S70Houston

On my 2003 E20, the interior sun visors are both (driver and passenger) very stiff and it is almost impossible to drop them down with one hand, so while driving I have to remove both hands from the steering wheel in order to drop the visor down, NOT SAFE AT ALL.
As the car is at the dealer for other maintenence work, I had them look at it and all they recommend (SURPRISE, SURPISE) is to replace both visors at a small cost of US $ 380.00 EACH!

Has anyone had this issue and can possibly provide a simple fix?
I am thinking of removing the visor and to possibly lube the movable areas/parts in order to get rid of that friction.

Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance for all the help.

rapidoxidation

What part is stiff? The pivot point at the ceiling? The bar the visor slides on? The friction catch it stays put with? I'd use a careful application of silicone spray with liberal use of paper towels to avoid overspray. Maybe apply the silicone to a paper towel to lube the bar.

Use a knee on the steering wheel while rolling...

S70Houston

I would say the part/bar the visor rolls/slides down on.

Bowyer

I have the same problem on my W210...interested in a solution.

Kamisama

There are some posts here on the same subject. I read up on them when I had the issue with E500 visor. I removed the visor, protected the fabric with some plastic and tape and then added light sewing machine oil down the slider, then started trying to rotate a bit, as well as working the slider up and down. Gradually the slide loosened. Keep cleaning the rod when it comes out with old grease on it. The visor went from a locked immobile 45 degree position to almost but not quite perfect - but good enough. It opens and closes, stays up or down, slider works, but I'd say it rests 3/4 inch from the roof in the closed position.

thtguy

here is some info when I opened one of mine up.
Sunvisor post

S70Houston

EXCELLENT, thanks very much for the help Kamisama and thtguy, I will attempt to clean the visors this weekend to see if I can solve the issue.

S70Houston

So, tonight I took the sun visors off and did exactly what was described by you guys.
Cleaned the rod real good and then lubricated it with Silicon Lube.

Passenger side works pretty much as it should again and lays flat up against the roof when not in use. (Had apporox. 1/2 inch gab between visor and roof headliner prior).
Driver side works well also, but does not lay flat against the roof when not in use and I still have approx. a 1/4 inch gap. Not sure how to resolve this as I tried to rotate the bar in different positions and it still does the same. Maybe because the driver side has been used more often and therfore is more worn?

Never the less, both visors are easily operable again and move up and down with ease. Even though the driver side does not rest perfectly against the roof and there is still a gap, it is for sure a major improvement compared to what it was before and beats a new $350.00 dealer quoted visor.

Thanks again for all of your guys' help.