Z4M Coupe Rear View Mirror Leak

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by GP20

It's got absolutely nothing to do with whether the car has premium package or auto-dimming mirror or not. All roadsters came with non-oval mirrors. Some coupes came with oval-mirrors.

Aha- so coupes get oval or non oval but roadsters get non oval. I wonder why?

[GP20]

Originally Posted by chickdr

Aha- so coupes get oval or non oval but roadsters get non oval. I wonder why?

The location of the auto-dimming sensor. The roadster's auto-dimming mirror works fine on the roadster, but doesn't work very well on the coupe because of the coupe's rear hatch and window, which was why the coupe got its own oval mirror in the first place. But when the coupe's oval mirror had issues with the remote reception, BMW went the cheap and easy route and put the roadster's non-oval mirror on the coupes.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by GP20

All '06 coupes came from the factory with the oval mirrors.

[GP20]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Your mirror had been replaced at the dealer like many other '06 coupes. Like I said, all '06 coupes came from the factory with the oval mirrors.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by GP20

Your mirror had been replaced at the dealer like many other coupes.

No it hasn't. That picture was taken the first weekend in September 2006 when I took delivery of the vehicle. The mirror has never been replaced on my car.

Non premium packaged coupes, which does not have auto-dimming mirrors, comes with the non-oval shaped mirror in 2006. Since back in 2006 the vast majority of the cars were ordered by dealers, there's only maybe a handful of cars ordered to spec, and 99% of the cars produced in 2006 were spec'ed with premium package. There's maybe only a handful of 2006s like mine that does not have premium, therefore no auto dimming mirror.

[GP20]

Originally Posted by The HACK

No it hasn't. That picture was taken the first weekend in September 2006 when I took delivery of the vehicle. The mirror has never been replaced on my car.

Non premium packaged coupes, which does not have auto-dimming mirrors, comes with the non-oval shaped mirror in 2006. Since back in 2006 the vast majority of the cars were ordered by dealers, there's only maybe a handful of cars ordered to spec, and 99% of the cars produced in 2006 were spec'ed with premium package. There's maybe only a handful of 2006s like mine that does not have premium, therefore no auto dimming mirror.

You're right. I stand corrected and apologize for the partially wrong information.

That would make sense that the coupes that weren't spec'd with auto-dimming mirrors would come with the roadster's non-oval non-auto-dimming mirrors since there would be no conern of the dimming sensor location. So oval non-auto-dimming mirror simply never existed?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by GP20

You're right. I stand corrected and apologize for the partially wrong information.

That would make sense that the coupes that weren't spec'd with auto-dimming mirrors would come with the roadster's non-oval non-auto-dimming mirrors since there would be no conern of the dimming sensor location. So oval non-auto-dimming mirror simply never existed?

Nope, the oval mirrors were originally an E46 M3 part number, recycled to use in the Z4 Coupe like you had mentioned due to the placement of the auto-dimming sensor. The E46 M3 had auto dimming mirrors STANDARD so there's no oval shaped, non-auto-dimming mirrors existing. The standard E46 non-auto dimming mirrors where the trapezoid shaped mirrors straight edges, not like the hybrid oval/trapezoid shaped mirrors on the Z4.

There were only a total of 29 MZ4 Coupes spec'ed without premium package that I can count, out of ~300 or so sold to the public in MY2006, so it's not common to come across one sans the auto-dimming mirror.

Anyway, we're parsing into some really esoteric territories here, but you were on the right track. Just like to point out how "rare" some of these odd combinations are. For example, I own the ONLY Interlagos Blue Coupe with Dark Sepang Bronze interior that does not have auto-dimming mirror from the factory. In the world.

[GP20]

Thanks again for the info, The HACK.

The non-oval auto-dimming mirror is simply a POS when put in the coupe. It doesn't work a lot of the time because the sensor doesn't pick up the light. I had the manual-dimming mirror on my '06 Z4MR and it worked flawlessly albeit manually. When my auto-dimming mirror breaks I'll happily replace it with a manual one.

