Automatic mirrors don't open on vehicle start

[Spectre]

Hello,

The mirrors on the Micra K13 1.2 CVT in question were functioning well several months ago until one day they stopped automatically opening during vehicle start (Push button) and the problem has existed ever since.

What we have noticed is that the mirrors try to open but the moment the engine cranks, they stop opening and we have to use the "Auto - Off - Close" switch to get the mirrors to open electronically after the engine start.

However, they open perfectly fine when we are switching on only the ignition instead of starting the vehicle.

Technicians at the service centre (SC) thought it may be due to a weak battery and then they also blamed the connected smartphone (car) charger to be drawing more power at the vehicle startup which was causing the issue (it wasn't). The car trolled us with the mirrors while at the SC by working normally; frustrating!

There is nothing fancy added to the vehicle except a rear view camera which is activated with the Reverse. Also, the old battery died a month ago and it was changed to a brand new battery but the issue persists.

Mirrors close automatically when we lock the car - no issues.

What could be causing this problem?

Help, please!

 

[MattInARedMicra]

When you say "starting the car" do you mean you are turning the key all the way the minute you put it into the ignition and that the engine turning over is what interrupts the mirrors?

If so the massive power drain will be coming from the starter motor, which uses almost all the CCA the battery can provide. Why the technicians are pointing at low power gadgets like a 5 watt smartphone charger is beyond me

It's good practice to turn the key one stage at a time, to give the fuel pump time to prime so that when you start it the engine already has all the fuel pressure it needs at the injectors. So if your mirrors would work like this, you might just have to take a little bit more time at start-up

Poorly designed though, mirrors are a safety component the idea that they can fail closed in any capacity with a running engine isn't great - what if someone drove like that?

 

[Spectre]

When you say "starting the car" do you mean you are turning the key all the way the minute you put it into the ignition and that the engine turning over is what interrupts the mirrors?

If so the massive power drain will be coming from the starter motor, which uses almost all the CCA the battery can provide. Why the technicians are pointing at low power gadgets like a 5 watt smartphone charger is beyond me

It's good practice to turn the key one stage at a time, to give the fuel pump time to prime so that when you start it the engine already has all the fuel pressure it needs at the injectors. So if your mirrors would work like this, you might just have to take a little bit more time at start-up

Poorly designed though, mirrors are a safety component the idea that they can fail closed in any capacity with a running engine isn't great - what if someone drove like that?

Thank you for the quick response!

It is an automatic vehicle (Petrol) with an Engine Start button and the key is a smart key.

The mirrors are designed to open automatically when we push the Engine Start button, provided the mirror control switch is set to "Auto" (this also allows the mirrors to close automatically when we lock the car).

To start the engine, we have to depress the brake pedal as far down as it goes and then push the start button. You hear the mirrors attempting to open less than a second before you hear the engine cranking but the moment the crank starts, mirrors stall and the engine starts. The delay is almost negligible but it exists.

I agree with you on the starter motor massively draining the power when it tries to start the engine but what bothers me is that the mirrors worked normally earlier even with the old battery which was at the end of its life.

Also, they used to open on random starts before they failed completely. Now it is manual intervention using the switch after every start, even with a brand new battery.

True, mirrors failing due to poor design is unacceptable in any capacity. Luckily, it is partially working and still can be controlled using the switch.

NOTE:

Pushing the engine start button once without depressing the brake pedal supplies power to power windows and mirrors, twice will enable all electronics on board without starting the engine.

 

[MattInARedMicra]

That's a very odd issue, a battery change should have no effect

The only thing I can think of, is that there is dirt built up in the tracks of the gears that the wing mirror motors move to open the mirrors or that the grease had dried up on the runners/friction points. So to begin with they may have opened quickly and over time they have slowed down and started to require current for a longer time wearing the motor out, similar to the way electric windows fail or squeak eventually.

To prevent them failing entirely I would be tempted to either leave them open all the time, or to start the car in stages so it's not all happening at once. It's not ideal but unless you can take it somewhere else to be serviced, those technicians at the current place don't seem to be able or willing to actually get to the core of the issue. I wonder what Nissan have had to say about the issue, it can't be only happening to you and if safety components are failing you think they would have to issue a solution or a recall or even some sort of literature which explains the issue to service technicians so they aren't just guessing

 

[Spectre]

That's a very odd issue, a battery change should have no effect

The only thing I can think of, is that there is dirt built up in the tracks of the gears that the wing mirror motors move to open the mirrors or that the grease had dried up on the runners/friction points. So to begin with they may have opened quickly and over time they have slowed down and started to require current for a longer time wearing the motor out, similar to the way electric windows fail or squeak eventually.

To prevent them failing entirely I would be tempted to either leave them open all the time, or to start the car in stages so it's not all happening at once. It's not ideal but unless you can take it somewhere else to be serviced, those technicians at the current place don't seem to be able or willing to actually get to the core of the issue. I wonder what Nissan have had to say about the issue, it can't be only happening to you and if safety components are failing you think they would have to issue a solution or a recall or even some sort of literature which explains the issue to service technicians so they aren't just guessing

My guess was pretty much the same, that the motors may have slowed down over the years and they may be drawing more power than they should, to open the mirrors automatically. May be these are the symptoms of failing motors, IDK.

Yes, it is certainly not a battery related issue.

During the last scheduled car service, fairly recently, I got the mirrors checked (RHS mirror assembly was recently replaced) and they oiled the tracks which only reduced the opening delay slightly but the problem wasn't fixed.

Having said that, I see no harm in getting the tracks / friction points cleaned again and re-oiled (greased?) to see if it helps fix the problem.

Where I live, people are awful when it comes to road and civil sense, both. Parked vehicles get hit by stupid drivers and they flee the spot before they can be held responsible (reminds me that I should get a DVR for the car). Hence, leaving the mirrors open is not an option and until I get the problem fixed, I'm forced to operate them manually using the switch.

Also, I'll record a video of the problem shortly before getting it serviced and share the link here.

 

[NathanFul123]

This happened on my 2014 micra, the contacts on the back of the auto/man switch had gone blue, I replaced it, took the covers off the mirrors, sprayed wd40, then white grease with teflon down the hole, worked them by hand a few times and have been fine since.

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