Side Mirror Vibration?

[justfixinthings]

How I fixed my mirror vibration

Fixed my vibrating mirror on a '96 4Runner by tightening the three bolts that attach the mirror base to the door.

You'll find these bolts from the inside of the door under the triangular plastic cover in front of the window.
1 - Pry off the plastic cover by placing a flat bladed screwdriver under the leading edge of the plastic about mid-way down and prying the plastic straight away from the door.
2 - Three 10mm bolt heads will be exposed (mine were very loose).
3 - When replacing the plastic cover, insert the flat tab below the bottom bolt first, then press the ball-tipped stud into the round white plastic socket and press straight in to make it snap in place.

I hope this helps. The newer models might be different, and of course there could be something else that is loose on your mirror.

By the way, I have photos, but don't know what to do with the prompt for "URL" when I tried to attach them. Is there a separate URL where you first upload your photos?

 

[swapmeet]

I hate to necro post, but I recently bought a 05 4R and it has this same issue. My Google-fu says this post discusses this issue the most.

On our's, the housing vibrates independent of the mounting ear, that mounts to the door. I don't see any bolts or access panels below the housing.

I hoped with the number of these in the world, there would be a fix.

 

[smokey7722]

I hate to necro post, but I recently bought a 05 4R and it has this same issue. My Google-fu says this post discusses this issue the most.

On our's, the housing vibrates independent of the mounting ear, that mounts to the door. I don't see any bolts or access panels below the housing.

I hoped with the number of these in the world, there would be a fix.

I have lived with this issue on my '05 Sport since I bought it brand new and have yet to find a fix for it

 

[makristal]

What about putting some padding in there so that there is more pressure against the housing mount points?

 

[swapmeet]

I figure I could make a wedge style shim and cram it in there, but I hoped to find a mechanical way to tighten down the housing before going that route.

 

[Sungod]

I hate to necro post, but I recently bought a 05 4R and it has this same issue. My Google-fu says this post discusses this issue the most.

On our's, the housing vibrates independent of the mounting ear, that mounts to the door. I don't see any bolts or access panels below the housing.

I hoped with the number of these in the world, there would be a fix.

I would be willing to bet that yours along with many others are the result of after market parts. I had a hawk fly into my passenger side mirror and broke it clean off (interestingly the hawk stumbled around a bit and flew off). I priced the OE part and found an after market one that looks exactly the same for 1/3rd the price. I put the first one on and thought I was going blind it shook so much. I sent it back and got another one. Same issue. I called the supplier and they said I could keep sending them back, but it wouldn't make a difference. You get what you pay for. So I have lived with it. If it was the driver side, it would be a different story.

 

[TheHippie]

Anyone have an answer to this? I was checking this out and the driver mirror is noticeably more loose than the passenger side. Is there any way to tighten the mirror at its folding pivot point?

Thanks so much,

Wes

Put a wedge so it can't vibrate.

 

[KP Texan]

Put a wedge so it can't vibrate.

I no longer have my '06 4Runner, but I'm pretty sure I ended up fixing this problem by tightening the screws underneath the mirror (they were either allen head or torx). I remember them being kind of a pain to tighten without scratching the door.

 

[06RunnerSR5]

similar problem here as well.

the housing on the driver side can easily be wiggled with my hand.

tightening the bolts on the inside of the door wouldn't do anything because the base isn't moving.

 

[KP Texan]

similar problem here as well.

the housing on the driver side can easily be wiggled with my hand.

tightening the bolts on the inside of the door wouldn't do anything because the base isn't moving.

From what I remember, these screws were on the outside of the mirror. Maybe they were under a plastic cap that had to be removed with a flat blade screwdriver? My mirror wiggled at the joint on the outside of the mirror and this fixed it.

 

[BC2006]

Loose Side Mirror on 4th Generation 4runner - Easy Fix

Remove the plastic panel under the mirror housing and tighten the screws.

1) Look carefully under the side mirror housing that connects to the door for a plastic panel. Its very difficult to spot this panel, since the fit and color is the same of panel and the mirror housing.

2) Once you spot the seem, just take a flat screw driver (small & sharp) and pry open the little panel. Work slowly to not scratch the plastic edges.

3) Once panel is out, tighten the (3) star screws in the mirror housing. Put the panel back carefully and done.

