Wing Mirror

[is200 Newbie]

Bummer !!!!!! Just noticed that the drivers side mirror is on its way out. Its the auto dim / heated type at over £200 for a replacement.

It looks like what happens to a cracked LCD screen where the liquid bleeds into the screen.

It has just started to go at the bottom of the mirror for the moment so i would imagine i can get a month or so out of it.

Does anyone know what year these started to be installed on these cars. I cant justify paying around £260 for a new mirror glass so want to look at one from a breakers, even if i need to buy the wing mirror itself. I believe there's no easy way for someone not knowing that it dims that it does and would just sell as a heated mirror.

Anyone have any ideas?

Also, does anyone know how easy they are to remove, although this is not going to be a major issue as the one on the car is broke so it makes no difference but i can do without damaging the original housing.

[Geoffers]

Not sure what year or model but changing them is dead easy.

I can't quite remember where the connector is for the mirror so you might have to take the door panel off too.

Here's how

[is200 Newbie]

Thanks Geoffers - thats a handy walkthrough for the door covers.

[J Henderson]

Same thing happened to my driver's side mirror glass, and I think the passenger side one is also on the way out as it has an area that stays clear and never darkens...

Anyway, to remove the mirror glass only, there are no tools required. Just adjust the mirror angle all the way up until you can get your fingers under it and pull. Preferably in the middle as that's where it is clipped on. With a bit of patience and gentle force, it should come free. The top of the glass is held in place with hooks, so you just need to try and wiggle them out once the bottom part is unclipped.

I gave up searching for a proper replacement and just bought a standard mirror glass as a quick fix to pass an MOT (the dyed/burnt damage on my mirror was pretty bad and would likely have been a fail).

Presumably the replacement I got was from an earlier model though as the wiring/connector on the back was quite different. Since I didn't want to modify anything incase I could find a proper electrochromatic mirror further down the line, I just fitted the glass as is, with the heating function disconnected.

Having a non-heated mirror in the middle of winter got old pretty quick, though. So, I bought a replacement glass from eBay to repair my original mirror. One of these; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370536210598

Once the old glass had been removed from the backing plate (which was a bit of a pain tbh as mine cracked into a million pieces during the process), the new one fitted on perfectly and looks OEM, with heating function intact.

[esp]

www.carwingmirrors.co.uk These guys reckon they can fix our mirrors because mine is starting to go on my LE

[is200 Newbie]

Thanks ESP - I actually looked at that web site before but never noticed the repair service - i will give them a call.

Cheers