Problem with Passenger wing mirror

bobmc · April 4, 2016

On my recently acquired IS250 SE-L I've noticed that the passenger wing mirror does not move up/down when reversing or when adjusted by the control buttons. It does move left/right but not up/down.

Is it possible to repair? or will I need to find a replacement?

madasahatter · April 4, 2016

Do any of them do this mine does not.

rayaans · April 4, 2016

Im not too familiar with the 2nd Gen IS mirror setup but if they are not going up/down when you try to do it using the buttons, then its definitely not right. Can be fixed for sure though.

bobmc · April 4, 2016

13 minutes ago, madasahatter said:

Do any of them do this mine does not.

I think both mirrors are supposed to move up/down. If so, we've both got faulty mirrors

bobmc · April 4, 2016

6 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Im not too familiar with the 2nd Gen IS mirror setup but if they are not going up/down when you try to do it using the buttons, then its definitely not right. Can be fixed for sure though.

Do you know what's involved in the fix?

normski2 · April 4, 2016

Make sure you have the button depressed to either L or R...this will activate the mirror tilt if it is available. If the button is in the 'centre' or neutral position they will not tilt.

Handy to know if you are reversing uphill ..can be better with mirrors not tilted.

ahmedali44 · April 4, 2016

What year is it??? Has it got reverse camera????, my 2006 is220d se-l used to move,mirrors dip down by pressing l or r button when put in reverse and my is250 se-i 2009 doesn't dip down,I'm sure if u got reverse camera, it might not have it.

madasahatter · April 4, 2016

What i ment was mine does not go up or down when in reverse gear. It does any other time. think ahmedali44 advise is best.

normski2 · April 4, 2016

3 minutes ago, bobmc said:

Do you know what's involved in the fix?

If its the worm gear that's stripped, there is a fix.

I think it was either Noobie or Johnatg that put up a good write up with pics. Try the search option to find it.

bobmc · April 4, 2016

It's a 2007 IS250 SE-L with the reverse camera. The driver mirror is fully adjustable and it does tilt down when reverse is selected. When the passenger mirror is selected by the controls and the up/down buttons are pressed, there is a faint 'click' but no whirr and no movement.

thanks for all the replies

bobmc · April 4, 2016

52 minutes ago, normski2 said:

Try the search option to find it.

My bad, I should have checked 1st...

Good piece of work this, looks as even I should be able to follow it.

Just have to find the worm gears now

bobmc · April 4, 2016

These look like they might be suitable

eBay item 221784846313

Would you use silicon spray or grease as lubricant for this?

normski2 · April 4, 2016

I guess you could use a weeny bit of grease..not much .. the parts look like nylon and as such are sort of self lubricating in function.

Well done on finding it. Good write up that.

is200 Newbie · April 4, 2016

5 hours ago, bobmc said:

These look like they might be suitable

ebay item 221784846313

Would you use silicon spray or grease as lubricant for this?

Check them against the picture of the cog in the post I put up. I have copied it into the "How To" section but spelt the title wrong !! duh !! I replaced two of mine and I spent a lot of time looking for the cogs, found the motor manufacturer in the states but no luck in receiving any replies from them - eventually had some samples delivered to me from a supplier at work and they were spot on. If I can find the details I will post the details up. You need to consider the pitch of the thread on the cog and the length of it.

I used a very small amount of rubber grease (same as that from the slide pins on the brake calipers) and wd40 (small amount on the motors themselves. Done this last year and they are still operational. Note the other components to grease/oil also.

Its a relative easy job - just be patient. I am pretty sure the issue comes from when they are frozen in the winter, the teeth strip/wear when reversing and the mirrors unit is frozen (althouth its folded out)

is200 Newbie · April 4, 2016

Found the motor cog dimensions which I took which might help a bit...

bobmc · April 4, 2016

1 hour ago, is200 Newbie said:

Its a relative easy job - just be patient. I am pretty sure the issue comes from when they are frozen in the winter, the teeth strip/wear when reversing and the mirrors unit is frozen (althouth its folded out)

First of all, thanks for taking the time to make the guide originally. I'm sure many have found it extremely useful

I had found the worm-gear dimensions that you helpfully posted earlier :) the eBay ones seem a close match. They are described as being 6mm diameter by 10mm long which is very close to your measured dimensions. The bore is listed as 1.9mm for a 2mm shaft which seems to be a standard dimension for these things so hopefully Lexus/Toyota used generic parts and these will fit.

I've also found them here www.rapidonline.com, order code 37-035 @ £1.32 for a pack of 50! (plus £3.60 delivery)

I'll let you know how I get on...

is200 Newbie · April 4, 2016

Might be worth taking them apart first to give them a good clean and see how it goes from there - may be that the cogs are good and the mirrors are full of dirt.

steveledzep · April 4, 2016

25 minutes ago, is200 Newbie said:

Might be worth taking them apart first to give them a good clean and see how it goes from there - may be that the cogs are good and the mirrors are full of dirt.

This is what I found with mine....clogged up with grime.

I used an old toothbrush and white spirit to clean the gears, dried it all, then lubricated with silicon spray.

Worked perfectly since.

bobmc · April 16, 2016

Finally got some time to tackle this, eventually got everything apart as per Noobie excellent guide.

However, my gears and cogs are in perfect condition and are pretty clean too!

In my case it appears to be a defective motor, I've swapped them around (as they are not hard wired it's easy to do) and I now have up/down motion but no left/right.

Anyone know where I might get a suitable motor from?

normski2 · April 17, 2016

You could try a trawl through eBay.

Try searching for something like "Miniature 12v Electric motor"

Along these lines. Perhaps get one out and take pics and measurements. You can send pics to a seller.Some are very helpful.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Miniature-Small-Electric-Motor-Brushed-1-5V-12V-DC-for-Models-Crafts-Robots-/130773600534?var=&hash=item1e72b6c916:m:m9RPJpyNzWq1BpkMYNvQIEg

is200 Newbie · April 17, 2016

These may be useful if you are looking for new ones - took the dimensions when I had mine out just in case. The motor is made (or was made) by a company called ASMO. It may still be around but looks like it was swallowed up by Denso. I doubt they will manufacture single figure units so best to find a suitable non OE motor or a used one you know works.

bobmc · April 30, 2016

Had another go at my mirror today. As it happens a quick squirt of WD-40 on the non-functional motor appears to have brought it back to life :) I was kicking myself when I realised I hadn't done that originally.

However, while I was waiting to find time to have another go at repairing the mirror, I did manage to find what I thought was a suitable replacement motor. This appears to be a drop in replacement

Mabuchi Motor FC-140RE

I can confirm that it does drop into the recess and that the power pins are the right spacing to fit. As I opted to retain the original motor, I only got as far as testing it to confirm that it fitted and that it spins when switched on but it would seem to be an acceptable replacement in the event of a motor failure.

They are available from Amazon UK at £3.25 and on eBay from various sellers in the far east - eg Link