The w210 side mirrors have a tendency to become floppy and act like they are about to fall off. There is a spring in the mirror under tension holding the mirror against the door, while still allowing the mirror to hinge backward and forward if it is hit. The problem is that the attachment hook for the spring is poorly designed and will bend over or break off releasing the tension on the spring. The fix is to remove the cover and reattach the spring to something.

The detailed DIY is as follows:
1. Adjust the edge of the mirror nearest the door so that it will clear the cover when it is removed ( about 1/4" recessed).
2. Push the mirror back against the door and look into the workings. You will see a wire bail that holds the cover on. pry the bail from behind the tabs on the cover and carefully pull the cover off. (see pictures, the bail is on the right side).
3. You will notice that the spring end is not attached. If the attachment hook is bent over, break it the rest of the way off and get it out of the way.
4. The fix is to take an 8 or 9 inch piece of "noncorrosive safety lock wire" and run it behind the mirror backbone (go under the electrical wires ) and run it through the end of the spring, and back by the front so the wire ends can be twisted together. (see picture one)
5. Grab the twisted end with a standard plier, pull to stretch the spring and twist the wire. Repeat pulling, then twisting, until the twisted wire has pulled the spring back to near where it was before the hook broke. Clip off the excess twist and bend the end up out of the way of the cover. ( see picture two). I added a second wire to share the load.
6. Carefully slide the cover back on. Make sure the tab, seen to the left of the wire twists, fits into the receptical in the cover. The cover should snap in place as the bail pops behind the tabs on the cover.

Just a comment on "safety lock wire". This is a stainless steel wire used by car racers and aircraft mechanics to secure critical bolts and other parts. It is designed to be twisted without breaking the way regular wire will when tightly twisted. It is available at Harbour Freight for small money. It has a thousand uses in any shop.

 

Excellent! Can't wait to do this one. I've got the floppy mirror problem also. Potomac German Auto quoted me over $300 for a USED one. (Wtf?)

 

I have a similar problem, but not a broken spring. The mirror chassis or frame is attached to the mount at a hinge -like point. It looks like the top arm of the frame is broken, bottom one is OK, spring seems Ok. I think it's the arm just below the "ABS -PC" mark in your mirror photo. Anyone try an epoxy repair on this or have success getting a new chassis? Never had the cover off before. How do you remove the mirror cover?

 

mirror cover removal

 

Raymond G,

Your reply on cover removal didn't come through. Please re send. Eager to hear about it. Thx, MJ

 

it's an embedded link to video. did you click on the link?

 

The mirror cover removal is explained in steps 1 and 2 in the first message on this thread.

 

Got it! Video & photos will be very helpful. Thanks.

 

This is very good to know. I have two floppy mirrors.

What is the recommend size of the wire to use. > .025 or < than .025. The only place I can find the Stainless Steel Lock wire is online. I want to be sure I order the right size for the job.

 

The stainless safety lock wire I used was 0.041" or abt. 1 mm. If you have a Harbour Freight near by, they have this wire for abt. $8 for one pound, a lifetime supply even for someone like me who was trained on the farm to do baler wire repair. Other sizes would work but you could use more wires to get the strength you need. I used two, but one would probably have been enough. It is just "seat of the pants" engineering. I see you have a C class. Is that the car with the floppy mirrors, or do you also have an E class? Not sure the fix works on C class mirrors.

 

Yes, i have a C class. The pictures look the same so this fix should work.

 

Thanks a lot for this procedure. It worked 100% fine for me. I just used some copper wire. I think it was a 14 guage romex...used in walls.

however now I have another problem...the position memory is not working anymore. At first I thought I had to re-program the mirror position memories again.....so I did that. But even after doing that the mirror does not remember its position.

It overshoots and goes all the way to the end of the travel and then keeps going on! It hits the stops and makes a tick tick sound and the mirror jerks against the end stops

I think there is some position sensor which is damaged or needs to be cleaned.

Any tips?

 

Great writeup. My mirrors became loose after some autobody work. They must have tried to remove the covers for a paint touch up job and brooke the spring hooks. I used zip ties to secure my springs.

 

zip ties is also a good idea.

Won't rust and since it is hidden from sunlight...it wont weaken as most plastics do in sunlight.

 

I am not sure if the zip ties have the strength to hold up to the tension of the spring over time, however it is easy enough to re-repair it if necessary. I noticed from gdraper's first picture, that he has not stretched the spring back to where the old spring hook was located, so the lower tension may make the zip tie work well, if the mirror is held tight enough to keep it from vibrating.

 

Thanks for the info. The car wash broke the mirror on my 430. Had it fixed in under an hour.

 

Hmmm.
I have a 2000 320CDI with turn light in the mirrors.
I really cant see this tingy to flip to remove cover.
Sombody has stolen both my mirrors so I should just pop the new ones in, but aint that easy.

 

that's because you have facelift model. zip to bottom of the page here

 

Im not shure if its the same.
I have taken some pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/chris.ulriksen/Bil#
I really cant see where to open it.
Someone have stolen both my mirrors.

 

did you have time to reference the linked info? it includes tips and pics
for both 96-99 models.....as well as 00-02

 

Yea, I have read allot and seen 2 different videos, but I cant find that metall tingy to flap over to take off cover.
Not the long thin one and not the shiny small one.
Might be just me thats blind.
It should be a 00 mod.

 

it's not viewable. it's done by touch. appears someone has already tried
on yours as i see scratch marks on the ramp.

 

hehe, that might be me, but it also looks like they er broken off, so nothing to grab onto.

 

more likely that it's jammed. it'll take quite a ham fisted person to break it.
try going underneath like I did one time on a stubborn latch. look for the
PDF i posted with pics, showing the angled screwdriver i used.

 

Thank you for the assistance.
I will take it to a MB fixer and pay 50$ for both sides + attaching new contacts on right side.
Have a nice day. Or night.