Reflections on Car Mirror Problems
If you’ve ever taught a teenager to drive, you may have had an exterior mirror knocked off your vehicle (or worse!). It’s not uncommon to see a mirror on the side of the road, next to trash cans or mailboxes that have felt the brunt of a vehicle brushing too close. While mirrors can seem like an annoyance while you are squeezing into a tight parking space, they are an integral safety feature on your car.
Exterior mirrors help ensure the safety of your car and passengers, as well as the drivers around you. While they are easy to forget about, these mirrors allow you to see behind you without craning your neck, easily back up, and safely merge lanes. They provide essential rearview and peripheral vision while driving, which helps avoid accidents. Without one mirror (or both!) you are driving blind. Let’s “reflect” on some potential issues.
The biggest one is that the mirror is missing altogether! If an accident has caused you to lose your mirror, a replacement is needed. Impact to the mirror may also cause the entire mechanism to come loose – has anyone seen a mirror hanging on by the wiring? Or the glass inside the mirror to crack. All of this either eliminates your use of the mirror or seriously hinders it.
Another potential issue is that the mirrors can’t easily be adjusted. The mirror may get locked into a stuck position or become so loose that it won’t stay put in one spot. Older vehicles have mirrors that can be pushed one way or another for better sightlines. Most newer vehicles have power mirrors that can be adjusted from the inside of the car. This is very convenient when the power mirrors work correctly. Unfortunately, the adjustment mechanism can break, which makes adjusting power mirrors a real hassle. There are a number of reasons for this mechanism to fail: a motor can die, the power supply to the motor can go bad, the switch can break. The link to an inside control can freeze with cold weather or become corroded over time. A mirror that can’t stay in the right spot can be just as dangerous as a broken or missing mirror.
Your exterior rearview mirrors are a key feature in driving safely. If you are experiencing any of these issues with your mirrors, come to EuroCar Service for repair. We work on BMWs, Fiats, Land Rovers, Jaguars, Mercedes, MINIs, Saabs, Smart Cars, Volkswagens, Volvos, Audi models. You can trust us with your vehicle’s safety.