And didn't the factory delay some '07 coupe deliveries specifically because of the issues with the rear view mirrors? Or was it due to something else?

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by GP20

Thanks again for the info, The HACK.

The non-oval auto-dimming mirror is simply a POS when put in the coupe. It doesn't work a lot of the time because the sensor doesn't pick up the light. I had the manual-dimming mirror on my '06 Z4MR and it worked flawlessly albeit manually. When my auto-dimming mirror breaks I'll happily replace it with a manual one.

And didn't the factory delay some '07 coupe deliveries specifically because of the issues with the rear view mirrors? Or was it due to something else?

The non-oval auto-dimming mirror worked perfectly on my coupe. I believed there are 2 version of the non-oval auto-dimming mirror. There's one that's just brought over from the roadster have the light sensor on the top side of the mirror and I believed that's the one that have dimming issue. The later version (the one I have) have the light sensor relocated to the lower side of the mirror (just above the clown nose), which works better.

[txz4]

Originally Posted by pcoppala

Howdy,

I been an avid reader of this site since I purchased my 2007 Z4MC back in January. The information and general help on this forum is outstanding. That being said, I'm hoping someone can help me with this:

This afternoon, when I was leaving work I noticed something funny about my rear view mirror. It appeared to have some sort of delamination from the back of the mirror. A quick search revealed this is the dreaded "leaking mirror" common to other BMWs. Upon reading warnings about the fluid that could leak out and destroy my interior, I promptly removed the mirror to ensure that wouldn't be the case.

I found several threads where E46 owners were replacing their mirrors with Z4 mirrors because they seem to be less susceptible to this problem. Then I noticed the Z4 mirror isn't a perfect oval like mine.

Does my mirror appear to be factory, or has someone swapped my mirror out? Should I repair my mirror, or should I replace it with the non-oval mirror?



Z4 Mirror vs. E46 Mirror:
(taken from E46 Fanatics)

WOW! mine did the same thing today... I come out from studying at school to see my mirror looking identical to yours. In San Antonio, i see your in Austin. Safe to say the heat is the culprit. I haven't tried yet, but any advice on removing the mirror?

[pcoppala]

Originally Posted by txz4

WOW! mine did the same thing today... I come out from studying at school to see my mirror looking identical to yours. In San Antonio, i see your in Austin. Safe to say the heat is the culprit. I haven't tried yet, but any advice on removing the mirror?

The instructions on this website worked flawlessly:
http://www.radar-mirror.com/BMW_Mirror_Removal.html

Originally Posted by XMetal

The non-oval auto-dimming mirror worked perfectly on my coupe. I believed there are 2 version of the non-oval auto-dimming mirror. There's one that's just brought over from the roadster have the light sensor on the top side of the mirror and I believed that's the one that have dimming issue. The later version (the one I have) have the light sensor relocated to the lower side of the mirror (just above the clown nose), which works better.

ECS Tuning sells the mirror for the part number I posted earlier: 51-16-9-142-225

From the images it looks like the light sensor is on the bottom, just like the oval mirror (also note the "clown nose" is now smoked grey.) That should be the correct part number to replace the oval mirror.




Now that we've established the differences between the mirrors, does anyone think the newer non-oval shaped mirror has a better chance at not eventually developing a leak? I'm still trying to decide if I should opt for a repair or the "improved" mirror.

[GP20]

Originally Posted by XMetal

The non-oval auto-dimming mirror worked perfectly on my coupe. I believed there are 2 version of the non-oval auto-dimming mirror. There's one that's just brought over from the roadster have the light sensor on the top side of the mirror and I believed that's the one that have dimming issue. The later version (the one I have) have the light sensor relocated to the lower side of the mirror (just above the clown nose), which works better.

My rear view mirror was replaced twice and the one I have now has the dimming sensor at the bottom. It still doesn't work very effectively when compared to the auto-dimming mirrors I had on my '03 and '04 roadsters.

[Finnegan]

Great thread!

