FIXED BMW Folding Mirror Issue Without Removing or Wire Cutting 

Sir, you belong in the National Academy of Engineering. I used a 1/16 drill bit and only needed to drill about 1/8 inch, but the fix worked perfectly. Thanks for the $1200.

Even 5-6 years after you posted this video, it helped me fix both sides in less than an hour. Thank you so much Ed for this extremely helpful content sir!!

I can't believe I waited so long to do this. I took a stab at just spraying WD-40 around the rotating bit, and it worked!! Didn't even need to drill, I guess mine wasn't that bad.

Absolutely the best, no cost fix to a very annoying problem on E90 BMWs. Forget cutting the wire, this fix is nothing short of a full on MacGyver to solve the wandering mirror issue on our 2006 BMW 325xi. Big thanks and simply brilliant. I especially liked the hot glue gun hole sealing tip. Ed, you totally rock!!!

Just did this fix with a nice tiny hole. One thing that really helped was having pressurized air and a syringe to really push solvents in behind the pin. Also, some super fine tweezers or the tip of an exacto blade can be used to reach in and exercise the pin (push it back into the hole where it was stuck) while feeding it lube. Way easier if it's off the car.

This video is gold!! You just saved the E90 community a whole heap of money and heartache. I was lucky enough to find replacement folding mirrors for my 2006 330i, but now I know how to fix for next time. Thank you for this brilliant fix!!

I’ve had this problem for like two years now and everyone told me I needed to take out the whole car door to fix it and now it’s all fixed thanks to you!!!

2/23/2020 - THIS IS REAL!!! I was about to cut the white wire when I decided to give this a shot. I am here to say, this is the real fix!!! I used a computer case screw to plug the hole when I was done as a mechanical mod going forward in case I need to prod the pin with a push again in the future. My only two cents to this masterpiece!! THANK YOU!

I just did this fix this morning on both of my mirrors, and it worked perfectly! Thanks, EdzGarage, for putting up this video.

Works! Tried all other "fixes" on BMW forums, etc., and this worked! Don't cut wires...Do this! Thanks much!

Thanks so much for this! Took care of it today - about 30 minutes all in, some sweat (hot garage) but no blood, no tears. which is unusual for me. Fix would have been well north of $1000, more if at BMW. Awesome, thanks!

This is legitimate. This IS the problem on these mirrors not the wiring harness. I ended up drilling two holes because I missed my mark on the first one, sprayed brake cleaner in until it leaked out the bottom and then refilled with wd40. Mirror works perfectly now. Thank you! Brake cleaner eats up gunk and grime well.

This is the real solution, not bypass by wire cutting! Congratulations!

Worked on my 2006 e90 330i. I used 3-in-One lubricating oil and then some lithium grease, along with the requisite hammer taps. Very nice solution. Thanks again EdzGarage.

What an excellent video! Thanks for the second better view angle showing exactly where you drilled the hole. I had this problem on my E60 drivers side mirror. Your fix worked very well on my car too. Thank you so much!

Awesome fix! Best out there! It keeps the factory function with minimal work/disassembly. I did a fair number of rounds of lubricant, tapping with a brass hammer, rotating the mirror and poking at the pin with the awl like you said, but it worked like a charm..

Thank you my friend, followed your guide & it works great! I used a 3mm drill, squirted plenty of lube in there & left it to soak for an hour & half, it was still stuck so I kept rotating it & tapping with a hammer near the hole & bingo, suddenly it freed!

Worked for me on e90 s65 M3! Thanks! I was apprehensive doing any of this because I’m not DIY confident. I ended up with a double-wide drill hole and tried for a while, testing frequently with the sideview-fold button, and it eventually was working. Yay!

What a genius solution worked for both of my side-view mirrors. Previous owner had already cut the wires to avoid fixing them, so glad to have them working again. THANK YOU!

Great Tip. Nice middle ground fix for the issue. Was looking for just such a thing for my wife's 2009 328i coupe. Thanks for posting!