 

[4xt4r]

Had same problem. Found a cover on bottom of mirror housing that you can pry off exposing 3 Phillips head screws. All were loose, I blue locktited them a couple of years ago& the problem solved.

 

[NickTea]

Man I hate to say it but there is a real lack of info here. So many suggestions for so many different things being loosem simply saying the side mirror or house isn't enough. The common problem it the entire more sitting on its pivot point being loose from the pivot point. But its good to see someone did lay out a way to fix it. A housig can mean a ton of different things.

 

[loconzly]

Long post, but I hope it helps someone:

I'm necrobumping this one because of what I learned last night. My mirror on my 2005 Sport was also loose at the pivot point. It was getting looser and at highway speed, you could see it moving position and not just vibrating.

I Googled like crazy and couldn't find a solution. Last night, I read this thread and was excited to find those three screws, but they were already very tight. Careful not to overtighten them because the base is cheap metal and will strip. Ask me how I found that out.

I was so frustrated, I took the mirror off the door to inspect it. I pulled the actual mirror out of the housing, and there, I could see the real problem. There is a big plastic piece inside of the housing that holds the mirror in place, but also has the pivot point with a big spring attached. The plastic around that spring was broken in half and the whole thing swiveled around in there. Sorry, I didn't take pictures.

I tried using epoxy to repair the plastic. It seemed solid, but when I reassembled the mirror and reinstalled it on the door, it broke instantly when I tried to fold in my mirror.

Frustrated, I pulled the whole thing off the vehicle again and pulled the mirror out again. This part is hard to explain without pics, but I drilled a large hole in the plastic piece right next to where the spring is located. I took a hose clamp and opened it up and ran it into that hole and around the spring housing. And I clamped it down TIGHT.

I put the housing back together and reinstalled it on my T4R. It's solid as a rock now. I haven't tried folding the mirror in, and it might not work. But it's solid and is not going to move around at all.

Not the most elegant fix, but after tons of Googling, it's the only solution I've found for if the plastic inside has broken.

 

[Kpboix99]

How to video Fix

After browsing the forum, and looking for the fix, I took to putting this video together, it works now! YouTube

 

[AuSeeker]

After browsing the forum, and looking for the fix, I took to putting this video together, it works now! YouTube

Thanks for doing the video, it will help others be able to visually see how to access the screws so they can tighten the mirror housing properly....that being said just an FYI and so others will know what tool is needed, the screws are not allen head screws they are Torx head screws (star shaped not hex shaped), and I would also recommend applying some blue Loctite to threads of each screw so they won't vibrate loose as easily, if you noticed on the one that was completely out it had blue Loctite on the threads from the factory.

 

[Alaskas4Runner]

I made an account just to say thank you

Thank you so much!

Long post, but I hope it helps someone:

I'm necrobumping this one because of what I learned last night. My mirror on my 2005 Sport was also loose at the pivot point. It was getting looser and at highway speed, you could see it moving position and not just vibrating.

I Googled like crazy and couldn't find a solution. Last night, I read this thread and was excited to find those three screws, but they were already very tight. Careful not to overtighten them because the base is cheap metal and will strip. Ask me how I found that out.

I was so frustrated, I took the mirror off the door to inspect it. I pulled the actual mirror out of the housing, and there, I could see the real problem. There is a big plastic piece inside of the housing that holds the mirror in place, but also has the pivot point with a big spring attached. The plastic around that spring was broken in half and the whole thing swiveled around in there. Sorry, I didn't take pictures.

I tried using epoxy to repair the plastic. It seemed solid, but when I reassembled the mirror and reinstalled it on the door, it broke instantly when I tried to fold in my mirror.

Frustrated, I pulled the whole thing off the vehicle again and pulled the mirror out again. This part is hard to explain without pics, but I drilled a large hole in the plastic piece right next to where the spring is located. I took a hose clamp and opened it up and ran it into that hole and around the spring housing. And I clamped it down TIGHT.

I put the housing back together and reinstalled it on my T4R. It's solid as a rock now. I haven't tried folding the mirror in, and it might not work. But it's solid and is not going to move around at all.

Not the most elegant fix, but after tons of Googling, it's the only solution I've found for if the plastic inside has broken.