Rear view mirror leaking

[TMAQ]

I returned to my car today, got in and noticed a strange smell from inside. Didn’t think too much of it as it wasn’t that strong.... was about to put the car in gear and noticed a liquid substance on the gear stick and surrounding area, a few drops worth. Looked up at the rear view mirror and there was a horizontal line from one side of the mirror straight across to the other. The mirror was blurred and there was a liquid dripping from it. Turns out this liquid is mercury from the self dimming function which happens to be toxic and corrosive, handy when it’s dripped on the centre console! Didn’t know about this problem before today, but maybe if I did I would have left a cloth on the centre console (not that you should have too). The heat built up in the car coupled with the age is what i think is the likely cause. Hopefully BM is aware of this problem when I call them tomorrow and can fix under the warranty. Managed to get the liquid off the centre console with some wipes I had in the car but the mercury has left some damage as pictured

[mole]

Gutted mate, never heard of that before.
You would hope that'd be covered under warranty.

[NZ_M3]

Actuallly this is a well known defect ...

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...=faulty+mirror

The mirror is made by a third party supplier - sybesmas electronics or Magna-Donnelly (can't remember which - it's in the thread)

There's a contact detail in the thread above if you can't get BMW to cover it - they will instead apparently.

BMW should cover the damages done to the console also.

[Bealo]

Originally Posted by NZ_M3

Actuallly this is a well known defect ...

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...=faulty+mirror

The mirror is made by a third party supplier - sybesmas electronics or Magna-Donnelly (can't remember which - it's in the thread)

There's a contact detail in the thread above if you can't get BMW to cover it - they will instead apparently.

BMW should cover the damages done to the console also.

I'll say it again... it's good to have you around NZ_M3 you seem to know the lot about these cars.


TMAQ

Goodluck with your warranty claim and let us know how you get on

[david]

has same case last year, bmw did not cover that on my side, and costed me around 350£ that damm mirror, comme in on peace and 3 models for E46, be awared when ordering it, I received the wrong one and waited 4 weeks to get the correct one...

[Andyk]

What a twat of a thing to happen. Surely it's covered under warrenty and if not should be done as good will.

[NZ_M3]

Edit 2:

I am going to email Stacey and see how much it'll cost to just buy an updated replacement mirror as a pre-emptive measure, just in case the current one decides to crap itself. Will let you all know how I get on.

Edit 1 ..

Seems the infomation below is no longer current ... Here's the correct info:

Originally Posted by Steve Chenlo at Magna Donnelly

I will try to assist you. If your M3 is still covered under warranty, I would recommend you contact your trusted BMW dealer for a service replacement part.
If your vehicle is out of warranty, you could choose to purchase a replacement after-market part on your own or you could contact "Sybesmas Electronics" for a re-manufactured part.

If your interested in a re-manufactured mirror, please feel free to contact "Sybesma Electronics" and Sybesma will send you a form (via email) requesting additional information about your vehicle and any features your mirror may have been equipped with. This form will need to be completed and returned to Sybesma along with digital pictures of your mirror. Please attach clear photos of the mounting device to the windshield, as well as the plug, the front, and the rear views of the mirror. All this information is useful to ensure that the replacement mirror will fit and function. There is a reasonable cost for this service.

You may contact Sybesma via E-mail @: orders@sybesmas.com
Web site : www.sybesmas.com
Toll Free number: 1-800-456-4265

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. I have included my contact information below.

Thank you,

Steve Chenlo
Quality Assurance
Office: 616-786-7495
Fax: 616-786-7560
Magna Donnelly Corporation
3575 128th Ave. North
Holland, Mi 49424

Originally Posted by Sybesma's Electronics

All -

Just got my replacement mirror from Stacy@sybesmas.com at Sybesma Electronics, 616-392-6911. They are quiet effecient but you have to tell them exactly the type of mirror you need, fillout form (as others have posted) and send pics, plus once you get mirror replacement you have to return the defect back to them (or they charge you 200$).

To find out the mirror details pop off the plastic housing by sticking a flat head screw driver on the bottom side of mirror plastic housing. The top pops off and then the mirror comes out after detaching from plug. EASY. Do not take off the ball from socket, and do not take off the bracket from mirror unless you want to drive without mirror till replacement arrives. They send you the entire mirror and bracket (which goes on in a twisting motion which is evident once you see the replacement), not just the glass mirror, and yo uget it in a few days. Cost is $75 or $175 international (comes UPS international) as this is a replacement. Far better than BMW HK charging $9000 HKD = over 1000$.

The email from them is as follows:

Thank you for contacting us. The cost for a mirror exchange is $75.00 plus shipping/handling to the United States. If you reside outside of the USA, please contact us for pricing. You will be required to return the defective mirror and a pre-paid label will be provided for you to do so.

The attached form will need to be completed and pictures of the following will need to be included for us to determine what mirror it is that you are in need of.

-Front and rear views of the mirror
-The plug (number of pins and wire colors are helpful)
-The mounting bracket located on the windshield

You may send payment via email when your order is submitted otherwise, we will contact you when you mirror is ready to ship for that information.

