Two 2020 Subaru Foresters with loud and occasionally faulty electric motors in the car's side mirrors. How can I have them fixed before their warranties run out?

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We have two identical 2020 Subaru Foresters. When reverse gear is engaged, the left exterior mirror angles down. When the car is locked both left and right mirrors fold in. Our problem with both cars is that the motors driving the mirrors are noisy. Our mechanic has indicated it's not normal.

Also, on occasions, the mirror on my Forester doesn't drop down fully in reverse. The cars are almost out of warranty and we wanted to get this sorted before the warranty expires. I'm expecting the run around to delay any repair until after our warranty is up.

The noise could be from the electric motors themselves or in the gears and cogs that physically move the mirrors to their new positions. Pulling the mirror apart and lubricating these mechanisms might help reduce the noise and may even fix the one mirror’s reluctance to move through its full range of positions.

As far as warranty goes, the situation is a bit complicated in that the dealer may examine the noise and decide that it’s not abnormal. But what you should do before the warranty runs out is have the car examined and the problem logged at dealership level. That way, if anything goes wrong as a result of the problem, even if it’s beyond the warranty period, you have what’s called a pre-existing condition whereby the problems is Subaru’s to fix because it existed while the warranty was still current, even if it wasn’t fixed at that time. The point being that the dealer can’t delay a fix reported during the warranty period and then claim that the vehicle is out of warranty and refuse to fix the problem.

Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.

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