Towing mirrors
Bought myself a BMW X3 last year.
If anybody else has an X3 what towing mirrors do you use or if anybody else has any suggestions as to which ones would be best for me.
At the moment I use Milenco Grand Aero 3 but they don’t fit snugly,tend to come loose whilst traveling,fitted a treat on my last car Honda CR-V.
seems to be the shape and angle of the car mirror that’s the problem,with the near side towing mirror it’s hard to see down the side of the caravan unless you turn your head to the left as far as you can due to the angle of the car mirror
Comments
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Whilst i do not currently use an X3, I have used the Grand Aero's on a variety of other cars.
There was one that I was having trouble with, and was about to store my troublesome mirrors away when someone suggested a simple solution, - fit them to the bottom edge of the mirror housing and not the top! I did and it worked!
I have never had any of my Milenco's come loose on me after being securely tightened on commencement of a journey.
Do try fitting the Grand Auto's to the bottom of your mirrors, I found it much better than the usual top mounting.
TF
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I used to fit the Grand Aeros on the bottom of my mirrors on the last Touareg because there simply wasn't enough clearance between the lens and the mirror housing. On the new Treg, they work fine on the top. Only downside to fitting on the bottom is that if you have Powerfold mirrors, they might hit the door when folded in.
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Many thanks for the advice you can just about get a sheet of paper in the bottom of the mirror.
There is a gap on top of the mirror where a piece of trim clips in it shows you on the Milenco website some cars have the same gap as mine.
A few other cars have this problem Kia,and Tregs I think and a few more,on the Milenco website they do an F pad to fit in this gap,ordered 4 of these for £6.45.
Be careful if anybody buys any the price ranges from £6.45 to £16.
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I also tow with an X3 a 2016 model. I found a similar issue with the mirrors when attached at the top, in fact I always worried that the potential strain on a small straight area on top of the mirror would crack the casing. So I have tracked down a set of EMUK mirrors for the X3, they are not cheap at 96 pounds, but look the part and connect totally differently. My thought is that is much cheaper than replacing the mirror casing if it cracked. Also you can fold the mirrors in electrically without the mirror touching the window.
I haven't towed with them yet so cant comment on the vision, but they are much more solidly attached.
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I bought some Aero wing mirrors (the cheaper ones with the 'pointed mirror'). I found them a bit of a pain to adjust - especially the passenger side where you have to rely on someone else to help line it up. I got fed up of: up a bit, down a bit, to the side, no that's too far move it back, no that's too much - scenario. Ive now gone back to my old trusted suck-it-and-see mirrors. They fit to the centre of the mirror and you can adjust them with the electric mirror adjustment a lot more finely and accurately. A lot less bother...... I can't see why they wont work on any car...
David
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Agree with that, I tend to rely on the standard mirrors most of the time. My Grand Aero's are good. Stay on, minimal vibration etc but the cars mirrors for 90 % of the time are fine. Only thing I have to remember is to turn off the "Auto dip" because when reversing with the caravan attached it's a PITA
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Having bought a 2016 BMW X3 last year my Aero mirrors would not fit so I swapped with my son for his strap on's which are poor,so I bought a pair of milenco Falcon £32 that with a little modification fit to the bottom of the car mirror. The clamps open much wider than the Aero model although the Aero is a better mirror for most cars. There is a 6mm strip about 4 mm wide under the outside of the mirror so for the clamps to make a purchase I have glued a 6mm piece of wood or plastic next to the strip, you can't see it unless you bend down.I have photos if I can download due to size.
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We purchased our caravan at the end of June this year and the sales person kindly said that he would fit a pair of Milenco Grand Aero 3 towing mirrors to my car. We own a BMW X3 and at the time we did not know about the problems that other X3 owners were having with these mirrors.While the sales person was fitting the mirrors we heard a crack and on closer inspection the outer casing on my mirror had a small crack.
The dealer did agree to replace the damaged item however further investigation into the Milenco mirrors revealed that there was indeed a problem with their mirrors in regard to the X3. Even on the Milenco web site it mentions this. I tried fitting the Milenco mirrors again but to me they just didn't fit right and I lost complete confidence in them. I looked at other mirrors and finally purchased a pair of EMUK towing mirrors which I must say are brilliant. They cost a bit more but they are solid and easy to fit. We have decided to sell our caravan as we have now purchased a motor home. So if any body knows some one who needs a pair of EMUK mirrors that are virtually new, please let me know.
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I also have a 2019 X3 and mile coming are hopeless. I have a set of stick on but they don’t give a decent view behind.
i have looked at emu mirrors and they seem to have a better fitting.
my last X3 a 2017 model cracked one of the surrounds, to tight a fit.
I would be interested in your emuk mirrors if available
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Not sure if X3 mirrors are same shape as X5, but copied below is my posting from a similar thread about my X5:
Posted on 02/09/2020 18:52
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I too recently bought a 2019 X5 (although an X30D) and was helped by the dealer, as a member of staff had previously purchased mirrors which did fit, and they brought them in to confirm to me which brand did fit.I purchased this brand (EMUK) from Germany by phone. They spoke perfect English, and sent me English links to enable me to order, after first establishing beyond doubt that they were the correct ones. And the mirrors took all of 48 hours to arrive at my home, from Germany.
This is the website https://www.autoteile-herr.de/
and the phone number +4923719210691
Ask for Stefanie, she is most helpful, and says she smiles at the many times she gets orders from uK.
worth having a look, or chat with them. The EMUK mirrors are the most solidly connected I’ve ever used.
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I have a BMW X3 g01 2021 and have emuk 100071 mirrors which I bought from Amazon, as emuk don't deliver to the UK post brexit. Expensive but worth every penny. Fit perfectly.
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