GottaAllroad

Just bought the 6MT, and when I fold in the mirrors then fold them back out the driver side one doesn't stop - it goes beyond 90 degrees and ends up swiveled 180 degrees. A manual pull back resets it to the proper place, but clearly there's something wrong/missing here.

What should I be looking for? Does this sound like a replacement or is there something in there I can repair? It's like there's a stop in there that's gone...

TIA.

04 allroad

For whatever reason it doesn't know to stop. Audi loves microswitches that tend to fail.

IL_Allroader

Dealer repair was expensive! Valet company paid for repairs to mirrors, broken cup holder, and passenger side wheels that were curbed!

Beware the valet service "Towne Parking" in Annapolis!

all123

I had the same thing happen with my TOYOTA camry mirrors, there is a small plastic hinge that holds the mirror in the right position. At some point when the mirror hits the hinge, the motor stops working.

To check if this is the case, try to fold the mirrors, and when you hit open again, try to stop the mirror in the position where it is supposed to stop with your hand, (use the force, not too much though) if the motor stops opening the mirror and it remains in the correct position then you know what to do further.

ScoobaSteve

As the mirror moves back out, the spring pin should stop the mirror at the right point and the motor will stop a moment later when it senses the resistance. However if the spring pin sticks in, the mirror will continue until it hits something that provides resistance for the motor to stop. While it is a pian in the *** to get to, the spring pin can be cleaned and oiled.

To get to it, remove the mirror cap. Then remove the retaining clip for the mirror assembly. The assemble is under spring pressure so be careful. The spring pin is on the underside of the mirror housing hinge. Nothing hods it in, so be careful not to drop it and lose it. Remove the pin, again be careful not to lose the spring behind it. Clean everthing up, lightly oil the pin and reassemble. Putting the mirror assembly back on is a PITA. You may need assistance to compress the spring and re-insert the retaining clip.

Good luck!

maccoder

I know this thread is quite old, but I am so glad I found it and would like to express my gratitude to @ScoobaSteve whose post encouraged me and helped to fix the unfolding issue with driver side mirror on my wife's Q3.
If not for his post I wouldn't even know what I am looking for as the pin in my case was completely stuck and didn't even look like a pin.
Just in case anyone has the same issue I decided to post some pictures.

Here is the dreadful retaining clip that is indeed PITA to remove and reinstall. While I managed to remove it by myself I indeed needed help putting it back as the spring is insanely strong.



This is the pin as seen from the bottom of mirror housing. Mine was fully depressed and stuck inside the housing.



I couldn't take the pin back out from the bottom so had to remove 4 screws, remove bottom plate and slide out the motor assembly from the mirror housing. Thankfully there is a small hole that allowed me to push the pin out.



Here is the pin removed. It's quite small, so as mentioned in the previous post, be careful not to lose it as well as the small spring behind it.

After cleaning and lubricating the pin I have put everything back together with assistance because the main spring is really strong, so you need some tools and extra hands to be able to put the retaining clip back in place.Be careful with retaining clip as well as during one of the failed attempts it went flying across the garage. I was fortunate enough not to lose it.

To summarize - the only hard part is the retaining clip, everything else is quite easy and straight forward.
This was done on 2015 Q3.
As a result I have saved some money as the full mirror assembly costs a lot, but most importantly made my wife happy.

Cheers!

vr430

Maccoder, most excellent summary, thank you. How did you manage to remove the clip? I can't figure out how to get leverage on the spring. Also, there is a microswitch that is contacted by the pin as it is rotated into the correct position, that is what acts as the stop, not the potential differential in the switch. At least that's what it looks like me. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.