Slow Folding Wing Mirror Fix

The driver’s side folding mirror on the
facelift E Class W210 cranked in at a painfully slow rate, seemingly if at all sometimes – so investigation was needed. Hardened grease was most certainly the cause due to age petrified grease in the folding mirror drive gearbox. (anyone who has ever taken an old wiper gearbox, or electric drill to pieces will know exactly what I mean!)

What to do:

Power the mirror in and assist it by hand if it’s really struggling, then remove the wing mirror cover (Fold the mirror in and release the square spring steel holding clip with a careful poke down the back edge with a screwdriver) Once free from the retaining clip, power the mirror to its normal position.  The cover now pulls away from the hinge part in the direction away from the car and hangs just far enough out of the way to proceed. Removing the outer cover reveals a second flimsy black plastic cover at the hinge point protecting the fold motor and gear assembly from the elements. Remove this cover by simply prying gently at its retained edge whilst pulling outward. Once this second cover is out of the way, the motor and gear quadrant is revealed.

Take a small sharp bladed terminal screwdriver and find the indicated location shown in the picture and make a small hole in the gear case just beneath the motor (push and rotate the driver a few times to make a neat hole, go steady though, the plastic is thin) Do not use a drill (hand drill or otherwise)as past disasters have shown how easy it is for the drill bit flutes to bite in the thin plastic driving the bit forward uncontollably into whatever you were carefully trying to preserve. Using the sharp screw driver method, although crude does gives a great deal more control of whats going on. You have been warned !

Protect the cars paint beneath the mirror with a rag and spray copious amounts of WD40 into the gear housing through your new hole, flooding the mech. Work the mirror in and out under power a few times, being careful not to trap the mirror cover that will be hanging loose.

Repeat the WD application and let it stand a few mins to soften the hardened grease that is the root cause of the issue. (Infact – go make a brew)

Give it a final spray with WD and run the mirror in and out several times, you will have noticed the fold speed increase almost immediately the first squirt got to work. Once you are happy with the fix, wipe off any excess and clean the plastic gear housing with de-greaser or such and put a small blob of silicone sealant over the hole you made. Reassemble and be very pleased with yourself!.

If you don’t make a cup of tea, this can be done half an hour a side easy.

Special note:

If your mirror cover has LED repeaters in the housing, clean up the connector pins before you re-assemble, as they will be corroded slightly and probably not contact correctly once the mirror cover is refitted. (I know this!) To facilitate easier location of the LED connector on reassembly, tilt the mirror glass down slightly, this gives you some clearance between the mirror cover and mirror itself to guide the connector home.