So today I tried to adjust my passenger side mirror which hasn't been adjusted since I bought the car 6 months ago. No joy! It wouldn't move. I stopped, put it in reverse and it lowered like it was supposed to. I put the car in park and began pushing the button in all directions and again no luck. Finally I leaned over and pushed the mirror manually for a couple clicks and the switch worked for all of two attempts and then failed again.

My question is... Could this be the mirror actuator? If it is the actuator then wouldn't the mirror not want to lower when in reverse?

 

Assuming that you have the adjustment switch in the right position, then you may well have a defective switch. If it is 6 months old then it should still be under warranty. Take it to the dealer.

 

The switch is in the right position. I bought the car 6 months ago but it is an 09 and out of warranty (all but powertrain). Just trying to figure it where to start. Switch or actuator. Saw that the actuator is $90 so hopefully the switch is less and I'll start there.

 

This is a noob question/suggestion. Is it possible to take it to the dealer to diagnose the issue? I.e., they'll give you a quote, and hopefully tell you what the problem actually is. Then you back out and fix it yourself? I'm not sure if the dealer gives that sort of information unless you commit to the fix, but just wanted to throw this out there since you've got nothing to lose.

 

The dealer will charge a diagnostic fee. Why shouldn't they since it takes a tech time to try to track down the problem.

I would suspect the switch. You could try pulling it out and using contact cleaner.

 

I try to avoid the dealer as much as possible. I do most of my work myself. I just wanted to see if anyone has had a similar issue and could resolve it quickly. Upon searching, the closest I could find is failure of the mirror to lower when trans placed into reverse although my problem is opposite. I'll try the cleaning on my next free day and report back.

Why do actuators seem to be overly expensive for this car? I have two door locks that scream when I lock the car. Just hoping those don't fail anytime soon, fingers crossed.