Driver's mirror angle

Does anyone else find the range of vertical angle adjustment to be all wrong in the e90 driver's side mirror? I'm not a tall guy but I have to hunch my head down to see the tops of cars on that side. At the low end of the motion I can see asphalt 2 feet behind my shoulder, which is no use.

I shimmed the motor unit against the casting it screws into and got maybe 8 degrees more viewing angle on the upper edge. If anyone is interested I will write it up, PM me. It's not that hard; you start by popping the mirror out with a bent screwdriver. The rest of it comes apart in ways you can see.

Looking to purchase a 06 330 and noticed this mirror issue. Could not adjust the mirror properly, not enough range. Current owner is short and did not notice the issue. Is there a simply fix other than shimming? Would hate to buy and then need to replace an expensive mirror/housing.

Thanks
Dan

Hate to tell you guys, but you are the only two I have seen have this issue in all the time I've been on Bimmerfest and in the E9x forum, since November of '05.

Are you aiming the mirror into your blind spot or looking at the rear end of your car?

Originally Posted by laser

Are you aiming the mirror into your blind spot or looking at the rear end of your car?

Good question.

I always use the side mirrors when backing to locate the car and typically set the mirrors to show a very small amount of the side of the vehicle. The mirror will not adjust enough to allow anything but a view of the ground near the rear tire. Adjusting the mirrors in my 325, M3, and X5 is not a problem. Is there a problem with the car I am looking at or is this a e90 characteristic?

Thanks
Dan

Next time you're at the dealer, try the post LCI mirrors -- they're significantly larger -- and compare.

I couldn't say. I keep my mirrors adjusted to eliminate my blind spots while driving and I do the old fashioned arm on the top of the seat back and look over my shoulder for backing up. I can tell you that my mirrors give me all the rear vision I need while driving.

I have the same issue with the driverside mirror...have it tilted out more horizontally than i'd like to get a higher vertical view

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Bimmer App

Black 325i- I will PM you a picture regarding your question. I built up the casting with 2 kinds of epoxy.

tturedraider, what can I tell you?

Laser- I like them outward just past the point where I can see the rear corner of the car and that was always possible. It was just generally too low.

Originally Posted by black325xi

I ... typically set the mirrors to show a very small amount of the side of the vehicle.

A properly set mirror will not show any of your car. You know where your car is, you're concerned about where the other cars are! You just need to push the mirror out a little bit further so that your car's body disappears. This is what is taught to the 18-21 year old drivers who take the Tire Rack/BMW CCA Street Survival course.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Hate to tell you guys, but you are the only two I have seen have this issue in all the time I've been on Bimmerfest and in the E9x forum, since November of '05.

Add me as the third, then. Not everyone posts about all of thier issues on a forum.

I took the car to the dealer, who of course couldn't reproduce it. It started after I used the autofolding mirrors on my '06 330i. I had to hunch down to see well out of the driver's side mirror. After the dealer coulnd't fix it, I took it home, looked at the range of motion, and noticed that the mirror wasn't angled the same as someone else's 330i. I took it apart and found that the collars that spin the mirror were not aligned. I realigned them and the problem went away.

I should clarify... the mirror housing was able to extend out to its proper location which allowed the mirror itself to utilize its full range. It was partialy retracted (maybe a half inch) and couldn't till up as far as it should have. I have had no issues with my post LCI '09.

Originally Posted by SD Z4MR

A properly set mirror will not show any of your car. You know where your car is, you're concerned about where the other cars are! You just need to push the mirror out a little bit further so that your car's body disappears. This is what is taught to the 18-21 year old drivers who take the Tire Rack/BMW CCA Street Survival course.

Actually In the latest driver safety training classes they start to tell the drivers this different way to adjusts the mirrors. Even BMW advises this in their monthly mailings.

To adjust the driver side, put your face against the window, turn the mirror out until you can barely see the side of the car.

To adjust the passenger side, position your eyes right at the center of the rear view mirror, then adjust the pass side out until you can barely see the side of the car.

When you are in the normal driving position, the two side mirrors will be far out. You won't see your car at all. But you can see blind spots by looking at all three mirrors. It takes some time to get used to this arrangement.

