1st Gen R53 Cooper S Rearview mirror: weird distortion issue

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by fridayxiii, Sep 13, 2015.

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  1. fridayxiii

    fridayxiii Member

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    #1 fridayxiii, Sep 13, 2015
    My 2006 S has the Convenience package, which includes the auto-dimming rearview mirror with the built-in homelink garage door opener function. I get in the car today and notice a strange oval-shaped distortion (for lack of a better term) in the mirror:

    IMG_5079_zpsgg91ay5r.jpg

    The inside part of the small oval is lighter than the outside, and images in the mirror itself are distorted. Yesterday everything was perfectly normal. Nothing happened to the car overnight -- it was parked in the garage as usual, so the mirror didn't get wet or suffer any trauma/shock. It almost looks like a bubble of liquid or air inside the mirror or between layers of material, but if I gently press on the mirror, the oval doesn't change, nothing shifts.

    Part of me was wondering if this was related to the autodim function, like a sensor area. Has anyone seen this before?
     
  2. MichiganMike

    MichiganMike New Member

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    #2 MichiganMike, Sep 13, 2015
    Dimming Rearview Mirror problem

    Some BMW owners have reported problems with the auto-dimming rearview mirror, which may appear as a bubble visible in the mirror. See link above for examples. This sounds similar to your issue.
     
  3. fridayxiii

    fridayxiii Member

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    #3 fridayxiii, Sep 13, 2015
    Thanks man. That does sound like my issue. The good news is that it sounds like the unit is pretty easy to replace. The bad news is that the unit itself is spendy, like >$350. :(:mad2:
     
  4. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #4 BlimeyCabrio, Sep 13, 2015
    I'd go hunting for a used one, if it was me... search car-part.com to find salvage yards near you with cars in the right year model range, then you can call them and see if they have any auto-dimming mirrors. You'll have to tell them exactly what to look for. Or, if they can provide a VIN, you can decode it (google decode BMW VIN) to find what options the car had.
     
  5. DneprDave

    DneprDave Well-Known Member
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    #5 DneprDave, Sep 13, 2015
    ObjectsInMirror_zpsl90uog7f.jpg
     
  6. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    #6 Nathan, Sep 13, 2015
  7. fridayxiii

    fridayxiii Member

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    #7 fridayxiii, Sep 14, 2015
    Good lookin' out...thanks for the tip on car-part.com. :Thumbsup: I got the mirror for just under $100, shipped. I count that as a win :biggrin5:
     
  8. 00Mini

    00Mini Well-Known Member

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    #8 00Mini, Sep 14, 2015
    Nuthin' like a quick success story !!
     

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