Thank you, mate! This was the only solution for my case. Since the pin was stuck the motor of the mirror didn't seem to make an effort to move whatsoever (thought that it was broken). Since you have access through the hole you can feel the pin clicking.

I actually got a mirror from the junk and (lol) it had the same problem, so i decided to this fixed, cause i have two now. works like a charm, took me like 5 minutes WD-40 and just a few whacks of the hammer. Thanks man.

You’re a life saver. Thank you for posting this - it worked and I’m so happy! You rock!!!

Another +1! I never could feel a pin moving up and down, but after three squirts of PB BLASTER and five or six manual rotations it started working! I used an 1/8” drill bit and sealed it with an old tube of RTV that was laying around.

This fixed our 328xi instantly! Super easy fix, thanks for the video!

Just did it!! Thanks literally a 10$ fix you’re awesome !

Mine is FIXED TOO!! THANK YOU SIR!! 😉 FYI I used the 1/16 drll bit like some memtioned but its a too small in my opinion. I could not use any pointed tool to push pin with. I used the same drill bit to push pin back and forth along with lubricant till i could hear the click. For reference use a bigger drill bit. Next size up from 1/16 I guess. Thanks again for such a great video. Keep it up!!😉

Man, I solved this for 15 minutes, thank you veery much :)..now it works like new one!!!

Thank you! After I did this, there is a procedure that resets the mirrors to home. That way my passenger mirror came home to the correct spot instead of out too far, even horizontally. Even at the maximum inward adjustment I couldn't see the car. I'm VERY happy to have this fixed. You rock.

worked like a charm! Thanks so much for saving me the money and hassle of a new mirror!

Absolutely magic and kudos to you for helping us all out. Mine fixed in about 10 minutes.

JUST FIXED THIS DIFFERENT WAY!!!! JUST SPRAYED A LOT OF WD40 UNDER THE ROTATING PART OF THE MIRROR. Remove plastic cower, then just pull whole mirror up (or bend it to the side) so there's a thin space under the rotating mechanism between the mirror and car holder. (Buy small 100ml WD40 with thin pipe, so you can squeeze it deeper into that 1mm space what you will have when pulling mirror up or bending it to the side. Note! You can pull or bend it just slightly, just few millimeters). Spray WD40 into that space aiming to the area, where this stuck thing is located (that thing with spring, what this guy in video oiling in the end), keep removing excessive WD40 with paper towel. Rotate left right, shake a bit the whole mirror, not too much, don't damage anything, then repeat. After a while (in 5 minutes or may be 1 hour) oxidation on the lock will be gone, the mechanism will get unlocked and working again. No need to damage the mirror. Then just put plastic cower back.

Great help and the camera shot of the drilled very helpful big thank you for your skills

Thank you for this, going to try it this weekend.

Hi Sir, your idea to make a easy fixing the folding mirrors in BMW car, is a great solution. It works. I fixed the same problem in my grandson's Beemer in about half an hour. Save him lots of money. Thank You. ☝👍

After drilling the hole and unblocking/lubing it became clear my problem was that whatever the pin was supposed to stop in was worn out. I drove a screw through the same hole to push the pin down even more. the mirror retracts a bit slower but it does stop where it should. Thought to post in case it helps somebody. Thanks for the tips!

I drilled a hole with 1/8th inch bit and only went down about an 1/8th and used my WD40 with long straw and bam!!! 20 second fix.. worked immediately... not all heros wear capes!!!

worked great took me 2 minutes didn't even have to get hole all the way through with original drilling, just saw opening with original drill bit and got w40 in there and pushed through micro hole with with smaller drill bit to loosen pin and worked perfect.

Worked exactly as described! Thanks Ed!

