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      02-06-2012, 07:49 PM   #23
Scottycs
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I just replaced the mirror, I had the same issue. It was $80 at the dealer. Just transfer the painted back and glass.
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      02-13-2012, 05:09 AM   #24
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Thanks for this thread, it definitely helped me out with my problem with my driver side folding mirror...
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      12-19-2012, 11:12 AM   #25
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I have this issue, do I need to replace my whole mirror?
My e90 when I hit the fold mirrors feature goes past the point where it should stop and it makes a loud cracking noise. I can put the mirror back in by hand but it won't stay :/
What do I do??
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      12-31-2012, 08:12 AM   #26
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I see this is an old thread, and I've found several of them. I have a new to me 2007 335i. My issue seems different than some. The mirror doesn't go all whack forward..its just off a few degrees, but it makes it impossible to adjust to see out of. Maybe that little collar is worn?
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      12-31-2012, 01:06 PM   #27
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UPDATE:

I may not have a complete solution for us all...but I was having the same issue where the mirror would fold all the way forward and not stop where it was supposed to when cycled by the power fold button.

I took the covers off both mirrors by carefully inserting a plastic squeegy around the outer edges of the cover and slowly prying little by little until the cover backed out of the housing. * Be sure to not rush this...especially if its cold outside....there are tabs in the housing that can break if you twist the cover, or try to simply pry the top first, or the bottom first, it must come straight off.

I noticed that the spring and hinge for the mirror was in tact and looking good.

then I looked under the mirror where the indexing "cogs" were in the base plate. This plate is aluminum. There is white lithium grease on all surfaces between the plates cogs and the mirror housings cogs. My car, though not that old, but with high mileage, showed signs of this grease being worn out, gone, and in places pretty thick with road grime and build up.

I cleaned everything I could with a bristle brush (old tooth brush could work). A key for me was to "float" the mirror housing so it disengaged from the cogs while cleaning. this way, I could get the space in between the cogs not only clean, but also re-greased properly.

You will notice on the bottom of the housing you took off, it may be dirty and grimy and this needs to be cleaned off too...basically any sliding surface should be as clean as you can get it.

You will notice after a good greasing, that the mirrors move very easily when pushed now...this must be better for the motors as well. LETS CALL IT PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE.

With the covers off like this, I wanted to see how the power mirrors behaved when cycled through the motions. ***make sure you re-engage the mirrors in the cogs...I placed them in the positions they were in when I started***

I pushed the button and both mirrors folded inwards. then I manually pushed both mirrors out and checked the indexing. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then I folded them back in where they were.

Both mirrors were tight from the hinge spring's tension...lets call this functional tension....and indexed properly.

Covers still off, I pushed the fold button again and both mirrors came out to their proper positions and stopped as they should...I was very surprised, to be honest. I was expecting to have to take the passenger side mirror apart all the way and see if I could figure this problem out!....

I did find that my mirror housing was not on correctly as I was taking it off...this mirror had been hit lightly before I got the car ( I could see the scrape under the mirror after I took the housing off)...It seemed to "float" past the correct index and go all the way forward. You guys probably can feel this too when you try to put the mirror in its proper position for driving.

One theory was that the housing was causing some kind of misalignment where the housing and base plate meet causing the mirror to miss its index. (Though it would find the other indexes when manually pushed closed or all the way open, or out of position....so Im not sure about this one...)

My other theory is that the car needed to find the correct index positions again and finally lined back up...I did cycle the power option quite a few times....the car also was trying to find the correct position every time the car was either turned on or turned off...as you all know!

At the very least, I have re-greased the mirrors and there is MUCH LESS friction in there...and its clean again...no grit or salt against the wires ect...

Now, this friction theory of mine may be off too...as the mirrors may never come out of these indexes unless the mirrors are pushed out of them...

either way, it may help one of you guys come closer to figuring this whole thing out....

"take it to the dealership" is an all too common phrase especially if you are out of warranty. Im convinced we can figure this stuff out if enough of us keep at it!

