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BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > 2012-2019 BMW 3 and 4-Series Forums > General F30 Sedan / F32 Coupe / F36 Gran Coupe Forum > Distorted Driver's Side Mirror
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      12-10-2018, 10:16 AM   #1
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I took my 2015 335xi into the dealer a few weeks ago to have the driver's door seal checked, as wind noise over ~35mph was pretty excessive. When I picked it up the SA said the issue was caused by the small seam between the carbon fiber mirror caps and the housing and that they fixed it by removing the caps, installing felt tape on the same and reinstalling.

On the way home I noticed the driver's side mirror was very distorted but dismissed it because it was raining hard and dark. It also appeared like headlights of vehicles behind me were VERY bright. I didn't mention it to my wife (it's her DD) but she texted me the next day after her commute to work and confirmed it was really distorted.

I took it back in and the SA was obviously skeptical right off the bat, claiming nothing they did would have caused an issue like this but, after sitting in the car and staring at the mirror for about 5-10 seconds, he had a confused look on his face and agreed it was, in fact, distorted. They replaced the glass and I picked it up the next day.

On the way home I couldn't stop checking it and, while it's perhaps a BIT better, it still shows the same distortion and bright-at-night issues. I'm taking it back in to the dealer in a couple of days and would like to offer some (other) potential cause. I'm assuming it has something to do with the auto-dimming feature (which the car is equipped with) or, maybe, they replaced the glass with the wrong part #??? If anyone as experienced something similar and can offer any suggestions I'd appreciate it!

FYI: Unfortunately, the "fix" did nothing to reduce the wind noise :

Last edited by JAJJ8485; 12-10-2018 at 10:23 AM..
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      12-11-2018, 10:46 PM   #2
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Update: My SA says it's most likely a faulty mirror glass and they'll replace it again. At this point I'm skeptical, as I had no issues with the distortion before they removed the mirror caps.

Fingers crossed. I'll pick her up tomorrow after work and return the 230i loaner. Very nice car, but the 2-liter motor and thin, non-MSport steering wheel just don't do it for me.
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      12-12-2018, 12:10 PM   #3
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Very strange, keep us posted.
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      12-12-2018, 01:59 PM   #4
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How can the mirror be distorted, it’s made of glass so should be flat shouldn’t it?
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      12-12-2018, 04:51 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
How can the mirror be distorted, it’s made of glass so should be flat shouldn’t it?
My thought exactly, especially since I had no issue with the original glass before taking it in for the wind noise issue.

I recieved a text from BMW today telling me the replacement glass showed the same distortion so they'd be ordering yet another and keeping the car another day. I'm expecting the same issue will be there after it's installed - hopefully they'll start looking at other potential causes at that point!
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      12-13-2018, 03:44 AM   #6
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So have they admitted to actually replacing the glass? Seems strange that if they have not and it’s the same that you now see an issue with it.
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      12-13-2018, 11:25 PM   #7
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Same issue with the fourth mirror glass installed (including the original) - still distorted. Dealer is going to troubleshoot different potential causes tomorrow but they're thinking the housing itself may have gotten warped when they were working on the wind noise issue and fiddling with the CF mirror caps.

Still in a 230xi loaner with about 500 miles on the odometer - the little guy is starting to grow on me. It's great for light-to-light driving but fizzles out a bit at higher speeds, where the N55 excels.
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      12-14-2018, 09:50 AM   #8
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If the housing was warped to the point where it bends the glass wouldn't the glass just snap?
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      12-14-2018, 01:50 PM   #9
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This topic doesn't make sense, work on the car and several new mirrors all distorted? Is it really distortion? Are you sure it isn't to do with the wide angle mirror lens, and/or looking through the side window?

I know my driver's side mirror (F11 wagon) appears to distort the view, as it pulls in the wider view angle, away from the car.
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      12-14-2018, 04:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
This topic doesn't make sense, work on the car and several new mirrors all distorted? Is it really distortion? Are you sure it isn't to do with the wide angle mirror lens, and/or looking through the side window?

I know my driver's side mirror (F11 wagon) appears to distort the view, as it pulls in the wider view angle, away from the car.
I don't think the glass itself is the issue either, no. Didn't from the onset, as it had been perfectly clear up until I picked it up after the dealer attempted to fix the wound noise issue by applying felt tape under the CF mirror covers. It is/was distorted, however, and dealer chose to attack the glass as the likely cause first (and second and third).

