jatkinson8755

confirmed the ram trucks use same drive units as GM just FYI

Yes, they will break. There is a tiny plastic gear in there (same exact one used in the previous generation). The gear teeth are like .050" tall, very thin, and mesh with a metal gear. So yes, that same plastic gear that has plagued the previous gen is still in there all the same, so do a quick search and you will find that will also break. The motors also die, but more often the plastic gear fails. The plastic gear fails faster if you manually fold, since that overloads the mechanism. The good news is there is a metal gear / higher torque motor fix for these and the install on this latest generation is VERY easy. The trim getting the mirror apart is much easier than on the previous generation and the drive unit itself is similar but has a plastic cover on it as opposed to metal. The plastic cover can be easily pried off the drive unit and the gears/motor accessed. Make sure to also replace the OEM motor but retain the circuit board in that new drive unit. The OEM motor absolutely WILL NOT work with a metal spur gear. IT will short out the BCM, which costs roughly $1,000 and is a real headache to diagnose and replace. Look at 1st product here : https://www.gruvenparts.com/shop-by-car/gm-truck

Just fYI - here is an excellent video on how to replace the shitty plastic gear and weak electric motor in there with a metal gear and high torque new motor

anyone have a wiring diagram for the power fold mirrors ?

Speaking of Ram, my buddy has a 2013 and his power folding mirrors also broke lol. Looks like a very similar set up as GM.

well just for fun .. go to any used truck dealer and ask to manually fold the power folding mirrors a few times on the lot. Watch the guys reaction lol. They have a shelf life of about 5 manual folds and if you do it hard you can break it in 1 fold. They are total junk but its just the gears and motor that are bad, rest of mirror is very durable.

Seriously ? do a search lol. These power mirrors are total junk, I wouldnt touch them if you have them unless you want to fix them. dont even manually fold them, that puts more stress than electronically folding.

Not sure if anyone has seen this link yet but theres a bunch of nice parts in here now https://www.gruvenparts.com/shop-by-car/gm-truck

Actually, this doesnt sound like its a tow mirror. It is the same gear and motor used in the 2007-2013 trucks, it just has a slightly different housing. But the link I gave you above would work for 07-13 power folding gears.

Yeah but why the heck would you buy a new GM panel and replace it ? Thats like $400, and you already know how it will end up...just like this. Seems like a huge waste of $400 and a bunch of labor.

Is anyone having trouble with the 2015 versions of these mirrors yet ? I was going to swap mine over for the new style but not sure if that was also having these issues.

I called them, if its for the towing mirror, they have the replacement gear only but its not really listed. Just email [email protected] and he can sell you replacement brass gear section to replace the stupid plastic thats failed. Its cheap and its probably all that is wrong. These towing mirrors are stupid expensive and mostly good except this.

I guess nobody cares about a permanent fix ? sheesh. I was thinking about that rope idea, that would be pretty uncomfortable on your arm. I really like the factory inner door handle as its soft and comfortable, but looks like it just doesnt hold up very well...

So has anyone taken theirs apart yet ? Mine is acting up now too.

Does someone have a VIN decoder link ?