Exploding passenger side mirror

I don’t know anything about warranty fraud. I do know that mirrors have motors and the motors could explode. That’s why I asked if a mechanic could look at it.

Do you know anything about the subject of side mirrors exploding? Keep watching Seinfeld that’s what you are good at.

It’s actually been discussed numerous times on this site. It’s not all that uncommon to have glass (mirrors or the cabin glass) fail at any time like yours did. It’s under stress from manufacture and/or application. It seems to be happening with more frequency in the last few years.

Second guessing a free repair appears to have gotten you less than if you had graciously accepted it and let them deal with any root cause they would uncover when doing the repair.

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Yes. I learned my lesson not to ask to many questions. I called corporate and they said they were going to file a complaint to the dealership because they should have had someone out to look at it and all the components before fixing it. Corporate told me to get a second opinion and they wanted to know what happened as well and I’m glad they are interested. I called another dealer in my area and talked to the parts guy and he said they have to inspect all the parts to see what needs to be repaired. The parts guy said there were 5 component parts to the mirror and they need to see what happened. The parts guy was very honest with me and he addressed my concerns.

Mine exploded today too. I have a Chevy Camaro 2014. That was so freaky. It was loud. Completely unexplainable. Either it’s paranormal, some kind of energy or gas or magnet or something in the air or unit causing a reaction, or whoever makes those mirrors for autos is cutting corners and there are flaws. Somethings up. Prayers folks

But yeah, it was weird. It sounded like something hit my car, but nothing was anywhere near my car at the time.

I’m telling you right now, nothing visible hit my car. I was no where close to a garbage can or branch or bird or car. I thought that at first, but I checked the back of the mirror ( front of car) and there’s not a mark. A hit that hard would leave a mark. And I drive a completely different type of car.

You might have hit something, but there was nothing close enough to my car to hit it. Or for me to hit. Unless it was a bullet but there is no sign of that and there is ONLY damage to the inside of the mirror which is not possible without hitting the outside. My mirrors don’t fold and the base is not broken. You can’t explain that!

The electrochromatic mirrors (auto dimming) on vehicles contain a gel that reacts to an electric charge to dim the view. For some reason these mirrors are susceptible to rupture, I don’t think that it is common enough for manufactures to study the problem.

I don’t know, it seems it’s happened to quite a few of us.

A few days ago my wife had experienced the passenger side mirror exploded. No one was around to help, but she found the broken mirror on side of the road. With no damage anywhere on the car, I believe something caused it to fly out of the casing.
I took it the dealer who tried his best to convince me an I pact lf some caused it. I insisted that was not the case. I asked to have it checked for a leaky ground wire, static electricity, or a spike arc. The service manager then granted a good will replace of the mirror.
My wife is scared to death it will happen again.
I contacted Honda American Customer service to have my experience on record.

There’s another, potentially more dangerous issue - exploding sun roofs. It’s a thing. Here’s a link to a Consumer Reports article regarding it: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroofs-danger-overhead/

After a gentlemanly discussion, I stating the mirror ejected off on it’s own, the dealer insisted impact cused the mirror to fly off. They did offered a one good will replace of the mirror. It was under warranty and I’m glad they did the right thing.
I still feel summer heat, plastic parts and a spring ejected the mirror.

I can assure you that:
A) There was a very large explosion/boom that accompanied the mirror breaking and popping out of its casing.
B) I did NOT hit anything;
C) No biker, person walking by, or crazy bird hit my mirror.

E) The way the mirror cracked & broke - it was not shot at by any type of gun.
F) If this were to happen to someone while they were driving, it could have very serious safety implications not only for the people inside the vehicle but other vehicles near by if they were to lose control of their car in response to the loud explosion.

I copied and pasted from your earlier entry because this is my story. This happened to me in my 2013Toyota Camry last night, 9/25/2020, on a dark street by myself. It is serious, it is real, it is frightening. First I had to regain my composure and think. I pulled of the road --for a moment-- to see what had happened to my car. But common sense came in and said “It is dark, you cannot see, nobody is around. Stay in the car!!!” I heeded the advice and continued driving while watching for the “low tire” light to come on – it did not. At home I inspected the car and did not see anything. I focused on the passenger rear of the car because that is where the explosion seemed to come from. My husband came and parked on my right. He saw the mirror immediately and asked me about it. I was relieved to see the source of the noise.
Now, thanks to your invaluable information I know what to do. I will be following your advice and I will not be told about trees and bullets and mailboxes or that I did something and it is my fault. As a last resort, if necessary, I will post on Toyota’s Facebook page. Thank you. I feel empowered. Kathryn S-C 39

This just happened to me. Driving on a quiet road. No cars around and I heard a loud explosion. My 7 year old was so frightened. My passenger side mirror is hanging by the wires. All shattered. It’s a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country. No other damage to the car anywhere!
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The samething just happened to me. I was driving at about 15 mph approaching a stop sign…then all of a sudden…bang or pop. I immediately look toward the sound and see the the passenger side mirror cracked and only the wires are preventing it from falling to the ground. I looked around thinking that I hit someone or something, but I didn’t see any people, cars, mailboxes or trashcans. I inspected it for bullet holes but there were only cracks. It’s all a mystery to me.

However, what I really want to know is how you people fixed your mirrors. Or more specifically, what did you do for a replacement part? (note): my car is no longer under warranty)) , All I can really find is adhesive this and adhisve that…basically a glass mirror that you stick on top of the old one. I was hoping to find a full replacement part for the mirror glass.

We can’t help you much if you don’t tell us the make model and year of the car . . .

All I can tell you is look on rockauto.com

Sorry about that, it’s a Cadillac Deville 2002.

I’m seeing nothing on rockauto at all

however, there’s a lot of stuff on ebay

what color?

complete used mirror assemblies . . . glass, housing, and wiring . . . seem to be available in various colors, with free shipping

That seems to be the most back for the buck

But the glass part is also available

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Well I know this is an old discussion but I highly recommend Rockauto for replacement mirrors. I just ordered one after mine exploded against the side of the garage again. I’ve tried to be very careful but it was dark and my wife parks over too far. Last year when I demolished one the K source that I got from Rock was an absolute direct fit and was only about $45. Not available anymore but another brand was only $24. So we’ll see if it matches or not. This is my 3rd time so if it matches I might just order an extra one for stock.