Swacer

Figured I would add to my list this morning. It is a crisp 10F this morning with a -7F windchill. The NX was parked in the garage all night. Got to work after a 45 minute drive to find that when I put the car in reverse, the passenger mirror would go down part way, make a very loud click sound, go back up, and then try again. This would repeat endlessly.

My assumption is ice has formed in there and it can't get all the way down, but wtf....

Mr645

Odd that ice would get there in your garage, but see if it hoes away as temps rise. Or see if you can find ice in the mirror assembly.

Swacer

Car was covered in ice yesterday at work, it thawed in the garage over night, but didn't dry well, so I figure water dripped in?

The mirror went down fine as I backed out of the garage.

skabei

Sucks that it happened.

Btw, is your 4Runner going to replace the NX?

Swacer

That is the plan. Since I have time before its arrives, I'm also looking in the lightly used 2014 GX CPO market, but that's proving to be a difficult find.

Swacer

Checked the mirror when I got home. A large body of ice right below the mirror. I had to use a small screw driver to dislodge it and then paper to pull the pieces out.

It appears that water can just settle there which can easily freeze.

optokki

My 2007 IS250 did this all the time. I actually never noticed until now but my NX doesn't even adjust its mirrors when going into reverse. Maybe its in the settings?

NXOwner

Did you have your mirror heaters on?

NXOwner

Do you?...

1. have the Driving Position Memory option?
2. have the mirror select switch to the left or right position?

Swacer

I did use them when the car was covered in ice on Tuesday. But then the car sat overnight in a 40-50F garage, and then it wouldn't move after my drive to work on Wednesday morning.

I think the issue is that the heater melts ice, but then the water puddles inside the housing. There is no way for it to drain. Thus, if you go for another drive, and the mirror housing freezes, its possible to freeze that volume of water as well, which will render the mirror unable to move.

The housing of the mirror should have a downward slope to encourage draining.

NXOwner

If this problem is something an owner cannot absolutely live with, then maybe they can drill a tiny hole or two in the bottom of the mirror cowling. It would be inconspicuous and practical. Even if you lease your vehicle, if will probably go unnoticed upon lease turn-in.

Swacer

I wouldn't say "something the owner can live with" as much as it requires the owner to shut off their downward turning mirrors or risk burning the tilting motor up.

I looked at my Camaro and it slopes downward out of the house so any water would drain. I didn't check the IS.

Koetsu

Maybe a bit of balance here for the uninitiated reading this thread ...

My NX200t continues to be trouble free and is doing fine in its first Michigan winter. It obtained 28 mpg on a run to Dearborn last week in cold weather. My only quibble is the already stated slush accumulation on the lower inner door seals, but even this has been manageable so far.

I also believe that folks need to calibrate their expectations of the NX against its intended purpose, its size (not really friendly for families) and its price. Some probably got hooked by the styling and neglected to determine if the NX was a good personal 'fit'. While walking around the Detroit International Automobile Show last Thursday*, one could find arguably nicer CUV-like vehicles but at a price. The functional equivalent of my NX in the form of a Merc GLC costs nearly $56k and there was a lovely Macan for only $96k. Nearly identical black-painted plastic on the lower door panels of the NX is to be found in the same place in the BMW X3. Since the GLC is based on the C-class, one wonders what the frequency of repair issues are going to be. Etc. etc., etc.

Happy miles.

*BTW, the new LC500 is a knockout!

2003 ES300
2007 ES350
2011 RX350
2015 NX200t (Lux version)

LexBob2

Is the issue in the thread title due to the car being covered with ice, or the mirror design? My question is, would other vehicles have the same issue if sitting out in these conditions?

Swacer

Yeah, it happens, but I haven't lost faith in Toyota yet, so just trying another car that will hopefully have less issues and more room. Win Win.