Cracks on side mirror brackets

[blackmist222777]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

I just checked mine. A small crack is forming on the passenger side, nothing on the drivers side.

same on mine

[Rekraps]

Rekraps reporting back in. I inspected my latest VO and there is not a crack visible. I am lucky.

[M_Thrizzle]

I checked my 1M and both sides are cracked. From www.realoem.com it doesn't look like BMW sells that little plastic wing piece by itself

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8282

[Texas F1]

I realize this is a very old thread, but I just recently experienced the issue with the cracked side mirror non-movable pieces. One is cracked and the other literally came off in pieces as I was washing the 1M last week. I reached out to BMW after getting a quote of $635.00 plus tax for each side (plus installation!). I finally got a reply today and was told that BMW could not assist with any resolution, unless they get a sufficient number of complaints to reconsider the matter. I explained that it was obviously a known issue, but the car is now nearly 10 years old, so they are reluctant to do anything.

Anyway, if you do have the side mirror issue with cracking, let BMW NA know about it and maybe they will make a determination in the future to reimburse owners for repair or replacement.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by Texas F1

I realize this is a very old thread, but I just recently experienced the issue with the cracked side mirror non-movable pieces. One is cracked and the other literally came off in pieces as I was washing the 1M last week. I reached out to BMW after getting a quote of $635.00 plus tax for each side (plus installation!). I finally got a reply today and was told that BMW could not assist with any resolution, unless they get a sufficient number of complaints to reconsider the matter. I explained that it was obviously a known issue, but the car is now nearly 10 years old, so they are reluctant to do anything.

Anyway, if you do have the side mirror issue with cracking, let BMW NA know about it and maybe they will make a determination in the future to reimburse owners for repair or replacement.

Pigs will fly before BMW NA does anything about this, even if everyone reading this board were to contact them.

[ayao]

My passenger side was done under warranty quite some time ago (major tooth-pulling required at dealer) — the driver's side was ok. I am under the vague impression that the dealer figured out a way to replace just the trim piece that is attached to the door but this is not corroborated by realOEM.
Based on the resurrection of this thread it looks like my driver’s side has developed a crack. I wonder if it is worth trying to lay a thin bead of superglue to prevent propagation? It is guaranteed to look horrible...

[CarJunkie]

I noticed that both of mine were cracked when I saw this thread a few years ago, was out of warranty by that time. They have looked exactly like this for at least four years now, no propagation seen.

[ayao]

Yeah the crack I have extends about 2/3 the distance from base of the nub to the edge.
I'm kind of over it and wouldn't care that much about it but Texas F1's comment above about it chunking off with washing the car got my attention.

[champignon]

There must be someone here who has a 3D printer who could make the critical parts and offer them for sale to fellow forum members!

Addendum: thought of this right after posting. Plastics are ubiquitous materials that unfortunately do not age well in certain circumstances. The two things that reliably destroy plastic are heat and light. The two most important things that you can do to prevent degradation of the plastic parts in your car are to keep it garaged whenever you are not driving it, and not to park it outside in the sun during the warmer parts of the year. The 135i used to be notorious for developing large "bubbles" on the dash, where the plastic would separate from its backing. I doubt that the dash in the 1M is any different from this. All of these problems are related to sun and heat exposure; if you can keep your car out of the sun and especially the combination of heat and sun, you can delay and hopefully avoid these sorts of problems in your car.

This particular problem may be somewhat related to the assembly process, but if you don't have it now, or only have a mild version of it now, do not accelerate the problem by leaving your car parked outside in direct sun and heat.

[Texas F1]

My 1M is always parked inside under a car cover, so while exposure to the elements could certainly cause deterioration, I don’t think that’s the underlying cause with so many cars being affected. I only know one other local 1M owner and his car is very low mileage and rarely gets out of the garage. Both of his mirror pieces have hairline cracks, but luckily have not fallen off the car. I am trying to get a body shop to reconstruct, finish and paint the broken part. If that is successful, we’ll remove the driver’s side and repair it before it comes off.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Texas F1

My 1M is always parked inside under a car cover, so while exposure to the elements could certainly cause deterioration, I don’t think that’s the underlying cause with so many cars being affected. I only know one other local 1M owner and his car is very low mileage and rarely gets out of the garage. Both of his mirror pieces have hairline cracks, but luckily have not fallen off the car. I am trying to get a body shop to reconstruct, finish and paint the broken part. If that is successful, we’ll remove the driver’s side and repair it before it comes off.

