GS 300 wing mirrors. All auto-dimming?

rich1068 · January 9, 2020

One of the few niggles with my GS is the nearside wing mirror. The photochromic/auto-dimming element has gone bad and the glass needs replacing. Did all MK2 GS have auto-dimming mirrors? And were all GS mirrors the same fit and size? I'm thinking pre and post facelift. Does anyone know?

The reason I ask is that I see plenty of reasonably priced complete mirror units on the Bay but not often a mention of them being auto-dimming.

rich1068 · January 15, 2020

Anyone?

Britprius · January 15, 2020

I have a GS450H, but it's a 2007 however that has the auto dimming door mirrors. I would think they all came with these OEM, but there are many replacements for sale that use plane glass mirrors.

John.

rich1068 · January 15, 2020

Cheers John. It's the MKII GS I need the info on though. There are loads of complete MKII mirrors on eBay but not many mention whether they're auto dimming. If that distinction is made then they're £££. I'm wondering if most are just standard heated glass or whether it's the breakers trying to gouge a bit more on the price.

Britprius · January 15, 2020

3 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

Cheers John. It's the MKII GS I need the info on though. There are loads of complete MKII mirrors on eBay but not many mention whether they're auto dimming. If that distinction is made then they're £££. I'm wondering if most are just standard heated glass or whether it's the breakers trying to gouge a bit more on the price.

Richard I did notice yours was a MK11. My passengers side mirror has the plastic black surround from the glass missing "although the mirror itself is still ok". I am concerned water might get in to the liquid crystal part of the mirror, and damaging it. This surround is not available separately, and as you have found new glasses or parts from breakers do cost £££.

John.

Britprius · January 15, 2020

Richard you could order a mirror from eBay that does not mention the dimming aspect. When it arrives if it does not dim you could return it as it does not function as it should OEM, and get your money back through Paypal.

John.

rich1068 · January 15, 2020

38 minutes ago, Britprius said:

Richard you could order a mirror from Ebay that does not mention the dimming aspect. When it arrives if it does not dim you could return it as it does not function as it should OEM, and get your money back through Paypal.

John.

I could but that leads me back to my original question, are they all auto dimming?

I see a slight tint to some advertised but that's not enough for me to take a gamble. Might ask my friendly local Lexus parts manager.

LexIS200Sport · January 17, 2020

Failing that, if you visit www.amayama.com and enter your VIN number, it should shortlist the part numbers to those relevant to your spec of car.

You can then cross-check the exact version of wing mirrors that you need.

rich1068 · January 17, 2020

Unfortunately not many breakers list the part numbers. My local parts guy suggested something I hadn't thought of which was to look at breakers that were also selling the rear view mirror with the button on. That guarantees photochromic glass if they're selling wing mirrors too.

However, I came across this the other day. It's part of a press pack for the facelifted GS and lists all the standard and optional specs. Very handy and shows that all mirrors were auto dimming on the facelifted cars. So now I just need to find one from a post-2000 car of which there are quite a few.

1414686217141010DM1GS430GS300UKlaunchpack2000.doc