2001 Ls430 Passenger Mirror Problem

[Zett123]

My 2001 LS430 Passenger mirror is giving me problems. When I put it in park and turn the key off, the power mirror just sits there and tries to find the "Home" position. It will make a whirling, clicking sound for about 10 seconds before it goes into it folded position. Same thing happens when I start up the car and the mirror goes into its driving position. With the mirror into its extended position, it feels loose when I move it back and forth.

Is this a pain to fix? Is it something loose in the mirror housing? How hard of a job is it to get into the mirror unit?

Thanks,

JZ

[curiousB]

That's why I disable mine and leave them open 100% of the time. Just seems a frivolous feature that I don't want to invest repair dollars into. Same goes with the auto turn down of the mirrors when in reverse. I disable that too.

[Zett123]

That's why I disable mine and leave them open 100% of the time. Just seems a frivolous feature that I don't want to invest repair dollars into. Same goes with the auto turn down of the mirrors when in reverse. I disable that too.

What is involved in disabling the mirrors?

[curiousB]

There is a switch on the dash to stop the auto fold in feature. If you can experiment to get your mirrors to stop in the extended position and then just switch them off.

The down tilt feature in reverse is disabled when you leave the mirror tilt switch in the middle position (neither left or right).

[jainla]

I've noticed that yuck seems to collect under the mirror pivot point. There is a black plastic pad that seems to get dirty and jams the mirror as it moves on top of it. The problem seems to get worse after the car is wet (rain, car wash). Over time this probably burns out the motor.

I've taken to cleaning out those bits whenever I wash the car, and I use some detailing spray (in my case the Sonus Total Eclipse) to really clean it and make it easier for the mirrors to pivot on top of it. Occasionally I shoot some lithium grease up in there to try to keep the metal parts lubricated. After you spray the stuff in there you may have to 'help' the mirrors open and close a couple of times to get stuff moving again. I've usually able to resurrect the mirrors from frozen to working by doing this.

Ironically I find that if I leave the mirrors open 100% of the time they don't seem to work as well, so I fold them in about 50% of the time to keep things moving. The assemblies new are about $750, but they are plentiful on Ebay (although who knows how old they are).

[landar]

That's why I disable mine and leave them open 100% of the time. Just seems a frivolous feature that I don't want to invest repair dollars into. Same goes with the auto turn down of the mirrors when in reverse. I disable that too.

That is exactly what I have done too. Same for the oscillating vents inside the cabin. Looks neat but I don't need excessive wear on those high dollar, gee-whiz toys. I will occasionally tuck the mirrors in if in a tight garage space or when going thru a car wash but that's it.