SerasLibre

Last week my driver side rearview mirror started folding forward every time I started the car. I did some searching and some commented that a weak battery would cause this. My battery checked fine, so I proceeded to disassemble my mirror to see if I could figure out what was going on. I did find that the pass side mirror is much tighter than the driver side one, but I wasn't able to fix the problem on disassembly - see photos below.

There is a spring on the mirror stem that is compressed by a metal retaining clip. If I manage to tighten this more I think my problem will be solved, since applying pressure to the mirror assembly prevents the mirror from folding forward when starting the car.

Anyone have any ideas on how to tackle this? I tried banging down the clip but it always came back up to where it was initially. I'm thinking I will probably have to buy another mirror, but I'd like to try to salvage this one first.

For the curious, I've also posted a link at the end of this post to a few other pictures I took of the mirror and how it comes together/apart. I'll gladly assist anyone that wants more info on how to do it.

Guts of the mirror assy:



Round retaining clip on stem on right side is what holds the spring in place. The other gears move the assy in and out:


This is the electric motor side (see metal pin on the lower middle part of the photo) that slides over the gear assy:


Link to all photos

CarGuy89

That is the most complex mirror assembly I have ever seen!! Do you know if you can manually fold/open the mirrors (if the motors short out)? I have given it a fair bit of pressure and they didn't budge. I don't want to break anything so I didn't try too hard.

SerasLibre

Yes, I agree. It took me a while the first time around to figure out how to do it without breaking anything! I see why this part isn't cheap from the stealer.

If the motor breaks you can use it manually, but after a while the spring will come loose and it won't stay in place when you fold it open.

CarGuy89

I use the folding mirrors frequently when I park. How long does the motor usually last? I really wish I could contribute to your problem, but I have absolutely no idea lol. As you can tell, I have yet to see my mirror assembly.

tcbted

Crazy complex system for a feature that I never needed to use.

If I have to park so close to someone that I need to tuck in my mirrors, I
simply won't park there ... I hate door dings.

Same problem when I owned a 2004. I never folded my mirrors, and had my switch
turned off. Nontheless, the mirror would swing outwards everytime I started the car.
Walking around the car to manually turn the mirror back into place gets old really quickly.
I actually resorted to winding some black electrical tape around the base to stop the motor from swinging out the mirror.

On my previous thread, someone posted a "how to" on disabling the motor ... I wish I'd had that knowledge when I owned the car ... a simple snip of a wire. Not a fix, but better than electrical tape

Ears

If you are confident that downward pressure is the answer, why not remove the retaining clip (speed nut from past vernacular), and put in a fabricated spacer underneath teh speed nut, then replace speed nut.

SerasLibre

Ears, I'm afraid that I won't be able to get the speed nut back in place if I remove it, but it would be my last option.

wilchan

I know this thread is old.. just wondering if you figured out the solution without replacing the whole mirror?

FlaPhil

Somehow, a pick and pull seems like the easier option!

Buggeroff6

My pass. side got sort of frozen this winter, and not knowing to leave well enough alone, I tried manually adjusting the vertical, only to hear a kind of clikety plastic noise. It now can move in all directions, generally, but it sometimes gets frozen and if it goes down by design to show the curb when car is in reverse, it sometimes comes up to an akward angle, like the sky!
Is this shot? The dealer wants $340 for a chassis, and there's one used on ebay I might grab (but that's used, and I guess all of these eventually wear out). Are they pretty much spent once they lose their vertical apex?

5t341th

iTrader: (16)

Mine also does this. It folds in fine, but when they fold out, the drivers side goes all the way forward. a whole 180 degrees!

kabani2

for anyone having issues their lexus mirrors pls see this link for alternate yet cost effective repair method. i tired it on my lexus ls430 2001 model n it worked like a charm.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...5-cents-3.html

kernal

I know this is an old post but I'm looking for where the "stop" is located. On my 2010 460 the close stop is supposed to be broken.

gharward

I have a 2015 RX350 and the drivers side mirror flips out 180 degrees when the car is turned on. 2015 looks to have a different assembly. After some digging this seems to be the problem if the motor and gears are working fine: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...-rx-350-a.html

I had the same issue, tool it all apart, though was not able to fix it myself. So I found Theo, who fixes all mirror motors, wiring, gears by tearing it all the way down and replacing whatever is broken, fixing all makes and models. Here is his info (Tell him Greg sent you):
Texas Highend Auto Center Inc
Theo Kha
972-429-0857 - Work
214-264-1577 - Cell
23 Steel Rd
Wylie TX 75098