Fixing the phantom auto misadjusting side mirror position TSB 513608

Fixing the phantom auto misadjusting side mirror position - TSB 513608

Published by wilsjay
04-28-2012

Fixing the phantom auto misadjusting side mirror position - TSB 513608

My 2008 335xi driver side mirror was driving me nuts because every time I would get in it and go to check my driver’s side mirror, it would be adjusted to some funky position. My first thought was blame the wife! But then after looking at the position, it made no logical sense, and I knew she had not driven it since I had last so she was off the hook (this time).

So I looked online and found this was a common problem for 08’s and BMW had put out a TSB for this issue about a bad electrical connection to the mirror’s motor. I suspected mine was due to washing my car all the time sorry, I LOVE MY BIMMER. My car is not under warranty, and a lot of the comments said their dealerships just did a straight replacement of the mirror motor. I quickly looked at the price of a mirror and a motor and panic soon followed! So I did a little investigating myself and thought I would share it with others who may have the same problem. The first thing I discovered is the mirror and the motor are two separate pieces and you replace them quite easy without having to remove the door panels, etc. I apologize if anyone else has this posted somewhere else, I could not find it, and saw TSB 513608 and was left kind of scratching my head a bit. Honestly, even if it was covered, this is a 15 minute job and quite honestly not worth the drive and wait to take it to a stealership IMO. I hope this helps!

Edit:
I have since found they carry the dielectric grease at most major auto stores for a couple of bucks.

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DIY - Fix BMW e90 phantom side mirror misadjustment - TSB 513608.pdf (488.5 KB, 1759 views)

By darkevo on 04-29-2012, 01:35 PM

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thanks, really helpfull!

By wilsjay on 04-29-2012, 07:43 PM

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NP. Hope it helps.

By BMW Lawman on 05-13-2012, 12:40 AM

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Worked on my 06 330i

That has been bugging me for years. Didn't want to spend the money for a replacement motor, but this fixed it! Thanks

By wilsjay on 05-13-2012, 07:48 AM

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Glad it worked for you. Mine was driving me absolutely nuts too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW Lawman

That has been bugging me for years. Didn't want to spend the money for a replacement motor, but this fixed it! Thanks

By MrQuickR1 on 05-16-2012, 09:19 AM

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I get this a lot. Even when I pull away I push on my memory button and I see the mirror move to it's normal position. Such little things can be such a nuisance lol. I want to attempt this clean and grease job but my only concern is getting the glass out without cracking it or chipping the edges. Maybe a hook type of tool to get around the outsides and hook to the plastic backing and pull outwards?
I dunno, seems like something I'll screw with and break what isn't broken.
Maybe when I get bored or wake up hungover, I'll find myself doing this.
Thanks for the fix though, I thought sometimes someone was touching the mirror somehow or I was slamming the door too hard or something.

By wilsjay on 05-16-2012, 11:44 AM

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That was the same fear I had about cracking/chipping the glass. The glass is glued to a plastic backing that also covers the edge, so chipping isn't really a factor. It also takes surprisingly little effor to pop it out. What I did was adjust my mirror all the way down first so I could kind of see behind it a bit and it gave me a bit of a gap to get the pry tool in there as well.

By pvchowdary on 06-09-2012, 09:20 PM

Thank you very much wilsjay! I followed your DIY instructions and it fixed the mirror problem with my 07 328i !!!

By txusa03 on 06-11-2012, 11:34 AM

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Thanks for sharing. However, I am still confused. You say the glass is glued to the motor? If that is true, then you would need to glue it back after cleaning the pin? I know I am confused so maybe anyone who has attempted this can clarify if glue is needed to put the glass back into place.

TIA.

By wilsjay on 06-11-2012, 06:19 PM

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No, the glass is glued to a black plastic backing plate You can see it around the edges of the mirror (it is the thing black ring around the edge of the glass in step #2 of the pdf). That backing plate has little fingers/tabs that snap onto the motor. You just pop it off the motor, you do not need to seprate the mirror from the backing plate that it is glued onto (see the photo in step #3 of the pdf, that is the back of the mirror backing plate).

#10

By RedBeast335i on 07-09-2012, 03:59 PM

Thank for the diy..my passager side mirror was driving me nuts..I have to adjust it everytime..but now fix with no problem

#11

By wilsjay on 07-09-2012, 04:28 PM

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Glad to help. You are the first one I have heard mention the passenger side mirror. Seems like the driver side is the typical problem child. Glad this worked for you.

#12

By FrankE90xi on 07-30-2012, 11:21 AM

just did this diy and it works perfectly now thanks for ur write up

#13

By RingBredE90 on 08-06-2012, 07:08 PM

Ohh man i cant wait to try this next weekend, my drivers side mirror has been driving me insane i am about to tear it off! Every time i unlock my car the damn thing folds BACKWARDS and completely out of shape.

#14

By arc1880 on 09-28-2012, 05:46 PM

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I just did this DIY and I believe it's working. I had the problem on my passenger side mirror. I would have the issue of the mirror not properly resetting after unlocking the door; tilting up when I put the car in reverse; seeming like the memory would not remember the position; and also moving when I had a passenger.

When I checked my connector pins, it didn't look like they had any corrosion on them. But I used a nail filer to file each pin gently and then put a tiny bit of dielectric grease on each pin.

#15

By Duke on 09-29-2012, 06:06 PM

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I thought I was just growing & shrinking every time I got in my car

#16

By MJ777LR on 10-01-2012, 10:22 PM

I too did this DIY a few weeks ago, as both my driver and passenger side mirrors were acting up. Thanks OP for the great writeup! It wasn't difficult to do at all, and my mirrors have been behaving since.

#17

By _ink on 10-08-2012, 04:28 PM

Thanks so much for Sharing and posting this!!

It's been bugging me for ages and did this a week ago, and its still good!!!

#18

By ranjan15 on 10-16-2012, 01:16 AM

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Works a treat!

I have a BMW 123d M-Sport and I tried this method after I suffered the same problem. So far so good. I just thought I'd show my appreciation to the OP by registering and posting this reply. So many thanks OP, you have saved me a lot of money

#19

By wilsjay on 03-22-2013, 07:50 PM

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Hadn't been on the forum in a while and I just checked this while I was on here looking for a solution to my peeling steering wheel trim. Wow can't believe the stats on this thread and how many people had this issue. Glad to help!

#20

By Blue Streak on 03-24-2013, 02:56 PM

I did this back in January. Both mirrors were out of position almost every time I started the car for probably a couple of years. I bought a small packet of dielectric grease from pep boys and followed a DIY on here and it's been fine ever since.

#21

By biz77 on 05-01-2013, 12:22 PM

Is anyone gluing their mirror back in or just popping it back on the plastic piece?

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