Drivers side mirror - double vision - anyone else?

[racelance]

When my wife and I use our new 2002 X5 4.6is the drivers side mirror appears to have double vision. Does anyone else have this on their car? It's quite annoying - it appears to have a film on it for heat or something. The passenger side is a normal mirror and looks fine. I was just curious to know what it is & why it makes looking makes everything appear double.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Lance

[xnsf]

No, that should not happen...I'm pretty sure.

[racelance]

Originally Posted by xnsf

No, that should not happen...I'm pretty sure.

I kind of figured that - it's really strange. Perhaps I can capture it with a picture, I'll try to take a pic of it when I have some free time.

Thanks,

Lance

[PersonaNonGrata]

Is it vibrating slightly and thus appearing to be blurry? It might be the auto dimming feature that is affecting it. I do not have that option on my 3.0 so I can't speak from experience on that.

Good luck!

[Laurence]

I have auto dimming on my X and it doesn't affect the image in the mirror in any way.
You say that its like a film on the mirror - have you checked to see that the mirror hasn't had a protective film left on it? Maybe from new or as a replacement?

[yeowzer]

Mine vibrates a little bit and can make things look distorted.

[tynashracing]

Super old thread that the OP didn't seem to find anyone else dealing with the double vision driver's side mirror.

Well, it just happened to me yesterday on my '02 4.4 sport. The temps reached over 100 degrees and noticed glue or something oozing out of the mirror around the bezel. Now, my mirror is showing everything in double vision. Very annoying.
Anyone else dealt with this? I'm guessing that this might be an auto dimming mirror and has delaminated due to the high heat.
Anyone have a good source for this particular mirror?

[TwinTurboGTR]

Yup you got it. The glass is delaminating from the backing causing a void between the glass and silver oxide. You will need to replace it. Eventually watter will get between the glass and backing and discolor the mirror. Mine had that a few years ago. Best place to go unfortunately is the dealer. I bought a few from e-bay and returned them all because the fitment sucked on all of them. I think I paid $98 for the glass? It pops right out. Getting it back in can be a little fussy, but doable.

[tynashracing]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboGTR

Yup you got it. The glass is delaminating from the backing causing a void between the glass and silver oxide. You will need to replace it. Eventually watter will get between the glass and backing and discolor the mirror. Mine had that a few years ago. Best place to go unfortunately is the dealer. I bought a few from e-bay and returned them all because the fitment sucked on all of them. I think I paid $98 for the glass? It pops right out. Getting it back in can be a little fussy, but doable.

Thanks for the info TwinTurbo. Yeah, I'll just head to the dealer and save myself from the hassle of a poor fitting and possibly non functioning aftermarket version.

Any tips for installation? When you say it pops right off...I'm guessing you have to remove the bezel and then the mirror and backing plate will come off together or will I need to heat up the glass and remove it from the backing plate? It will probably become obvious once I have the new part(s), but any tips are welcomed.

[TechWrench]

Originally Posted by tynashracing

Thanks for the info TwinTurbo. Yeah, I'll just head to the dealer and save myself from the hassle of a poor fitting and possibly non functioning aftermarket version.

Any tips for installation? When you say it pops right off...I'm guessing you have to remove the bezel and then the mirror and backing plate will come off together or will I need to heat up the glass and remove it from the backing plate? It will probably become obvious once I have the new part(s), but any tips are welcomed.

Same problem with mine. It apparently only happens with the optional auto-dim mirrors. Last time I checked dealership, the auto-dim mirrors were over $150.00 each, just for the mirror and trim ring with mounting plate. You can find them on ebay for less, but not all are oem quality. Another option is to forgo the auto-dim feature and just get a heated only mirror. They are much less, and will fit right in place. You only use one of the two electrical connections for the heat function. There are several diy's on how to replace it. It is my understanding that you don't need to remove the bezel, the mirror will unclip from the drive assy with a little persuasion. According to what I have read, you need to tilt the top of the mirror as far forward as possible, so the bottom sticks out. then, using a plastic pry bar, lift up on the bottom edge, and the mirror should snap loose. You do the reverse to install the new one. When I get arround to doing mine, I will replace it with the heat only one, so as to not have to worry about it happening again.