The advantage of using a new windshield instead of gluing on a mount to your existing windshield is that you don't have to glue on the mount and worry about it falling off since it comes with a new OEM windshield. An aftermarket rain sensing windshield might reuse your old mount which requires that you buy the mount. Also, the mount will be placed correctly under the black ceramic paint which hides the mount glue. If you scrape off the existing round dot the mirror is mounted on, you'll be able to see the glue from outside. To fix this, you could just tape off the area so that the glue edges are uniform.
If you only want auto wipers and headlights, you can also just keep your original rear view mirror or use the Gentex direct replacement as seen in this writeup: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a6/auto-dimming-mirror-vw-jetta-golf.htm and stick the rain-light sensor to the side as seen below.
Many thanks to bigboy45, Pelican18TQA4, maloosheck, and jkmboler for some pictures and info to help do this.
The car is a 2006 VW Jetta TDI but you can add it to any mk5 Golf too. The mk5 Passat procedure is the same except with different part numbers. As far as I know, it will also work on mk6 Golf and sportwagen. I don't know about the mk6 North America Jetta since it uses a Polo wiring layout and I don't know if the control module is compatible. A scan of the CECM coding and options will show if it might work so if you have one, please post a follow up with a screenshot. The 2012 mk6 North American Passat comes with a rain sensor according to early specs.
I bought a used OEM rear view auto-dimming mirror and new rain sensor. The rain sensors are on sale for $9 from ecstuning so I couldn't pass it up. The final cost will be around $160 with the used mirror vs. the $500 with all new parts it was back in 2006.
My windshield had a few stone chips in it that I've lived with and the last chip convinced me to get a replacement windshield instead of filling it with repair epoxy as with the first few chips. My insurance company covered it but was reluctant to use anything other than the direct replacement. After a few phone calls to verify that the rain-sensor windshield was CHEAPER than the direct OEM replacement, they agreed. The older part number rain sensor windshield (1k5845011p) 1k5 845 011 p is discontinued and is therefore significantly cheaper (still a bunch of new ones in dealer stock as of this writing). The superceded part number for rain sensor (1k5845011bm) 1k5 845 011 bm isn't as cheap. The standard replacement for the mk5 Jetta is (1k5845011bf) 1k5 845 011 bm.
The advantage of using a new windshield instead of gluing on a mount to your existing windshield is that you don't have to glue on the mount and worry about it falling off since it comes with a new OEM windshield. An aftermarket rain sensing windshield might reuse your old mount which requires that you buy the mount. Also, the mount will be placed correctly under the black ceramic paint which hides the mount glue. If you scrape off the existing round dot the mirror is mounted on, you'll be able to see the glue from outside. To fix this, you could just tape off the area so that the glue edges are uniform.
If you only want auto wipers and headlights, you can also just keep your original rear view mirror or use the Gentex direct replacement as seen in this writeup: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a6/auto-dimming-mirror-vw-jetta-golf.htm and stick the rain-light sensor to the side as seen below.
Many thanks to bigboy45, Pelican18TQA4, maloosheck, and jkmboler for some pictures and info to help do this.