nly04

How to tell if the car has folding mirror package or not?

pamiboy

No. Folding mirrors are not offered in any E 350 2014 models in US (but available in Canada). It is not an optional package. I believe they started offering it from 2015 onwards as standard.

beejAMG

^+1

or you can simply look at your side mirror control where the power windows are on your door arm rest.

middle button on the top...

nly04

Thanks

dbldpr

So you are saying that if you do not have the center button you do not have the folding mirrors.

pamiboy

How else would you interpret it? No hardware means no software either .

dbldpr

I would think that the wiring is underneath the blank button otherwise it would be to costly for them to change it out when ordered from another country. I remember on one of my cars I did not order the overhead garage door button. Later I popped out the cover and all I had to do is buy the unit and plug it in. That was an American car though so the Mercedes Benz may be different. As far as the folding mirror I never had it so I do not miss it.

pamiboy

You mean even for American cars which do not have power folding option, they would come prewired for that feature because it is offered in another country??? That seems so stupid and lame (of MB).
I find it hard to believe. Has anyone / DIY'er checked if this is true or not?. I don't see where's the cost saving in that.

dbldpr

Think about it. How much more would it be to make a special wiring harness for each country that has different options. It would make sense to just have one universal harness that works where ever you want it. I have no idea if they do that but they might have. Only way to find out is to pop off the cover on one that does not have the option and see if the wiring is there. I am not even getting into the programing aspect of this.

Sunnyslope48

Pre-wiring a device but not installing a button/switch to activate it is very common in the automobile industry. Much easier to design, build, and install one wiring harness than several depending on what's on the consumer's mind. I greatly expanded the capacity of the DIC (drivers information center) display in my Chevy truck just by buying a snap in module installed on the dash, attaching the wires from the pre-wired harness, and BINGO! Lots of information in the DIC. And for the same truck, many various versions of mirrors (folding, turn signals, etc) are offered and it's the mirror itself that has to be changed, not the wiring.

beejAMG

thats exactly what im saying.

besides, its not just the wire hiding underneath that button or just the button itself. theres a mechanism on the mirror itself thats folds them.

i dont think MB would install the mirror mechanism and the wiring and just eliminate a small button for cars who does not have that option.

lay3r3

I haven't gotten the time to do this retrofit project. Aiming for this summer. Also the sh^tty thing about the w212 folding is that they only fold in like 2 inches - they don't fold as much as other MB Models. (design flaw) but I guess anything is better than nothing.
Essentially from the start you need to get some new parts:
1. Left/Driver Mirror Frame with Park assit hole for camera (you need the Mirror frame that has the motor for the mirror to fold don't cha?) -2128102576
2. Right/Passenger Mirror Frame (my car has park assist side camera, it has a extra hole for the camera) -2128102276
3. Driver side central switch block (the disputed button) - 2129056100


These 3 parts alone will be over $1K (haven't really shopped around), the frames are in the low $400s, and the switch block about$ 200.


What I don't know is that is code required for the button to work to fold? I have researched the forum, didn't get a straight answer.


Some say the button will work, and it will be manual fold - which is fine by me.
some say that it required programming
some say it requires programming only if you want the it to tied to door lock, that they auto folds when you lock. but then you also need to get this uploaded to the broader MB dealer data server so your car is listed to have this option so it doesn't get wiped away when someone flash the new program.


I don't know.

YYZ-E55

The wiring is not there; the harness from the mirror assembly connects directly to the switch posted above.

You need the motors in the mirror frames, which cannot be purchased separately. And then the car needs to be coded if you want to enable auto-folding when the car is locked. Without coding, the button on the door panel will work (once you buy the new switch panel).

Since PFMs are standard in Canada on all W/S212 (and have been since MY2010), you might do well to find some scrapyard pieces from a Canadian wrecker. You just have to be cognizant of the mirror variants (blind spot monitoring and/or 360 camera).

The G Man

A $1000 to retrofit folding mirrors? I think I will pass, and you would still need programming to make it fold automatically when put in park.

lay3r3

Hi Mr. Toronto (YYZ)

Can you help me verify my thinking and share your experience?

My car has both the blink spot warning and the 360 camera (side cameras) in the bottom of the mirror frame.

1. The parts number I listed I lifted a VIN number off of Ebay Moter for a brand new 2016 E350 that had the same equipment and the mirror folding package code 500. Then used that VIN to locate the part numbers in EPC. I also ran mine in EPC to ensure that the parts and part number were indeed different.

2. I believe the mirror frame numbers listed do contain the necessary motor like you said. and you can't just "buy" motors.

3. I pried the mirror off and had a look see - there were additional plugs/harnesses for the warning triangle for the blindspot purpose and an camera plug and where where the camera would snap into the frame. So checking on EPC for the correct equipment setup is crucial. Didn't pull up the mirror housing just yet since I wasnt' going to do any work just yet.

4. Yes. I believe the new mirror frame comes with it's own harness and it will need to be fished through the door in the door harness block (just behind the door access panel) This is where I think I'll need to unplug the old frame harness and plug in the new one, as well as plug in the new control block.

5. To code or not to code and who can code? I think you said mirror folding would now work when pressing the close/open mirror button in a manual fashion. Is that correct?
Btw this is how my 2008 X5 worked. it was manual. But it does unfold it self if you started to drive and reached 25 MPH and forgot to unfold.
But if I want them to auto-fold I will need someone to code? did you code yours?

Thanks,

vitop

I added the folding mirror and the switch. It does not work. There is some programming required to even use the switch. If anyone has done this successfully, I would love to know the programming needed.

juanmor40

Have you looked at the video above? Have not done it myself, but worth watching.

vitop

Thanks! He does not go into programming, so I can't make it work with just the video, but it was worth watching and he says he will do a follow up.

Left Coast Geek

fyi, at least on my 2016 e350, the mirror folds when you lock the car, and unfolds when you open the door to get in after unlocking.

I was looking at the power seat controls the other day, and noted that *everything* in the door goes to a door control module (one in each front door), the window switches, the seat switches, the mirror switches, and hte locks, and that door control module talks to the rest of the car via CANbus B ("B" is the interior canbus). so there's probably flashware coding in the door control module, and who knows what other modules that all need to be in sync.

kluvsbenz

I need the folding mirror for MY2014 E350 4 matic. I will follow the instructions i saw for the C class. It's the same. I pulled the speaker and electronic panel to verify. All I have to do is order the whole mirror assembly. My question is can you order the part by VIN? I want the exact color as my car. No painting.