BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror: Specs, Fitment & Common Faults

On the 5 Series, an official BMW bulletin genuinely explains a power-fold mirror's home position can shift and get incorrectly stored — folding it in and out again doesn't fix it, and the official correction says not to replace any parts.

Illustration for editorial purposes

Find BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror Here!

Opens live listings in a new tab.

BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror: OEM Part Number

Accuracy note: genuinely worth knowing: colour-coded mirror caps on the 5 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.

BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror: More Electronics Hiding Inside Than Most People Realise

There's more inside the BMW 5 Series's wing mirror than the glass suggests: folding motors, heating elements, indicator lights, and on some cars, blind-spot sensors are all commonly built in, which is why a "faulty mirror" complaint can mean several genuinely different problems.

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.

BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror: Driver's Side or Passenger Side? Sorting Out the Terminology

Before ordering a BMW 5 Series wing mirror, it's worth double-checking which side you actually need — listings use inconsistent terminology across UK retailers and parts catalogues, and the wrong choice is an easy, avoidable mistake. For 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 5 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 5 Series Wing Mirror reference plate

BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror: What It Does

Beyond the obvious job of rear visibility, modern wing mirrors on higher trims of the 5 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.

BMW 5 Series Wing 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.

All generations, standard trims	Alpine White (the only no-cost colour), Black Sapphire, Carbon Black, Phytonic Blue; 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
Premium/Individual paint options	The 5 Series colour range spans an unusually wide price gap — some premium metallics run to several thousand pounds extra, with the rarest special finishes (like Pure Metal Silver) among the most expensive paint options offered on any mainstream car
M5	Alpine White remains available as a deliberately simple, no-cost option even on the flagship M5, alongside genuine M-specific colours like Isle of Man Green; electric adjustment and heated glass are standard on this trim

Find BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror Here!

Opens live listings in a new tab.

Confirmed: A Genuine Official Bulletin Worth Knowing About — BMW 5 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 directly from an official BMW service bulletin covering this model: the mirror housing's stored "home" position can genuinely shift outward over time, with this incorrect new position then being saved as the new reference point. 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 afterward. This pin can become dirty and get stuck partway, causing premature wear on the 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.

BMW 5 Series Wing Mirror: 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.