TheSamba.com :: View topic - Why Does the Mirror Keep Falling Out of My Power Mirror?

Mon Nov 17, 2025 2:39 pm

The mirror keeps falling out of my outside power mirror. It will stay in for months then suddenly it will just drop off. It doesn't happen when I'm on a rough road or hit a bump.

I noticed that the inside of the ring in the center of the bracket that's attached to the mirror glass is sticky. But the bracket inside the mirror body has no points that the sticky part can attach to. Why is it sticky? Am I missing a part? Yes, I could take the driver's side mirror side off and look, but then that one might start falling off!

Mon Nov 17, 2025 3:00 pm

Not sure why it's sticky in there, I don't think that's part of the design. If you haven't seen it here's GoWesty's video on how the mirror is suppose to be locked in place.

https://gowesty.com/products/power-mirror-glass-re...0960476325

Mon Nov 17, 2025 3:14 pm

The tabs sticking out of the sides need to be rotated to lock the glass to the motor, they don't pop into place nor are they held by adhesive.

Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:09 pm

The sticky part is to hold the glass onto the black mounting plate its attached to. The back of the glass has a rotating piece with two tabs. Push the part inside the mirror housing, with the white receiver, inward closest to the window. Fit the posts on the rotating piece into the white tabs with holes in them. Rotate the piece with tabs to lock the glass onto receiver.

Ask me how I know:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=807080

Dan

Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:10 pm

I should have said that I locked the mirrors in place to the best of my ability. It's hard to see what I'm doing. I think that if they were not locked, though, they wouldn't stay in place as long as they did but I guess it's possible that I didn't have them completely locked and it took a while for them to loosen. This has happened at least 3 times.

I actually have two mirrors - the original one and an OEM one that I got several years ago and broke immediately when I tried to adjust it by hand (my van is an '85 so I don't have a hole in the door to run the wiring). Both are sticky inside that plastic circle. Weird.

Mon Nov 17, 2025 5:23 pm

I believe that the sticky bit that you are looking at is a dampening material to help keep the glass still at speed. I have the same material on some spare mirrors here.
The tab should stick out straight out horizontal when it is locked in place, if it is at an angle then it is some degree of unlocked. Just make sure that it is rotated fully open prior to placing the glass on the motor. If the locking ring isn't difficult to rotate it might be worn, every time I take off the glass it takes considerable effort to get the tab to move.