Correct this happened to brand new cars and was an assembly issue. My late production one doesn't have it. Actually my late July production didn't have it as well. There was some guy in Leipzig that was going nuts tightening the screws

[Tom25]

Originally Posted by champignon

There must be someone here who has a 3D printer who could make the critical parts and offer them for sale to fellow forum members!

Addendum: thought of this right after posting. Plastics are ubiquitous materials that unfortunately do not age well in certain circumstances. The two things that reliably destroy plastic are heat and light. The two most important things that you can do to prevent degradation of the plastic parts in your car are to keep it garaged whenever you are not driving it, and not to park it outside in the sun during the warmer parts of the year. The 135i used to be notorious for developing large "bubbles" on the dash, where the plastic would separate from its backing. I doubt that the dash in the 1M is any different from this. All of these problems are related to sun and heat exposure; if you can keep your car out of the sun and especially the combination of heat and sun, you can delay and hopefully avoid these sorts of problems in your car.

This particular problem may be somewhat related to the assembly process, but if you don't have it now, or only have a mild version of it now, do not accelerate the problem by leaving your car parked outside in direct sun and heat.

Hello, I managed to rebuild the elements in 3D printing, it works very well ;-)

[eeghie]

Originally Posted by Tom25

Hello, I managed to rebuild the elements in 3D printing, it works very well ;-)

It looks very similar, but from the pictures i can’t tell how they ‘work’? The factory mirror-side-plate has the cracking nuggets integrated. Your print appears to be the cracking nugget itself. Do you sleeve that over the original (cracked) nugget or how does this attach?

[Tom25]

Originally Posted by eeghie

It looks very similar, but from the pictures i can’t tell how they ‘work’? The factory mirror-side-plate has the cracking nuggets integrated. Your print appears to be the cracking nugget itself. Do you sleeve that over the original (cracked) nugget or how does this attach?

I'm not sure I understand, the cracks are on the small removable plastic piece. I remanufactured this piece.
Here are some more pictures, don't hesitate if you have any questions

[eeghie]

Awesome, i stand corrected. The nuggets are indeed not integrated in the main mirror base. Excellent replacement part. So far no cracks in mine, but you’re sitting on a bundle of 3D-joy for many of our ‘cracked-mirror’ friends.

[ayao]

Originally Posted by Tom25

I'm not sure I understand, the cracks are on the small removable plastic piece. I remanufactured this piece.
Here are some more pictures, don't hesitate if you have any questions

Attachment 2744119

Attachment 2744120

Attachment 2744121

How hard was it to remove the backing plate that the nugget (credit for nomenclature: eeghie) is attached to? I haven't searched for a DIY but I'm curious to hear your thoughts about this.
My driver's side nugget is finally starting to crack and I'm trying not to think about it but ... you know how car guys get.

[iDontRemember]

Originally Posted by Tom25

Hello, I managed to rebuild the elements in 3D printing, it works very well ;-)Attachment 2740866
Attachment 2740867

Any plans to sell them?

[Tom25]

Originally Posted by ayao

How hard was it to remove the backing plate that the nugget (credit for nomenclature: eeghie) is attached to? I haven't searched for a DIY but I'm curious to hear your thoughts about this.
My driver's side nugget is finally starting to crack and I'm trying not to think about it but ... you know how car guys get.

To remove the metal support plate, you have to be very delicate, I used toothpicks to pry around it.
To put the support plate back on, you just have to clip it on

[Tom25]

Originally Posted by iDontRemember

Any plans to sell them?

I had made several pairs thinking I would have scraps, but finally I have some left (without painting), so we can discuss it in private message

[Martial72]

Originally Posted by Tom25

I had made several pairs thinking I would have scraps, but finally I have some left (without painting), so we can discuss it in private message

Hi, available for sale? Please message me. I could not find the pm function