Hi all, looking to see if anyone else has had the same weird issue that I’m having. The issue is with the driver’s door mirror and lock. It’s a 2003 X308 with standard (non-folding) mirrors.

After starting the car and closing the door I can adjust the drivers mirror in all directions just fine, the passenger side also moves OK.

If I then wait 10 seconds, and then try to re-adjust the mirrors neither side will adjust. If I open the door and have it slightly ajar, the mirror controls will then move both mirrors without issue, close the door and wait 10 secs and both mirrors and non-responsive again.

Putting the car into reverse and hitting the mirror adjust downward does not dip the passenger mirror even if I open the door and close it again. I also noticed that if I put the trans in drive and then back to park, the driver’s door would not open. I had to lift the button up with one hand and pull the lever with the other, the central locking button in the console works ok and opens the door, just not the door lever.

Also noticed that the rev counter would work erratically and eventually got stuck at about 2,000RPM, the engine was idling normally. Turning the ignition off and re-starting the car did not fix the rev counter.

I decided to try the “hard reset” procedure and removed the positive and negative leads and jumped them together for 20 mins just to be sure everything was discharged. I reconnected the leads, started the car and left it to idle for 30 mins, I initially got a “restricted performance message” a few seconds after starting but it went away after another few seconds.

After the 30 minute idle time I tried the mirrors again. Now the passenger side mirror would dip when in reverse but the same issue with neither mirror responding after 10 seconds still occurred. The door not opening problem also remained but the rev counter issue seems to be resolved, it moves fine now and does not hang up like it did.

The car has been sitting for several months unused and the battery did go flat a couple of times. I recharged it each time and I purchased a solar panel to keep the battery topped up when sitting after that. It seemed to work well, however there have certainly been some low battery periods over the past few months.

Anyone had this issue or have any insight as to possible causes? I’d appreciate any thoughts.

 

I managed to find my long lost owners manual purely by chance after I posted my first message. Looks like the door mirrors are working as they should. The manual states the mirrors can be adjusted up to 30 seconds after the drivers door is closed. I've had this car since 2009 and I've never noticed this. My issue still seems to be with the door release though but at least one weird issue is sorted.

 

The mirrors can be adjusted at any time with the engine running, the 30 second thing would be engine off. What you’re describing has all the hallmarks of a poor condition battery, you may have recharged it but it may not have the pep in it to operate properly.