If you need assistance removing or installing the mirror please contact us for Technical Support.

Do not open the black casing surrounding the mirror as this will cause damage and the unit will no longer be valuable as an exchange and you will be charged the full purchase price of $200.00.

Thank you,
Sybesma’s Electronics

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showp...&postcount=223

Form to download: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/attac...2&d=1209477011






OLD INFO BELOW - NO LONGER CURRENT!

Post number #3 in the link I posted above - email the manufacturer - apparently they'll send you a replacement:

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showp...27&postcount=3

This is my first post to the forum, and I am hope it will be useful to others. Since I have gain a lot of useful information myself from everyone, it is my turn to share some knowledge. Regarding the BMW M5 E39 rearview mirrors, I myself had issue during CPO with the electrochromatic fluid dripping out of the mirror. Unfortunately, as with others, BMW refused to cover the part. After searching the web I found that the mirrors are manufactured by Magna Donnelly, and their Acura TL line of mirrors were also having the same issue. http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=780 61&page=2&pp=25. Now it seems there are some concerns on the toxicity of this fluid, I personally did not want to inhale any of the vapors, so I tried to drive with windows open while I had the defective mirror. Also, the fluid will damage any plastic it cost in contact with.
Well, anyways, I contact Dani Andriacchi, through email and she was very helpful in getting me the necessary forms to request a free replacement. Her email address was Dani.Andriacchi@magnadon.com. The replacement came from Germany and took about 3-4weeks. You uninstall the old mirror and install the new mirror, and return the old mirror in the original box with prepaid postage. It was a brand new mirror. It has all the original functionality and would be indistinguishable from the original, except, it must have a different material for dimming. Since my original mirror had a green tinge when dimming and this one is now purplish. I assume it is their new pseudo solid electronichromatic material versus the older liquid.

Obviously Magna Donnely is taking care of the issue for customer, even if BMW will not.

Or if you are in the States ...
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showp...&postcount=132

Originally Posted by SteelGray

Here is the latest information on the self-dimming rearview mirror replacement for the BMW M3:
The way to get your mirror replaced is to contact Stacy Trott (stacy@sybesmas.com) at Sybesma’s Electronics at 800-456-4265. If your car is out of warranty they will charge you $75 plus shipping and handling.
They will send you a short form to complete and request that you send pictures of your mirror from different angles so they can see the plug type.
When I finally discovered who to contact (this after a number of emails and phone calls to Dani A. at Magna Donnelly) things progressed very quickly. I contacted Stacy on Tuesday, sent completed from and pictures on Wednesday, and I received a call today (Thursday) that my mirror was being shipped with a postage paid return box for my old mirror.
Apparently, from this forum and others many people have discovered that Magna Donnelly is replacing these mirrors. However, recently they stopped replacing for free if your car is out of warranty. The contact at Magna Donnelly is Steve Chenlo at 616-786-7495 (steve.chenlo@magnadonnelly.com).
Because of what has been posted here and other places, there seems to be a risk of the old mirrors leaking and damaging interior trim. I suggest that if you have one of the old mirrors and it has discolored, contact Stacy and get it replaced before it damages your interior.
I hope this information helps!

[TMAQ]

thanks for the feedback all, very helpful NZ_M3
spoke with BM today they are going to get back to me ... likely they said it will be covered under the warranty, but not counting my chickens until the work is done! trying to get them to do a few other warranty bits at the same time, wing mirror corrosion on the edge, there is another post on this, mine has the same problem.

will let you know the outcome

[NZ_M3]

Okay

Have emailed and heard back from Stacy (or Bekki) - she didn't say .

Quick to respond ans as posted above the reply email is a generic one they send out for getting a replacement unit (including an application form).

Basically they DON'T do outright purchases - they will only replace if you can show that your mirror is faulty - so basically you have to wait for it to blow up and start dribbing corrosive mercury before they will consider an exchange deal - bit stupid if you ask me.

This was her final email:

Originally Posted by Sybesma’s Electronics

The cost would be $175 (USD) and the return of the defective core would be your expense as well. We don't offer out right purchases, we must have the core back. Thank you

I am going to email her again and put a case to her about the CSL and expensive interior.

[NZ_M3]

Okay .. update ... Have heard back from Bekki (finally figured out who I was emailing). Seems that you DON'T have to have a failure to get a replacement So I would suggest those of you that don't want ruined interiors to get the exchange - I know I am.

Contents of the email:

Originally Posted by Bekki

Good morning Tom (this is Bekki, Stacy is on vacation). I cannot tell you with 100% certainty that your current mirror will leak, but I can tell you that if it does, it could damage the plastics in the vehicle if it leaks fluid. We do not require proof of fault for an exchange if that is the route you would like to take. As far as I know, the mirrors we are exchanging out do not contain the fluid in question. We do carry a one year warranty against any defects if that makes you feel more secure in the exchange. If this is something you would like to do, please fill out the form that Stacy sent you and take the required pictures and we can get that order in process. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I will do my best to assist you. Thank you for your interest in our company and have a great day!
Bekki