No input on the chances of the newer non-oval developing the same issue, but I do think the non-oval style is a much better fit for the design of the coupe. Not sure it's that much better that I'd buy a new one vs. repair an old one though--especially considering the repair vs. buy new cost factors.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by pcoppala

The instructions on this website worked flawlessly:
http://www.radar-mirror.com/BMW_Mirror_Removal.html




ECS Tuning sells the mirror for the part number I posted earlier: 51-16-9-142-225

From the images it looks like the light sensor is on the bottom, just like the oval mirror (also note the "clown nose" is now smoked grey.) That should be the correct part number to replace the oval mirror.




Now that we've established the differences between the mirrors, does anyone think the newer non-oval shaped mirror has a better chance at not eventually developing a leak? I'm still trying to decide if I should opt for a repair or the "improved" mirror.

Yep...that is the exact one (smoked clown nose) that came with my '08 MC. No leaking thus far after 4 years. On a side note, I also have an auto-dimming mirror on my X5 that is approaching 9 years, which also haven't leaked yet...knocking on wood. So, I think heat may be a factor as another poster have mentioned. Do you park outside 24/7?

Do be careful when re-installing the mirror. I've heard that people actually cracked their windshield when trying to twist the mirror back on.

[pcoppala]

Originally Posted by XMetal

Yep...that is the exact one (smoked clown nose) that came with my '08 MC. No leaking thus far after 4 years. On a side note, I also have an auto-dimming mirror on my X5 that is approaching 9 years, which also haven't leaked yet...knocking on wood. So, I think heat may be a factor as another poster have mentioned. Do you park outside 24/7?

It's outside while I'm at work, and then I have covered parking the rest of the time. Long overhangs keep the car in the shade all day and keep it maybe 10-15°F cooler. When the car is outside in the sun, it always has a sunshade up.

[txz4]

Originally Posted by XMetal

Yep...that is the exact one (smoked clown nose) that came with my '08 MC. No leaking thus far after 4 years. On a side note, I also have an auto-dimming mirror on my X5 that is approaching 9 years, which also haven't leaked yet...knocking on wood. So, I think heat may be a factor as another poster have mentioned. Do you park outside 24/7?

Do be careful when re-installing the mirror. I've heard that people actually cracked their windshield when trying to twist the mirror back on.

Garage kept with the exception of school and errands.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

No input on the chances of the newer non-oval developing the same issue, but I do think the non-oval style is a much better fit for the design of the coupe.

My impression from what I've read is that ALL BMW self-dimming mirrors are prone to this failure.. certainly the E46-era mirrors (of which these are part) all suffer from it. For a better answer to that question, you could reach out to Scott @ radar-mirror.com, I'm sure he's repaired a metric shitload of them by now and should have a feel for whether any particular mirror is more troublesome than another.

My Coupe is an 11/06 build and has the oval mirror. 5+ years old and lives in the brutal Sonoran desert heat (it's still over 100 in my garage right now - at almost midnight!), and has yet to fail. My E46 came with a badly damaged mirror (purchased at 7 yrs old), and the replacement I bought for it had started to fail too, so I had that one repaired by Scott and gained Homelink in the swap as the Ebay mirror included it.

[krusty]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Nope, the oval mirrors were originally an E46 M3 part number, recycled to use in the Z4 Coupe like you had mentioned due to the placement of the auto-dimming sensor.

Aha - which explains why the oblong (non-oval) mirror looks like it is a better match to the shape of the Z4 coupe. In fact, if you look at the pictures of the Z4 Coupe CONCEPT (see pic) ... the original design has the oblong (non-oval) mirror [presumably just continued on from the roadster design].

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by krusty

Aha - which explains why the oblong (non-oval) mirror looks like it is a better match to the shape of the Z4 coupe. In fact, if you look at the pictures of the Z4 Coupe CONCEPT (see pic) ... the original design has the oblong (non-oval) mirror [presumably just continued on from the roadster design].

omg i want those door cards! love the two tone black/brown look.