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Can these mirror motor units be disassembled and lubricated to get it to work smoothly again or do I need to replace it?
My right side mirror motor works from the door buttons, but the action is very jumpy like the gears inside the motor unit need lubrication.
Also it doesn't settle right after the car is started and I have to adjust it manually each time. It looks like when I switch it into reverse it tries to find the position for backing up but seems somewhat random due to the jerky motor positioning.
It's giving 9208 codes for both up/down & in/out potentiometers in the motor units. They are M21/1r2 and M21/2r3. I searched but didn't find anything about fixing these?
No wonder the previous owner had the mirror motor disconnected inside the housing. When I get a new one in, I'll dissect the faulty unit and see what's in there. It does move smoothly manually, but in automatic mode it appears that it seeks the travel limits then tries to set position and I can hear stuff binding when that happens.
On our 2009 you most definitely can replace the mirror motors.
When I installed power folding mirrors I had to take apart the old mirror and use the shell to put on the new mirror components.
Part of that was the actual motor that controls the mirror itself (up/down left/right).
Mine was held in by 3 torx screws.
There was a thread on the e55 section where someone added power folding mirrors (older style) I am pretty sure you can replace the mirror motor on those as well..
Are you sure it's not set so low that the motor hits its limit?
You can disassemble and inspect & lubricate the motor, I've done it with mine. It's not hard and the motor is not complex. See for yourself:
Edit: As always, if you do this yourself, be very careful not to break something. These cars are built like tanks, but when all the proper bolts and clips are undone, they fall apart extremely easily.
Last edited by shadenfroh; Jun 23, 2017 at 03:18 AM.
Thanks so much for the replies and the photo. I figured you could get into that housing and lube those gears
I'll check to see if was "programmed" too low also. I've had the mirror apart previously to reattach the electrical connector. Plastic definitely becomes more more brittle over time that's for sure. Just touch a plastic piece on our '93 Volvo 240 wagon and it breaks.
Last edited by Sleeper Benz; Jun 24, 2017 at 06:52 PM.
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