My PWR Folding Mirrors Went Snap ... :(

jatkinson8755 · June 14, 2017

I have to power fold mirrors at least 2x per day. Well today that event was short lived.

2011 Silverado, has been dead reliable up to now at 56K miles. Left side mirror made a loud SNAP sound half way in the fold. Joy for this little baby. My local dealer wants about a paycheck to R/R the mirror, with paint and labor... Not all that happy. Ive heard there is some plastic stuff in there that there are improvements for. Any ideas ?

MaverickZ71 · June 15, 2017

Search this forum. This is a common problem. The little plastic gears break too easily. There was someone who just posted recently about a company that sells brass replacement gears that don't cost a paycheck to replace.

muddkatt · June 15, 2017

^^^ replace the gear as Maverick Z71 suggested.

MaverickZ71 · June 15, 2017

Check this out:

http://www.gruvenparts.com/gruvenparts-com-strengthened-spur-gear-for-2007-2014-gm-trucks-folding-mirror-assembly/

Colossus · June 16, 2017

When they came out with these silly power folding mirror things years ago I knew these issues were going to pop up. I expect to see only more and more of them posted on here.

BOSS324 · June 17, 2017

Never had an issue with my 03 Burb use it every time I park

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SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · June 17, 2017

When they came out with these silly power folding mirror things years ago I knew these issues were going to pop up. I expect to see only more and more of them posted on here.

I've realized that the more you complicate something to make it easier for the person then that's more problems to fix somewhere down the road. Like the TPMS in my '14 when I had it. Sure it was great not having to manually check all the time like I used to and I did have a tire lose air one time. Bad thing is having to reset them with a tool. Thankfully I didn't buy one before having to get rid of it. I think wanting something more simple again is why I'm looking for an old '87 or older 4x4 square body now.

Colossus · June 17, 2017

Now that I no longer need the Diesel, I've thought about getting a 94-98 1500 or 99-06 GMT-800.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · June 17, 2017

Now that I no longer need the Diesel, I've thought about getting a 94-98 1500 or 99-06 GMT-800.

I had a '98, if I had to get a GMT-400 again I would get a '96-'98 because they have the newer Vortec with sequential fuel injection. Up until then it was TB injection.

dasimmon · June 17, 2017

Love the folding mirrors!

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jatkinson8755 · June 19, 2017

Thanks ! This is a great forum.

I just called GruvenParts and spoke with them a bit, yes indeed they do have upgraded gears and motors for these units so Im betting thats what I will need. I picked up 2 so I can repair both of these silly things.

http://www.gruvenparts.com/gruvenparts-com-strengthened-spur-gear-for-2007-2014-gm-trucks-folding-mirror-assembly/

And I use the fold mirrors everyday so this has to work reliably, otherwise my truck would sit in the street as its too wide for the garage.

flyboyron · June 19, 2017

I have folding mirrors on my 09 Silverado.

I fold the mirrors maybe 3 times a year....if that.

The truck was 4 years old and under the extended warranty when the passenger side quit.

I paid the $100.00 deductible and had it replaced.

When the truck was 6 years old, the driver side went out. Of course that leaves me to pay the $600.00 for a mirror and labor.

I can't believe these are made so cheap.

I never got more than 20 - 25 folds out of each mirror.

I don't have any reason to fold them so I don't.....and won't fix it.

Maybe that gear and motor mentioned above would be good if I needed to fold the mirrors on a regular basis.

Where do they get this idea....most dependable, longest lasting truck!

jatkinson8755 · June 20, 2017

They get it from their marketing people. Apparently it has very little to do with the actual quality of their products ;)

Seriously, these trucks are pretty awesome aside from a few glaring defects like this. The good news is, these stupid engineered defects which only serve to funnel repair part/labor $ back to GM and their dealer networks are sometimes easy to fix. This folding mirror gear/motor assy is a perfect example.

I'm not sure how you get away with power folding so infrequently when the truck damn near takes up a lane and a half with both dumbo mirrors deployed. I cant even get 2 vehicles in my garage if my truck has the mirrors out.

Anyways, this is a pretty simple cheap fix and you get your power fold option (which you paid big bucks for) working properly again. I'll do it my next GM truck too.

I have folding mirrors on my 09 Silverado.

I fold the mirrors maybe 3 times a year....if that.

The truck was 4 years old and under the extended warranty when the passenger side quit.

I paid the $100.00 deductible and had it replaced.

When the truck was 6 years old, the driver side went out. Of course that leaves me to pay the $600.00 for a mirror and labor.

I can't believe these are made so cheap.

I never got more than 20 - 25 folds out of each mirror.

I don't have any reason to fold them so I don't.....and won't fix it.

Maybe that gear and motor mentioned above would be good if I needed to fold the mirrors on a regular basis.

Where do they get this idea....most dependable, longest lasting truck!

flyboyron · June 20, 2017

I park my truck in the driveway, and I don't use a drive up bank ATM's, so I don't really have a need to fold them.

I have had so many other things go wrong with the truck, that when my wife was looking for a new car last year, we didn't even consider GM.

MaverickZ71 · June 20, 2017

I have folding mirrors on my 09 Silverado.

I fold the mirrors maybe 3 times a year....if that.

The truck was 4 years old and under the extended warranty when the passenger side quit.

I paid the $100.00 deductible and had it replaced.

When the truck was 6 years old, the driver side went out. Of course that leaves me to pay the $600.00 for a mirror and labor.

I can't believe these are made so cheap.

I never got more than 20 - 25 folds out of each mirror.

I don't have any reason to fold them so I don't.....and won't fix it.

Maybe that gear and motor mentioned above would be good if I needed to fold the mirrors on a regular basis.

Where do they get this idea....most dependable, longest lasting truck!