DIY Auto-Folding Mirrors for £6.49

ahmed24 · November 7, 2019

The second generation IS250 equipped with auto-folding mirrors does not allow for folding the mirrors once ignition is turned off. This is because the switch is wired via the ACC +12v supply going to the mirror motor.

Power folding mirror motors regardless of brand all work in similar way. They have two wires going to the motor. It folds and unfolds based on the polarity of the power supplied to it. The internal switch that folds the mirror basically flips the ACC +12v and ground around going to the 2 wires of the mirror motor. I initially did some testing and was able to operate the mirrors independently using +12v

I was going to build my own polarity switching relay circuit but then came across these readily available "Intelligent Universal Auto-Folding Mirror Systems". They sell on the famous bay auction site for as little as £5 from chinese sellers. I purchased mine for £6.49 as that was the cheapest seller that had UK/EU stock which came in a few days. £5 one would have taken 20-30 days to arrive from china which wasn't a great option for the price difference. The price of buying components and prject box etc and making my own unit would have cost me more than £6.49. This system is universal and works on the same principal. As long as it's wired correctly, I had no doubt it would work.

The internal mirror fold switch still works just like normal. The module is marketed as being a intelligent folding system. This is because if you fold your mirrors using the internal switch and then turn off the car, the system will not do anything when you lock or unlock the car. It's because lets say you parked in a really tight spot where you had to fold your mirrors with the switch, and then if the system just unfolded it when you unlocked it, that would be a disaster. So the system doesn't operate if you fold the mirror with the switch before turning ignition off. If you leave mirrors normally unfolded and turn off ignition then system operates normally.

The system works great. Below is my video demo showing the end result. I will write-up a installation guide in the coming days and post on my blog and on here for anyone who is interested.

normski2 · November 7, 2019

Nice one Ahmed

I imagine there will be quite a few interested in this. Particularly now that Ashpoint does not appear to be offering the kit any more.

Look forward to your write up. It may encourage me to try and do this on my son's Nissan X Trail.

Nice to see you back here again. Your mod's are of great interest and always show excellent craft and attention to detail.

ahmed24 · November 8, 2019

Thank you @normski2 Will do the write-up very soon. I've got quite a few videos and write-ups coming as i''ve done quite a lot of electronics mods in the past weeks

mikes5 · November 10, 2019

There are a number of these on +bay,with different "system" numbers, which one did you purchase?

ahmed24 · November 11, 2019

18 hours ago, mikes5 said:

There are a number of these on +bay,with different "system" numbers, which one did you purchase?

You can buy it from many different sellers. I think there are a few variations manufactured by different companies. But the one I bought looks like the following pics and the colour code of the wires are also shown in the pics below. My install guide when it's written up will be based on this module and so the colours will match this module. But technically any of the systems will work as they all work on the same principle.

mikes5 · November 18, 2019

Thanks have purchased this item, look forward to your guide

ahmed24 · November 18, 2019

5 hours ago, mikes5 said:

Thanks have purchased this item, look forward to your guide

Will post the guide up soon. Hopefully sometime this week. Just been a bit busy lately.

LEXUS-4-LIFE · November 23, 2019

Sweet gonna get me one of these, never really understood why Lexus didn't just include this function from the get go!

The Pessimist · December 12, 2019

Hi.

I read that if the mirrors auto folded shut and bad weather freezes them, trying to open them will blow the fuse or burn out the motor so they decided to have them fold manually.

Britprius · December 12, 2019

1 hour ago, The Pessimist said:

Hi.

I read that if the mirrors auto folded shut and bad weather freezes them, trying to open them will blow the fuse or burn out the motor so they decided to have them fold manually.

This problem is easily overcome by having a timer in the supply to run for say no more than 5 seconds, or stalled motor current cutouts. This would stop any possibility of motor burn out, and is required anyway because the mirrors do not have end of travel cutout limit switches,

John

ahmed24 · December 13, 2019

13 hours ago, The Pessimist said:

Hi.

I read that if the mirrors auto folded shut and bad weather freezes them, trying to open them will blow the fuse or burn out the motor so they decided to have them fold manually.

With the mirrors folded in really cold freezing conditions, yes there is a chance that the housing freezes with ice and trying to unfold it with the motor, the motor will struggle. This makes no difference whether you have this auto-folding mod or not because even if housing was iced up and you went in and pressed the button to unfold it, the motor will struggle to unfold the mirror. I've only had the housing freeze once in my 12/13 years of ownership. When I go to the car, if it's iced up I would just check to see the housing hasn't got iced up. If it has then before unlocking just free up the ice. Other option is just manually fold the mirrors with the switch before turning off in cold weathers if you don't want it to attempt to auto unfold.

ahmed24 · December 13, 2019

Apologies that I haven't posted the guide up yet. It's been really busy. I will post it up very soon. Before Christmas 🙂

normski2 · December 13, 2019

I have auto folding mirrors on my model.

They have frozen solid several times over the years.Nothing has burnt out on mine. If they are frozen up they just do not open out.

I can normally pull the window out by hand to the open position and drive to work.

I get to work and push them to the folded position when I lock the car. When it has warmed sufficiently they operate perfectly.

Never had anything go wrong with mine

ahmed24 · December 13, 2019

1 minute ago, normski2 said:

They have frozen solid several times over the years.Nothing has burnt out on mine. If they are frozen up they just do not open out.