Last thought, if you are not hearing motor noises at all, and your mirrors are not moving...then you have a connection problem. The motors can burn out...but not from overuse, guys...only if there is a problem like low current, corroded connections, etc...Im convinced that if we check inside the housing once in a while, we could keep the corrosion and connection problem at bay...this in turn could help prolong the life of the motors......

just my long winded 2 cents.

JP
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      12-31-2012, 01:26 PM   #28
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Happend to me once. Yes I manually folded back in and got itself corrected with buttom after that. No problem since. I was afraid I was gonna end up with mirror on my hand but was able to fix it. Not sure what happened, probably my wife or daughter hit it in the garage.

I fold mine in all the time and sometimes I hear a squicking noise coming from mirrors. I added a bit of WD-40 just to help and it did. I will do it again once I hear noise. Maybe I should not use them all the time I dont want them to brak on me. I love this feature in my car. Cheeers!!
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      12-31-2012, 04:16 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoRomeo View Post
Happend to me once. Yes I manually folded back in and got itself corrected with buttom after that. No problem since. I was afraid I was gonna end up with mirror on my hand but was able to fix it. Not sure what happened, probably my wife or daughter hit it in the garage.

I fold mine in all the time and sometimes I hear a squicking noise coming from mirrors. I added a bit of WD-40 just to help and it did. I will do it again once I hear noise. Maybe I should not use them all the time I dont want them to brak on me. I love this feature in my car. Cheeers!!
glad it worked out!....the white lithium grease is easy to find. I used a cotton swab to get the grease where it needed to go. One application of this grease and it should last more than a year. If you use WD40, although good for cleaning and general light duty lube, it is not meant to last very long as a grease. I use it as a cleaner as it is fairly easy on painted surfaces and has anti rust and lube characteristics.

You owe it to yourself to be sure everything is nice and clean inside the mirror. Im pretty sure the motors will thank you with longer service, especially if you use the mirror function frequently.

pm me if you have any questions on a step by step


JP
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      12-31-2012, 04:31 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 07lilredwagon View Post
glad it worked out!....the white lithium grease is easy to find. I used a cotton swab to get the grease where it needed to go. One application of this grease and it should last more than a year. If you use WD40, although good for cleaning and general light duty lube, it is not meant to last very long as a grease. I use it as a cleaner as it is fairly easy on painted surfaces and has anti rust and lube characteristics.

You owe it to yourself to be sure everything is nice and clean inside the mirror. Im pretty sure the motors will thank you with longer service, especially if you use the mirror function frequently.

pm me if you have any questions on a step by step


JP
Hey buddy thanks for the tip. Yes it makes complete sense about the WD-40 I just did it as a fast fix but I know its not a long term solution. I will problably have to open the mirror to lub all the stuff inside right? You should post a DIY. Everyone here will be happy

I will follow your advise and check it out. Thanks again!!
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      01-01-2013, 11:31 AM   #31
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Thanks for that. I'll end up living with this through winter, but will look inti in the spring. And who knows, maybe it will line up on its own aftera bunch of cycling.
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      02-01-2013, 08:59 AM   #32
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I was recently in an accident and since I got the car back my passenger side mirror wont do anything. I think they just forgot to plug it in(the power to the mirror), is that something I can go out to the garage to do on my own? or is it a little complicated.
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      02-02-2013, 10:45 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Savage93R17 View Post
I was recently in an accident and since I got the car back my passenger side mirror wont do anything. I think they just forgot to plug it in(the power to the mirror), is that something I can go out to the garage to do on my own? or is it a little complicated.
just follow the instructions which can be found in the DIY section. you'll need to have a T20 screw driver to loosen/remove the passenger door handle first. then you can just pry the door panel enough to remove the triangle piece covering the connector and plug it back.
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      02-06-2013, 08:42 PM   #34
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Hmm, I guess there's not a definite solution to this?
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      02-07-2013, 01:43 PM   #35
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Mine just started doing this as well every time I unlock the drivers door. Very annoying. I've tried everything listed in this thread but cant get it to function properly.
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      02-07-2013, 04:18 PM   #36
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It happens from time to time in my driver mirror only. It looks that it is high time to clean it well.
thanks for suggestion.
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      03-07-2013, 05:45 PM   #37
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After more inspection of all of the connections, cleaning the assembly, numerous attempts at recalibration my mirror it appears replacement is the next step. For now what it did is manually stop the mirror in the correct position and then code spiegeleinklappen to nicht_aktiv in the FRM module to disable the power folding feature. I never use the power folding feature anyway, but when summer comes I'll install a replacement housing.
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      03-08-2013, 11:56 AM   #38
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I have the same problem with driver's side mirror. I have to hold it when I open the car or let the car stand without looking it. I fixed it before by doing the same re positioning that everybody talk about and it worked for some time. However, it stated doing the same thing again and unfortunately the re positioning fix does not work anymore.

