2018 Forester folding mirror option

[Tony02]

Hi,

I am looking for some information on door mirrors.

I have a Forester, built Nov 2017, so called a 2018 model, SJ9.

Over the last 9 months I have had to repair/replace 3 drivers door mirrors, and only one was our fault.

This gets old very quickly, so I was wondering if this year/model had folding mirrors.

I have seen a 3rd party module that can fold the mirrors based on ignition state and door locking/unlocking, but if I cannot find suitable mirrors it is not of much use.

The glossy brochures that I have been able to find only mention electric mirrors for my model and don't mention folding anywhere, but then glossy brochures are not known for their level of detail ...

I also have not been able to find a wiring diagram, so cannot check it out there either.

I do not know enough about Subaru to know whether the Liberty or other earlier or later Forester models folding mirrors can be used instead.

I am hoping that someone here can help ...

Many thanks,
Tony

[El_Freddo]

G’day Tony and welcome to the forum!

How are the mirrors breaking and what specifically is being broken?

When you say folding mirrors do you mean electrically folding mirrors? You could go and ask your dealer for optional accessories that were available for your Foz at the time of purchase and see what they come up with.

Alternatively check out a parts page like partsouq.com , enter your VIN then sift through the parts categories to find the mirror options.

You could also download an fsm from the web for your model. You’ll need to look a round to find your specific model year no doubt.

Best of luck with the search! Please let us know if you find the info you’re looking for!

Cheers

Bennie

[Tony02]

Hi Bennie,

Thanks for the reply.

The first time, the outer cover was popped off and the indicator light in the mirror broken, so I needed a new one. Luckily the cover was undamaged, so I was able to just clip it back on.
The second time, the indicator and the top cover (the painted bit) were broken, so another new indicator and a new top cover and a colour match re-spray for it.

The most recent time, the black plastic inner frame that surrounds the mirror was broken, and again the top and bottom covers were popped off, but they clipped back on a again.

In all cases it looks like someone drove or rode (we know of a bike for the first instance and a car for the last one - not sure about the middle accident) too close and they clipped the mirror with something relatively hard.

This is why the drive to get electric foldable mirrors, so they will automatically fold flat when you park the car and leave it.

I have tried a number of parts sites, but they have not been too helpful - I search for mirror and they give me seat covers or something equally irrelevant, and they do not support boolean operators to narrow the searches. I will try partsouq.com and see if they are of some use .. thanks.

For fsm - do you mean service manual? I have tried to find one but the closest I came was a 2008 Forester ... if you can point me at some of the better sites, I will check those to see if I can get lucky there ...


Thanks for all your help,

Tony

[Tony02]

OK - back again.

I had a go looking at Partsouq. Interesting site.
Unfortunately it does not help me much - maybe it is broken. If I enter my VIN I can see all the parts for my car, but no mirrors except the 2 standard options for this model (with or without the indicator in it).

The site says you can click on the manufacturer and see the various vehicle catalogues. It works for Porsche (random choice) but not for Subaru. I have sent of a query to see if there is something wrong, or if they do not offer that for Subaru.

If I knew the VIN for different (compatible) models I may be able to get more information, but it has stalled out for the moment ...

Thanks,
Tony.

[Tony02]

Hi,

Update for partsouq - they have replied and said that Subaru parts info is only available via vehicle VIN, there are no catalogues ...


FYI ...
Tony

[El_Freddo]

That’s good to know, thanks for sharing Tony!

Have you ring around to some wreckers to see what they might have of use for you - you could then determine if the folding mirrors are actually available, I reckon the dealer is worth asking for accurate info if they’re willing/able to share.

Cheers

Bennie

[Tony02]

Thanks - yes, I am hoping to talk to a dealer in the next couple of days to see if they can help ... hopefully I'll get a friendly (and knowledgeable) one ...

[Tony02]

And a further update:

I spoke to a dealer but they cannot find anything outside looking at their parts by VIN - I was unfortunate and got a bloke who had only started at Subaru 3 months ago - but he gave me the contact for a wrecker that he said specialises in Subaru and would be a good source of information.
He was moderately helpful and thought that maybe some of the high end Foresters may have them, but he was not certain, so could not help.

I hunted around more online and saw an ad in the UK for a 2017 Forester which did have electric folding mirrors. This could be seen by the mirror fold button just under the mirror directional adjuster knob. Further checking showed me about half of the Foresters had the folding mirrors (from 2012 to 2018, which is where I looked).

There was also some discussion on another Subaru site where it looks like the folding mirrors were not fitted to the US vehicles, but were fitted to most of the domestic (Japanese) vehicles.

I am now hunting for more information from JDM importers to see what they can offer.

I will also see if I can get or build a VIN so I can search the Subaru parts catalogue with the UK model info ... though I may have to look in catalogues for overseas dealers as it would not surprise me if they are isolate on country as well.

FYI ....

Tony.

[El_Freddo]

Good research there Tony!

Sounds like you’ll be able to source a set. After securing a pair the next trick will be wiring them in. Knowing Subaru, the wiring will be there, you’ll just need the modules to plug in to make it all work - that’ll be a few more things to research and add to your shopping list once you know what they are!

Cheers

Bennie

[Tony02]

And further to the saga of folding mirrors ...

I have looked at a number of car sales sites in the UK and it appears that the folding mirrors were an option for the 2.0 XT and XE with the Lineartronic transmission.
I have joined the Subaru Facebook group in the UK, but there has been no reply to my post for information or a VIN. It has only been a couple of days, so hopefully someone will get around to it.
I have also contacted a specialist Subaru parts dealer in the UK and asked in they can supply the mirrors (or the parts I need). This was only yesterday so I am hopeful that I will get a reply when the week starts again.
I earlier posted a request on their wreckers spares network, but had no replies for electric folding mirrors - one group replied with the standard mirror at around 350 pounds ... not hopeful.
I also tried some more online Subaru parts places that turned out to be in the US. They had some better part search options so I could search by vehicle specs - I used the UK specs for the ones I knew had the mirrors, but the only mirrors they offered were what I already have as it appears that the US did not get the electric folding mirrors either and their catalogues reflected this.

The saga continues ....

[Bantum]

Knowing Subaru, the wiring will be there, you’ll just need the modules to plug in to make it all work ...

Would add that its more likely the wiring loom & units were an add on, so may not be actually present, just the base plug ...
Need to get hold of a wiring diagram to confirm this.

Have you tried getting them directly from manufacturer in Japan ?

Cheers, Bantum ...