I can normally pull the window out by hand to the open position and drive to work.

The one time mine froze up I just pushed it open manually then pressed the fold button and unfold button and it was back to normal. A friend of mine had this a few times and he just pours a little water over the house joint (not hot but not super cold, a little warm)

ahmed24 · January 5, 2020

Just a quick note to let you all know that I have posted the installation guide on my blog now. Apologies for the delay. Better late than never 😀

finest1 · January 18, 2020

impressive Ahmed !!

im so used to folding the mirrors when I leave the car I don't think I could get used to this! however I think its great. one thing though. I use the keyless function, where I walk to the car with the fob in my pocket. I lightly touch the handle and the car unlocks. can that unfold the mirror too, rather than use the fob?

ahmed24 · January 19, 2020

2 hours ago, finest1 said:

impressive Ahmed !!

im so used to folding the mirrors when I leave the car I don't think I could get used to this! however I think its great. one thing though. I use the keyless function, where I walk to the car with the fob in my pocket. I lightly touch the handle and the car unlocks. can that unfold the mirror too, rather than use the fob?

I was so used to folding manually using the switch inside before switching car off that after I did this mod, a few times I did so then when I come back to the car it wont unfold automatically because I manually folded it. But i've got used to not touching that inside switch anymore.

Yes I also use the door handle procedure to unlock and lock my car. Just in the video I demonstrate with the key fob. But I don't actually ever take my key out of my pocket 🙂 it works from the lock and unlock signals from the door actuator.

finest1 · January 19, 2020

that's a great touch!

mikes5 · January 20, 2020

Thanks for the guide, fantastic details,

jimmywang0921 · August 6, 2020

On 12/13/2019 at 10:01 AM, ahmed24 said:

Apologies that I haven't posted the guide up yet. It's been really busy. I will post it up very soon. Before Christmas 🙂

Hi Ahmed,

I just bought one automatic mirror folding device same as the above picture You post. But it seems my one only fold half round and then stop. Doesn’t seems working. Could I read your installation guide please? I tried the website:is250-blogspot.com But it said I don’t have permission to read the blog. Could you Advise me how I can read them?

Thank you

Best Regards

Jimmy

markeyszoo · August 7, 2020

On 11/7/2019 at 11:41 AM, ahmed24 said:

The second generation IS250 equipped with auto-folding mirrors does not allow for folding the mirrors once ignition is turned off. This is because the switch is wired via the ACC +12v supply going to the mirror motor.

Power folding mirror motors regardless of brand all work in similar way. They have two wires going to the motor. It folds and unfolds based on the polarity of the power supplied to it. The internal switch that folds the mirror basically flips the ACC +12v and ground around going to the 2 wires of the mirror motor. I initially did some testing and was able to operate the mirrors independently using +12v

I was going to build my own polarity switching relay circuit but then came across these readily available "Intelligent Universal Auto-Folding Mirror Systems". They sell on the famous bay auction site for as little as £5 from chinese sellers. I purchased mine for £6.49 as that was the cheapest seller that had UK/EU stock which came in a few days. £5 one would have taken 20-30 days to arrive from china which wasn't a great option for the price difference. The price of buying components and prject box etc and making my own unit would have cost me more than £6.49. This system is universal and works on the same principal. As long as it's wired correctly, I had no doubt it would work.

The internal mirror fold switch still works just like normal. The module is marketed as being a intelligent folding system. This is because if you fold your mirrors using the internal switch and then turn off the car, the system will not do anything when you lock or unlock the car. It's because lets say you parked in a really tight spot where you had to fold your mirrors with the switch, and then if the system just unfolded it when you unlocked it, that would be a disaster. So the system doesn't operate if you fold the mirror with the switch before turning ignition off. If you leave mirrors normally unfolded and turn off ignition then system operates normally.

The system works great. Below is my video demo showing the end result. I will write-up a installation guide in the coming days and post on my blog and on here for anyone who is interested.

The car in the video has pre-facelift wing indicators and facelift mirrors with indicators? My car, 2009 does this automatically as per factory?

ahmed24 · August 7, 2020

36 minutes ago, markeyszoo said:

The car in the video has pre-facelift wing indicators and facelift mirrors with indicators? My car, 2009 does this automatically as per factory?

No it's not factory spec. It's a 2006 SE-L with original wings with the indicators. The mirror is also original and didn't come with indicators. I just replaced the outer casing in 2013 with the newer model to have indicators on the mirrors too.

Lex_utor · November 12, 2022

Interesting. This looks like just what I need. 🙂 Having to fold the mirrors in and out every time I park is pretty annoying.

Linas.P · September 2, 2023

@ahmed24 - do you think same mod would work for GS300?

I was comparing wiring diagrams to IS250 and just can't find the way to get to the same wires. At first glance seems like it would require to pull wires and connect to both Front Door ECUs separately for it to work. Any experience with these?

ahmed24 · September 2, 2023

5 hours ago, Linas.P said:

@ahmed24 - do you think same mod would work for GS300?

I was comparing wiring diagrams to IS250 and just can't find the way to get to the same wires. At first glance seems like it would require to pull wires and connect to both Front Door ECUs separately for it to work. Any experience with these?

What year GS300? I’ll have a look at the schematics and get back to you. But in theory it would work on any as long as you can access the wires that go from the manual switch to fold the mirrors to the mirrors.