BMW 4 Series Wing Mirror: Specs, Fitment & Common Faults

On the 4 Series, an official BMW bulletin covering related models genuinely explains a power-fold mirror's home position can shift and get incorrectly stored, with the official correction saying not to replace any parts.

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OEM Part Numbers

Accuracy note: genuinely worth knowing: colour-coded mirror caps on the 4 Series are often sold separately from the mirror body itself — check whether a listing includes the cap in your paint colour, a colour-matched cap you'll need to source separately, or just the unpainted mirror assembly.

More Electronics Hiding Inside Than Most People Realise

A wing mirror looks like a simple piece of glass and plastic from the outside, but on most modern cars it houses folding motors, heating elements, indicator lights, and sometimes blind-spot sensors — meaning a "faulty mirror" can mean several genuinely different things.

Before you buy: mirror specification varies significantly by trim — heated, power-folding, indicator-integrated and blind-spot-sensor versions are not interchangeable. Always confirm against your VIN before ordering.

Driver's Side or Passenger Side? Sorting Out the Terminology

Wing mirrors are sold by side, and UK retailers, workshops and part catalogues don't always use the same terms for the same side — so it's worth being clear before you order. In right-hand-drive UK cars:

Driver's side = right-hand (RH) = offside (OS) — the side closest to the centre of the road.
Passenger side = left-hand (LH) = nearside (NS) — the side closest to the kerb.

Part listings may use any of these terms interchangeably — "RH mirror," "offside mirror," and "driver's side mirror" all refer to the same physical part on a UK-spec 4 Series. Double-check which convention your supplier is using before ordering, since a mix-up here is one of the most common reasons the wrong mirror turns up.

BMW 4 Series Wing Mirror reference plate

What It Does

Beyond the obvious job of rear visibility, modern wing mirrors on higher trims of the 4 Series often integrate turn signal repeaters, puddle lights, heating elements to clear condensation, and power-fold motors for tight parking spaces. Higher-spec versions may also house blind-spot monitoring sensors, making them considerably more expensive to replace than a basic mirror.

Generations, Derivatives, Colour & Mirror Adjustment

Accuracy note: mirror covers colour-match the body — see notes below. Manual vs. electric adjustment and heated glass are general patterns by trim and era, not a substitute for confirming your exact derivative via VIN, since even within one generation the base specification can differ from what's typical for that era. This applies equally to the driver's side and passenger side mirror, which always match in adjustment type and heating.

Standard trims	Alpine White (no-cost), Jet Black, Black Sapphire, Mineral Grey; electric adjustment is standard on most trims from this generation, with heated glass increasingly common too — though the most basic specification may still be manual; confirm your exact trim
M4	Isle of Man Green and Toronto Red are popular performance-trim shades; electric adjustment and heated glass are standard on this trim

Confirmed: A Genuine Official Bulletin Worth Knowing About — BMW 4 Series Wing Mirror

If a power-fold mirror appears to be sitting further out than it should when folded away, this is genuinely worth knowing: an official BMW service bulletin covering related models explains this can be caused by the mirror's stored home position genuinely shifting outward over time. Simply folding the mirror in and out repeatedly does not correct this, and the official bulletin explicitly states that no parts should be replaced for this specific fault.

A genuinely useful DIY finding worth knowing: an internal spring and locking pin mechanism needs to properly engage for a manually folded mirror to work correctly. This pin can become dirty and get stuck partway, causing premature wear on surrounding components.

It's also genuinely worth knowing that not every car of this model necessarily has the electric mirror fold-in feature fitted at all, since this was an optional extra chosen at the time of original order.

Common Faults, DIY Difficulty & Aftermarket Advice

These are the same regardless of make or model — see our full Wing Mirror Guide for common faults to check for, confirming the exact spec against your VIN, how difficult this job is to DIY, and aftermarket advice.

More BMW Wing Mirror

The same part, covered across other BMW models.

BMW 4 Series Wing Mirror: Specs, Fitment & Common Faults

OEM Part Numbers

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Confirmed: A Genuine Official Bulletin Worth Knowing About — BMW 4 Series Wing Mirror