If you place a part and set the mirroring (horizontal, vertical or both) and then place a new part on the original part, the new part you place will be mirrored and you will not be able to select or unselect the mirror function for it.
Wow, that sounds... 'Peter Piper picked a part apart to make the pert part depart in the park'. Anyway, once you set the mirroring for a part it carries over to anything you attach to it.