Thanks EdzGarage! I just bought a 2008 328xi and right when I got it home the mirror folded forward, seller did not disclose this info of course. I watched your video and followed the method with drilling a hole and luckily and found the punch out hole about .020" from my pilot hole center. I then went up a drill size to 7/64" and could see the spring in the cavity. I put some PB blaster and tapped from the top with an awl and it still wouldn't go, though I did not give up. I continued to work the power mirror via control and tapped the housing and pin adding more penetrating oil and then all of a sudden the mirror moved on it's own to the correct resting point. I did a few more flushes with the pb plaster and worked the power mirror function as I applied moderate pressure to the pin to make sure it was good and free. you can feel a slight feedback in the awl when the mirror gets to the rest position. I then filled a syringe with a thin synthetic teflon grease and pumped it into the hole while working the power mirror function a few times. Lastly, capped off the hole with hot glue just like you said. This fix works great and is efficient, great job on figuring this out. The only thing that would improve this would be to make a template with dimensions to locate the punch and drill holes.

I trried on right side it didnt work took it to a mechanic and said that something inside was broken and needs replace few days later trrien again alittle harder and it worked thank you

THANKS A LOT !!!! IT WORKED FOR ME :) The feeling 'its fixed' is indescribable

Nice video and saved me a lot of time.Followed your thinking I just opened the cover and heated the area over the spring up with a heat gun and tapped with screw driver handle and it worked for me.

WORKED FOR ME, at least for now. Good job!

I had the same problem, I suspected it was water getting in the motor from rain or car wash. I stopped taking it to the car wash and haven't had any more problems. Fingers crossed! but for a while I was desperate to disable it somehow, don't want to cut wires either. good luck with yours. / good video.

Great video! This worked and saved me tons of time and headache.

Thank you for this video. Im gonna go try this after the bills game.

Worked for mine it took 10 minutes!! Thanks 🙏

Thank you, this took me 5min and it was fixed and I am very grateful

You are are dog gone genius. Took me five minutes from start to finish. Thank you!!!

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

You always know what you are doing. Great job Ed.

Great video about side mirrors fixing.

Amazing solution the best out there! Thanks a lot buddy.

This is awesome. I'll try this . Thank you so much

I knew somebody would come up with a better way eventually,well done and thank you.

Thank you! Hope this work on my 06 e61

I drilled a hole and couldn’t get it to work. Sprayed with wd40 tapped with hammer and and nothing. I decided to drill another hole in the same area closer to the window and sprayed and tapped and BAM, it worked! I have a 2006 330i E90. Thx for the video!

Thats brilliant :-D, What a clever way of fixing a common problem. Some people may think it's obvious, easy to say after you have invented a way lol. You are a very clever practical man, that's why i subscribed to you years ago :-D

Good video it worked for me to. I used wd40 and manually turned the mirror left and right. The pin probably got lose because it works perfecly now. I could not poke the pin but it worked.

Thanks for the video! It worked on my E90!

Thank you allot sir! Greetings from Romania

Great hack. Worked perfect. Awesome, thanks!

Great helpful and informative video 👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻

Thanks I’m gonna give it a go.

It worked! Thanks for uploading this video.

Both of my mirrors are doing this thank you for the information

This worked for me, thanks!

I wonder if this would work on my passenger side power fold mirror on an 07 Z4 Coupe E86. Mirror folds up for storage but won't return has to be done by hand, probably pin stuck and going beyond stop point which microchip doesn't recognise where the mirror is 🤷‍♂️ definitely worth a look 👍

Wow! Excellent. Would it work on my Lexus rx350? The fix is over a grand, including the $800 mirror. Would I still keep my blind side function?

Worked like a charm !!!!

Thanks for video, showing approx pin location on the passenger metal mirror casting. My issue is on driver mirror. I’ve progressively drilled to now 1/8” hole, prob 1/2” deep, in same location and cannot see pin. What is pin diameter ? Is it also aluminum ? Sprayed lots of PB Blaster in hole, and it flows down. Tapped hard w/awl, nothing moves. Driver mirror still folds forward, epic fail. Is the pin location different on driver mirror ? Noticed rotating Circular metal ring orientation (notches) is different on pass vs driver. Could I be drilling into frozen pin ?

Do you know the exact position where i have to drill on a E46 Coupe mirror?

