740ilsamue

I also broke the brackets. i'm wondering if 2002 ls 430 rear connections are the same as other years, cause after I broke the brackets, I examined the brackets and the motor. it didn't look like the post picture.

TTurboPimp

iTrader: (12)

I broke the tabs off the bottom of the mirror where it snaps in as well. I just used 3M double sided tape to put it back on. Its used to hold on spoilers and other body parts, its sure as hell strong enough to hold a mirror on.

Feliciano

While I can appreciate a work around fix, what is the proper way of getting this mirror to work properly? I have an LS430, 2004 and my driver mirror went out. It's being held in place by some tape because it would move back and forth depending on how fast or slow I was going.

T900RR

I think the only way is to get a new mirror housing.

Cunjie

I too have the same issue with my LH mirror (2004 LS).

I followed the steps outlined in this thread & noted the noise was coming from the small motor under the plastic cover. I removed the screws to allow removal of the metal brackets, which then allowed me to remove the plastic cover for a better look. I then re-connected the wire to the motor & unfortunately the noise remained, hence the noise is coming from within the motor itself.

As I run out of time I took the interim measure of disconnecting the wire lead to the motor & screwed the mirror back together. I still have the ability to adjust the mirror position from the inside controls & the noise is gone. Just need to find out how to remove & replace the motor next time I have the time to take it all apart.

turbo_dreams

iTrader: (2)

Went to go this route but just felt it was a bit hacked for my taste so I went and got to the root of the problem.

Took everything apart and studied the mirror and why it wouldn't snap into place. In the shaft of the mirror assembly there's a lock washer that becomes worn with time and that eventually gives up and all the tension from the compressed spring that keeps everything pressurized is lost hence why it all flaps around like all things good do with old age and use. My first solution was to find this washer and replace it with grade A ones that could withstand more abuse however that seemed near impossible. On my search for the washer I got a great idea from a home Depot employee to drill the shaft and put a cotter pin right above the wornext washer to hold the pressure in. I did so and now it works just as new.

rkw77080

It seems that there are 2 different problems being discussed:
1) The mirror housing is loose and floppy - the cause for this is the spring tension is inadequate. This is the problem turbo_dreams repaired in the above post.
2) The folding motor "clicks" while moving - the cause of this is likely either worn gears, or the top cover / motor is not attached fully.

I experienced both problems with my mirror and was able to repair both. I repaired the spring tension by using two C-clamp to press down on the self-locking washer; and repaired the clicking by tightening the top cover. Here are some pictures I took and thought I would share with you...

Feliciano

Thanks for posting those pics, that helps. Do you know the part numbers for those gears, the stationary gear and the plastic white gear?

Lexus404

Wow Turbo that is a very detailed explanation thanks! However, I'm trying to figure out if either of the problems mentioned are what I'm having with my driver's mirror. Basically when I get in the car and turn it on the mirror goes to programmed position even with the fold in feature off, but the mirror housing seems to go out past where it normally should stop, causing me to have to open window and pull mirror back towards me so the mirror can be set to my blind spot. Is that what others are dealing with? I'm hoping the piece of coolant hose fix would work if so!

BTC89LS400

ok, so my issue with my mirror set up is when I tuck the mirrors in, the left mirror goes in all the way, but the right one goes half way and stops. I found out flicking the switch between AUTO and FOLD causes the mirror to inch closed each time between the switching. Upon folding them open they both do without any issue. It's just that the right mirror has the issue of not folding all the way, is this thread post similar or the same issue?
I just want to make sure before I dive head first and then find out I just ruined a fancy party trick feature on my car...

01430UL

Just bought my '01 LS430 Ultra Luxury for a STEAL. Had a couple of maintenance things to catch up on, tires needed, but the same driver door mirror folding issue you described was the only feature not working. I called around after buying the car, and couldn't find a new part for less than a few hundred clams.

Got to your post, describing the exact same problem in the same part of the car, and did a little manual investigation. I asked myself, "How might one go about resolving this issue without replacing parts?" Upon scrolling, I found concise and detailed instructions on bracing the innards of my door mirror to its frame, fixing the only issue on my beautiful, clean-running lap of luxury.

Go, you. Most righteous delivery on the detailed instruction, from the delicacy, to the visual details and clues. Got it done in 15 minutes, and saved $1000 at a dealership, $500 if I had tirelessly sourced a part and found cheap labor. Most concise and helpful post in all the interwebs. Almost as awesome as watching a horse play with a rubber chicken.

Emuburger

I have a 2001 Lexus LS430 and both side mirrors started to wear out and not fold properly when parked. They also started to be difficult to adjust. I wound up buying entire new mirrors online for about $130 each. I had to spend $60 to get the custom paint from ERApaints.com that matched my lexus paint code. The $60 got me 3 spray cans: Primer, Base Coat and Clear Coat. The final paint job just looks good but not perfect if you look closely. The process to replace the whole mirrors was not that hard but you did have to at least partially remove the door panel. Here is my video for that part:
Here is the second video of actually replacing the mirrors:

My total cost for 2 new mirrors was about $300 vs. over $2,000 at the lexus dealer. I hope this helps someone.

texan_176

iTrader: (5)

Great info in this thread.

I bought a second 430 this summer and it has very slight play in the driver side mirror. You can move it back forth ever so slightly by hand. It works fine as far as power fold goes but once deployed, it is not rock solid fixed like the one on the passenger side. I removed the little access panel by the puddle light to check the three screws that hold the mount to the mirror frame; all were tight. Then I opened up the mirror assembly and everything looked good. No bent rods, stripped gears, or broken bit of plastic or metal were found in the guts of the fold mechanism. Could the play be from play in the electric motor itself?

Does anyone know if the play symptom is caused by not enough tension on the spring? I kind of hesitate to push the spring retainer down because too much tension could cause the gears to strip when the mirror is moving. I hardly ever fold my mirrors but I want to fix this the right way instead of just putting some epoxy between the mount and mirror to stop the play for $5 and calling it fixed by losing the fold function entirely.

I really don't want to mess with used mirrors since most of the LS430 mirrors had a design flaw that impacts the fold function. A new assembly is $450 where I will have to swap over my existing mirror into the new housing. Right now the plan is to keep the car for a very long time but plans change and I might move to something else so it would be foolish to dump that much into a repair if there is a better way to fix it.