1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Side Mirror opening too far

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Warramoos, Oct 17, 2021.

  1. Warramoos

    Warramoos New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2021
    4
    3
    0
    Location:
    Brisbane, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    i-Tech
    Hi All,

    The right hand side door mirror of our Prius V, when you turn on the car, folds out too far and ends up point forward instead of to the side.

    See attached jpg.

    If you hold it, it just keeps trying to turn, when you let go it continues to open up all the way.

    Any ideas on how to fix this?

    Thanks in advance,

    Warramoos
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,908
    1,064
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Is this car new to you, or was it recently serviced?
     
  3. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2017
    718
    285
    0
    Location:
    philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Are you saying that you turn on the car, and the mirror moves on its own, as if it is driven by a motor?

    I am not aware of a Prius V package that has motors for retracting the side mirrors. An aftermarket part gone bad?
     
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    7,848
    3,102
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    gromittoo likes this.
  5. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    7,848
    3,102
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I admit that I know nothing about the internals of the folding side mirror.

    The motor most likely has a mechanism, like the one in garage door openers, that is a screw mechanism with a "flag", usually a small tab of plastic that interrupts a sensor to tell the motor to stop. Perhaps the sensor or flag has somehow become non-functional causing the overtravel seen.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    Air_Boss and Warramoos like this.
  6. Warramoos

    Warramoos New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2021
    4
    3
    0
    Location:
    Brisbane, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    i-Tech
    We purchased the car 2nd hand about a year ago. Its only started doing this.
     
    Air_Boss likes this.
  7. Warramoos

    Warramoos New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2021
    4
    3
    0
    Location:
    Brisbane, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    i-Tech
    The Mirror has a motor in it - I pulled it apart the other day, hoping to find, as you mentioned - some type of predefined stops, or a "flag" or "tab", but can't seem to find anything external on the motor housing. It maybe a mechanism internal of the motor, but didn't get too far into pulling that apart.

    I agree - there must be some sensor maybe within the motor that has "moved" as it stops - just not in the correct location.

    Thanks, I'll keep playing. In the meantime - I think I'll just disconnect the "motor" and leave it as a static mirror.
     
    xliderider and Air_Boss like this.
  8. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,908
    1,064
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Or the mirror rotation indexing system needs to be re-clocked or re-calibrated. Is there not a detent at the previous normal rotation/extension position?
     
  9. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2017
    718
    285
    0
    Location:
    philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    So that explains why the OP said right side mirror, rather than passenger side Mirror... since Australia is Right Hand Drive.
     
  10. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    7,848
    3,102
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    If the motor is a stepper motor that counts "steps" to get to specific locations, or indexes, it could have lost calibration somehow.

    I assume the OP had to disconnect power to the assembly to remove it, but did the OP simply try a reboot (power off/on), maybe as simple as unplugging reconnecting the harness to see if it would reset?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    Air_Boss likes this.
  11. Warramoos

    Warramoos New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2021
    4
    3
    0
    Location:
    Brisbane, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    i-Tech
    Thanks for your comments. Yeah we tried just turning the car on and off and that didn't fix things. We disconnected the harness when we pulled it apart, but it acted the same when we reassembled it. Its definitely a "stepper" motor of sorts. you can manually turn the mechanism and it clunks into predefined steps - but it doesn't align any more. I'll look into seeing how to recalibrate the stepper motor. Will have a play over the weekend. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.