Still turn your head before merging or change lanes though to be safe.

rgzimmer

I have shimmed the mirror drive motor several different ways to stop the mirror glass from jamming into the housing, although improved still not corrected. Your adjustment might be what I to resolve. Can you provide more detail or pictures of what you adjusted?

Thanks
Dan

I don't know if this will help, but when i got my 325xi 06 the drivers side mirror would not adjust enough. So I took it to my indy shop and they found it to be a recall and fixed it. Now it works great.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by dtc100

Actually In the latest driver safety training classes they start to tell the drivers this different way to adjusts the mirrors. Even BMW advises this in their monthly mailings.

To adjust the driver side, put your face against the window, turn the mirror out until you can barely see the side of the car.

To adjust the passenger side, position your eyes right at the center of the rear view mirror, then adjust the pass side out until you can barely see the side of the car.

When you are in the normal driving position, the two side mirrors will be far out. You won't see your car at all. But you can see blind spots by looking at all three mirrors. It takes some time to get used to this arrangement.

Still turn your head before merging or change lanes though to be safe.

Yup, pretty much the same idea, your car should not be visible in the side view mirrors. This is the biggest departure what was previously taught.

Originally Posted by CD5

I don't know if this will help, but when i got my 325xi 06 the drivers side mirror would not adjust enough. So I took it to my indy shop and they found it to be a recall and fixed it. Now it works great.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Bimmer App

CD5

Do you recall what was done? I looked for applicable TSB's/recalls and could not locate any information.

Heres the TSB on the folding mirror issue. Hope it works!



SI B 51 31 09
Body Equipment

September 2009
Technical Service

SUBJECT
Power Fold Mirror Position Incorrect

MODEL
E60, E61 (5 Series) equipped with power fold mirrors
E63, E64 (6 Series) equipped with power fold mirrors
E82, E88 (1 Series) equipped with power fold mirrors
E85, E86, E89 (Z4) equipped with power fold mirrors
E90, E91, E92, E93 (3 Series) equipped with power fold mirrors
F01, F02 (7 Series)

SITUATION

One or both mirrors appear to have folded out further than the standard position. The incorrect position of the mirror housing is typically not visually noticeable and as such, the customer typically states that the mirror glass is not in the stored position. Folding the mirror in and out does not restore the correct mirror housing position.

CAUSE

The mirror has shifted outward from its standard home position. The new position is now stored as the home position.

CORRECTION

Do not replace any parts.

Reset the mirror home position using the following procedure.

PROCEDURE

1. Fold the mirror in using the power fold button on the door switch block.

2. Grasp the folding part of the mirror and fold it outward manually. The mirror housing will disengage from the mirror base and will now be in the breakaway position.

3. Operate the mirror via the power fold button. The mirror will now fold out past the expected end stop.

4. Operate the mirror via the power fold button again to fold the mirror in. When the mirror is fully folded in, the motor will continue to run until a clicking and/or popping sound is heard. This sound is the mirror housing resetting its position.

5. Fold the mirror back out, using the power fold button to ensure it has folded out to the correct position.

Thanks

That solved the problem. This forum is full of good people and info.

Dan

Originally Posted by tredmd

Heres the TSB on the folding mirror issue. Hope it works!
(..)

I tried that with my driver's side mirror but didn't work. In step #2 I understand I should fold outward manually until normal position, correct? After I do this, step #3 moves that mirror all the way forward (towards hood) and step #4 folds it to normal position instead of expected fully folding it with clicking noise per the TSB.

Are there any other ideas? I had this problem 3 years ago when the car was under warranty. Dealership re-programmed and it got the mirror to almost the right state. But it didn't seem it was the right fix because the issue re-appeared and gradually gets worse bit by bit. I think it's been too long ago to have dealership fix it as a part of that warranty job.

I should have explained that my problem is that the driver's mirror stops half an inch further than it's supposed to.

I tried the TSB again and got the expected movement but still no luck fixing driver's mirror. While the passenger side mirror makes loud click noise in step #4 as expected, driver's mirror doesn't. Interestingly, in step #3, my driver's mirror goes much further forward towards the hood than passenger's.

Does anybody know if this is a mechanical or programming issue?