Exterior rear-view mirrors
Due to its curvature, the outer part of the mirror provides a wider field of view than its inner part. As a result, the rear viewing angle increases and the so-called blind spot is reduced.
The passenger-side mirror has a larger radius of curvature than the driver-side mirror. Objects reflected in this mirror are actually closer than they appear. Therefore, it is poorly suited for judging the distance to vehicles approaching from behind.
The same applies to the outer part of both mirrors.◄

1 Adjustment
2 Mirror selection switch; switch for automatic mirror tilt to the parking position
3 Folding and unfolding of mirrors. The current exterior mirror position is stored for the electronic key in use.
Manual Adjustment
The mirror position can also be adjusted manually by holding the edges of the glass.
Folding and unfolding the mirrors
Pressing button 3 alternately folds and unfolds the mirrors at speeds up to 20 km/h. This may be useful, for example, on narrow streets or when returning manually folded mirrors to their original position.
To avoid damage, before driving into an automatic car wash, fold the mirrors manually or with button 3 to reduce the vehicle width.◄
Automatic heating
When the engine is running or the ignition is on, heating of both exterior mirrors switches on automatically.
Test yourself
A quick BMW X3 quiz: every answer comes with an explanation and a link to the manual page.