I suspect that there is a stopping pin that should stop the mirror in proper position. I think that pin was broken and this mechanism should be replaced.
Will post pictures if prove my theory or find a solution.

Question: Is there an easier way to disable the folding mirror option rather than the one mentioned above with coding procedure? I tried to remove (there are two fuses for mirrors) fuses and it disables my windows as well.
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      03-08-2013, 04:12 PM   #39
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Update: The coding did not work, although it seemed to yesterday. All I accomplished is disabling the power fold button. The car still does a position check when unlocked and attempts to move the mirror until it finds its position.
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      03-08-2013, 11:48 PM   #40
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there is a spring loaded pin inside the mirror mechanism which is supposed to stop the mirror from turning once it reaches the correct position. it might be the pin is jammed or the spring inside broken which causes the mirror not to stop at the correct position.

unfortunately there is no way one can reach this pin without dismantling the mirror completely. BMW has made the mirror such that it cannot be fixed back after dismantling as there is a flanged tube which is holding the 2 movable parts in place. once this flange is destroyed to break the mirror into 2, there's no way to fix it back unless you can find a machine shop which can create this kind of joints. the other way is to have some ingenuity and use a long nut and bolt with some spaces to join the 2 parts back together.

most of the time, paying for a replacement mirror is easier.
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      03-17-2013, 05:38 PM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcat151 View Post
Okay I found this solution in another thread and it's worked for me so far. When the mirror is extended all the way (to the incorrect position) and the other mirror is in its proper position, take your hand and pull the incorrect mirror all the way back in to the folded in position. Then press the button to fold the mirrors in. Press the button again and the mirrors should both reset to the proper folded out position.

I have no idea how long this fix will last, but so far so good.



RESPECT TO THIS GUY!!!!

I found your forum through this post.

I bought a used 335i 2007 off the nissan dealership in Ajax for a very fair price, low km, but it had the mirror issue on passenger side window.

Following the above post, it fixed my passenger mirror.

There is actually a TSB from BMW on something called the phantom mirror or mirror positioning in weird random positions when you click lock button on key... and the solution to that if you google it has to do with corroded wiring in the mirror housing. So there is a guide online somewhere where you just open the housing and clean the wires, reoil, then that should resolve your issue!

Thanks again and take care everyone!
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      05-08-2013, 09:00 AM   #42
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Bumping this thread. I have tried all the reposition/refold methods above and no luck. The post above seems to hold the greatest hope. Does anyone know where these online DIY instructions can be found? I had no luck Googling it.

I need to get this fixed!!!
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      05-08-2013, 06:58 PM   #43
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I put this issue to bed once and for all by cutting the power to that motor. The only consequence, you'll lose the ability to fold in the mirrors using the button on the door. The mirror will still adjust, heat, dim and dip when you put it in reverse.

Press the lock and unlock on the fob while holding the mirror in the place you want, and eventually the clogs will lock in the right spot.

Once happy with the placement, remove the mirror cover by pulling straight back. As you can see from the photo below there are 4 tabs (circled in white) that hold it into place. The two items marked in blue are just for alignment.


Next cut the white wire (circled in red) and wrap the ends in electrical tape.


Line up the mirror cover and push it back on. Problem solved in 5 mins.
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      05-16-2013, 01:26 PM   #44
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Thank you! Thank yo! Thank you!!!

I could care less about the folding and I don't want to go through a bunch of $$ getting it fixed so it can.

I really appreciate you weighing in on this!!
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