My right side mirror is loose. When I grab it, it has some play like forward backward . Does this require a visit to the dealer or is it something I can tighten myself ?
How much play? All passenger side have a small amount of wiggle. Check out a few parked on the street and compare. I went to the dealer and all the new OBs I tried had that small amount. They said they'd replace it under warranty but I declined. I believe to tighten you have to take the whole assembly apart.
My passenger-side mirror was a little loose. I asked the dealer to fix it the first time I was in after noticing it. He had to order a part, so I had to bring it back a week later, but now the problem is gone. As expected, warranty covered it with no muss, no fuss. They even re-used the body-colored part of the housing (it still had bug splatters on it). I was a little (but only a little) concerned about the color match, so that made me happy.
Take it to the dealer if you're still under warranty.
[Edit to add] The replacement has no play at all; the driver's side never had any play which is why I thought the other was a problem.
Should you receive a customer concern of vibration or looseness in either of the door mirrors, a design change has been made to the 3 mirror head mounting holes in the mounting base. In addition, a new retaining bolt and tightening torque specification are now used to secure the mirror head to the mounting base. This bulletin provides a procedure for repairing the existing mirror assembly by replacing the three mounting screws with updated fasteners.
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12-195-15
I compared with my wife's 15 Legacy and she has both mirrors loose. Both cars are under warranty. I was thinking about an easy fix from under the mirror. I guess I'll drop at the dealer. Thanks.
Hey, I don't own an outback, but my brother owns a 2017 WRX. He was telling me about the same problem. I did some research and found this Subaru Technical Service Bulletin NUMBER: 12-195-15.
To update : .Took the wife's Legacy to the dealer and they fixed both sides. They had to order the parts, took couple of days to get them. 40 minutes of work for both sides, and it is perfect now. They had to remove the upper panel of the door trim inside to access the mirror mounting base. I'll be taking my Outback soon for the right side mirror also.
Both mirrors on my 2017 OB limited were slightly loose. Dealer tightened them both. Had to take the door panels off to get to the underside. Update: In my case, it was the mirror housings where they attach to the doors.
Prior to today, didn't know this thread existed. Lately, noticed both mirrors were loose on my 15 Outback. Had it in for service today and also told them to fix the loose mirrors. I get the car back, mirrors still loose, they said he tightened them as much as they could be. I get home, service tech calls me and asked if the mirrors were still loose, told her yes. Said she was gonna talk to her manager to figure out what they were gonna do, replace mirrors if they had to. Shitting me? There's a bulletin out on this and they don't know this? And a car company (Subaru) having this kind of a problem?