Dealer SA and tech both agreed it still isn't reflecting properly so next step is to replace the mirror motor, as it serves as the direct connection to the glass. Should be completed on Monday - I'll report back with findings.
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      12-14-2018, 04:30 PM   #11
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So what is the exact problem, would posting pictures help us to understand. Can’t see how replacing the motor will help, the glass is a mirror so you can’t see the motor. If the distortion you describe isn’t the wide angle then the only other thing could be the auto dimming which I personally hate in my car as for me it just dims way too much.
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      12-15-2018, 05:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
So what is the exact problem, would posting pictures help us to understand. Can’t see how replacing the motor will help, the glass is a mirror so you can’t see the motor. If the distortion you describe isn’t the wide angle then the only other thing could be the auto dimming which I personally hate in my car as for me it just dims way too much.
If they knew the cause it would be fixed by now .

I don't know enough about the mechanicals of the self-dimming mirrors but I agree with you - I've never really seen the point of them, especially given the tradeoff in terms of added cost and complexity.
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      12-15-2018, 05:51 PM   #13
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I find my auto dimming mirrors dim way too much so that you then can’t make sense of what’s in the mirrors. Wish there was some way I could code them to dim less.
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      12-18-2018, 07:15 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
I find my auto dimming mirrors dim way too much so that you then can’t make sense of what’s in the mirrors. Wish there was some way I could code them to dim less.
Agreed.

Received a text update from the dealer today - they replaced the motor assembly with no change. They have an engineer from BMW working on it as well.
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      12-19-2018, 01:38 AM   #15
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We need some pictures as I’m really intrigued as to what the actual problem is now.
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      12-19-2018, 09:06 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JAJJ8485 View Post
I took my 2015 335xi into the dealer a few weeks ago to have the driver's door seal checked, as wind noise over ~35mph was pretty excessive. When I picked it up the SA said the issue was caused by the small seam between the carbon fiber mirror caps and the housing and that they fixed it by removing the caps, installing felt tape on the same and reinstalling.

On the way home I noticed the driver's side mirror was very distorted but dismissed it because it was raining hard and dark. It also appeared like headlights of vehicles behind me were VERY bright. I didn't mention it to my wife (it's her DD) but she texted me the next day after her commute to work and confirmed it was really distorted.

I took it back in and the SA was obviously skeptical right off the bat, claiming nothing they did would have caused an issue like this but, after sitting in the car and staring at the mirror for about 5-10 seconds, he had a confused look on his face and agreed it was, in fact, distorted. They replaced the glass and I picked it up the next day.

On the way home I couldn't stop checking it and, while it's perhaps a BIT better, it still shows the same distortion and bright-at-night issues. I'm taking it back in to the dealer in a couple of days and would like to offer some (other) potential cause. I'm assuming it has something to do with the auto-dimming feature (which the car is equipped with) or, maybe, they replaced the glass with the wrong part #??? If anyone as experienced something similar and can offer any suggestions I'd appreciate it!

FYI: Unfortunately, the "fix" did nothing to reduce the wind noise :
If the headlight reflection in the mirror is too bright at night, it sounds like something is wrong with the auto dim function?
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      12-19-2018, 09:17 AM   #17
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      12-19-2018, 01:20 PM   #18
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^ I agree, I have asked for pics before but nothing so far.
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      12-19-2018, 06:48 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JAJJ8485 View Post

Dealer SA and tech both agreed it still isn't reflecting properly so next step is to replace the mirror motor, as it serves as the direct connection to the glass. Should be completed on Monday - I'll report back with findings.
WTF does it mean that mirrors aren't "reflecting properly"? And how would replacing the mirror motor fix the reflection????
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      12-19-2018, 06:50 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tex2670 View Post
WTF does it mean that mirrors aren't "reflecting properly"? And how would replacing the mirror motor fix the reflection????
Didn’t the evil witch have this issue with her Mirror?

Perhaps OP is evil....and that’s why we cannot see it.
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      12-19-2018, 06:54 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
^ I agree, I have asked for pics before but nothing so far.
I'd love to provide pics but the car is with the dealer.

Text today said a BMW "Field Engineer" is scheduled to give his decision on what needs to be done to fix the distortion tomorrow.
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      12-20-2018, 03:12 AM   #22
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Are you sure the protective film isn’t still on the mirror
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