Thanks a million had mine fixed in like 10 minutes

I was going to do what you did, I took off the mirror cover. And it looked really dirty in there. I should've started to clean it out with compressed air duster. But I sprayed some all purpose cleaner carefully in the motor mechanism and where the dirt was. And the mirror started to open into the proper position. So maybe my issue isn't the spring, it is that the dirt built up in the indent, so it caused the motor to continue turning past the correct indentation since it was clogged up with some dirt and wasn't deep enough as a result. So cleaning out the dirt may help. I'm gonna oil it after it dries out.

Try this.... Push the unbroken mirror into the forward position then close em. Then open and like magic my broken mirror stopped where it should!... This was after drilling the holes etc so don't know if it was after following this video or I just had to do this but I was seconds away from cutting the wires!... Now I close those mirrors with a huge amount of satisfaction and a smug grin on my face!... Thanks for the video and good luck everyone

Any ideea if the system is similar to the one on e46 sedan ?

So I did drill that little hole and found the pin. I can even see i he pin on the bottom side sticking out since a little bit of that plastic piece is broken off... I've been soaking the pin and the whole assembly in WD40 for about 2 days now, but can't get the pin moving. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated...

I have this problem in lelft mirror, what if after drilling there is no hole ?

What fixed it for me is washing out the crevice with a little cleaner and water as a lot of dirt builds up in there and jams things up. And apparently that can cause the mirror to jam up and fold incorrectly

Good morning all for me I have the problem with the 2 mirrors, they fold normally, but they don't fold should I do the same? Thank you

Will this work on a 2006 E85 Z4? My drivers side mirror just started to unfold even further than in this example.

Is it going work in e61 the same Way?

It’s a shame that my e39 m5 mirror housing doesn’t separate as its one piece. I guess that I’m either going to have to repair or replace the mirror to regain the folding function.

Is it possible to grease the gears that fold the mirror. They get a bit noisy as they get older.

Hi mister this will working on 535xi 2008 please ? I cut the wire because i tired

does the F30 folding mirror have that pin at the same spot?

Ingenious thank you! My E88 is happy!

Mirror goes back to normal position and does not move randomly when car locked anymore. Only issue is I did not drill in correct area because of plastic of mirror blocking area where I can drill, and the mirror does not close fully to the end but does open in correct position. Is there anyway I can fix it or did I damaged the mechanical stuff inside maybe? Thanks for the good video, other than that this has stopped the main issue which was annoying that it kept opening out of position.

Cant wait to try this!

what about this...My driver side mirror is folded in/up. When I push the UN-fold button, only the passenger side unfolds. Driver side does not move or make any sound. E92 in Miami. Thx for any tips on what my issue is.

genius! saved me a lot of money.

My mirror cap is falling off on my e90 too. Any way to fix it?

It’s the best method!

I tried this with a mirror I got from eBay. I purchased just the base- the spring was already on it. I bought the hinge separate , I can’t get the spring compressed enough to put the two pieces together. I have a 2014 X3, I drilled and did not see the pin. Is there a chance my pin is in a different place?

My mirror on my e92 has 2 problems Won’t fold/unfold when pressing the button (passenger side folds/unfolds and stays locked in home position just fine). This honestly doesn’t bother me as much since I could care less if it folds electronically. What bothers me however is when I tried to fold it manually it does NOT lock (it doesn’t make that clunk sound once it’s right in the middle - home position). So anyone can move just by simply pressing on it with his little finger. Could that “locking mechanism” I see in your vid moving up once you manually in the middle be the problem? And how do you repair that?

I just bought a e90 i hope this helps me tmm 😎

Thank You !

Does it works on E46 folding mirror?

2006 E90 showed same problem; showed the video to mechanic. He followed the steps, but didn't drill a hole. He just pried at the bottom of the gear (where the pilot hole was pointing), and with that little tiny gap, sprayed lubricants. The mirror's correct movement was then restored. He said that it was the same idea of lubrication, and added that if the mirror was moved every day, it would not have a problem; the trouble was due to inactivity. Anyway, all little problems were all little different. Might or might not be relevant to others. thanks.