[AZKlaus]

I was at a car wash a couple weekends ago and something happened that I just now remembered. Whenever I take my car in to get washed I fold in the mirrors using the button. I recall on my 2007 that had a mirror with a failed motor that I could not manually fold the mirror in or at least it gave me so much resistance I was worried I'd break it further so I didn't dare try it and I never have on my 2010. I'm sitting in the lobby waiting and they have security cameras there showing everyone's cars being worked on. There was an Escalade in the oil change bay with its mirrors out and I saw one of the techs just go up to the mirror and give a hard push to fold it in! Knowing how fragile the motors are on these I almost lost my shit (even though it wasn't my car, but I couldn't help but think what if it was!) but thought maybe it's possible the later year mirrors could be folded manually without harm or maybe my old mirror was just stuck from having other issues. Can anyone confirm if their mirrors can be manually folded without a problem?

 

[dsminva]

It's a breakaway feature so if you hit a pole at the ATM they will fold and not just snap off. However, both of mine died after getting my trucks detailed, and I too have seen them just slap them in. It's really not good for the fragile plastic gear inside.
My better car wash locally said they know they are power fold if the hazard lights are on so I turn them on when I go there.

The problem is they have these 16yr old kids working there and their beater Hondas don't have that feature, so ignorance prevails. (And costs me money)

Another issue I have is the power liftgate. They like to just manually slam that shut too. Rookies.

 

[hunterp27]

Alright this is right in my wheelhouse as I'm in the middle of a project investigating the possibility of replacing the worm gear/sprocket combo that drives the automatic folding feature. I've torn my drivers side mirror all apart as stated in a separate thread looking for the problem.......and.......I found it. yes these mirrors will in fact "break away" if pushed on from the outside but to the best of my knowledge once its breaks away and folds in, the auto folding function will not work correctly (and most likely at all) when this is done. Here's why, there is a small motor buried inside the base/frame of the mirror and that motor drives a worm gear by engaging a nylon sprocket attached to the end of it. That worm gear is what drives the folding function in and out. The sprocket and motor are very tight against each other which is what keeps the mirror firmly in place. If those are forced against one another by twisting the mirror, the sprocket (about the size of a dime in circumference and thickness) breaks and the tension is lost leaving only the main spring inside the mirror to hold it in place. Simple driving will now cause vibrations and things in the mirror are no longer in focus. So, if your buddy back in service did what you say he did, then either one of 3 scenarios is in play
1. The mirror was already broken and he knew it therefore not worrying about breaking it
2. He broke it then and didnt care
3. It didn't have automatic folding mirrors and he somehow knew this
Who knows the answer but I suspect we know which one happened. Granted this design is terrible, but there's no excuse for that kinda knuckledraggin behavior.