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How to replace driver's mirror?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by neocon_artist, Feb 2, 2009.

  1. neocon_artist

    neocon_artist New Member

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    Hi there,

    My beloved 2006 Prius suffered its first real damage last week when some creep knocked my driver's side mirror clean off, then kept going.

    The dealer wants $400 to put a new one on.

    Two questions:

    Most of the online replacement mirrors are running 70 0r 80 bucks. But there's one from a company called Kool-Vue that's $37, for the heated power unit, complete. Has anyone had experience with this company?

    2 - How do you remove and replace the old mirror? (The bottom of the stalk and the panel that fits into the door are still intact from the old one.) I have the standard audio package with the little speaker inside the door right where I would expect to find the mirror screws.
     
  2. roopesh

    roopesh New Member

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    I also need a passenger side replacement. I'll be interested in hearing anyone's experience with Kool Vue.
     
  3. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    I'd like to encourage both of you to use recycled parts, i.e., go to the junk yard. The mirror comes off fairly easily after you pull the little speaker straight out from where it's clipped onto the inside of the door. As I recall there are three 10mm nuts that hold the exterior mirror assembly to the door, but the illustration shows one nut (2). You can also look for the painted cover (4) to match your car's color; those just pop right off with a good yank, might need your fingernails.

    [​IMG]

    If you want to buy new, Discount Toyota Parts wants about $173.
     
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  4. halpos4

    halpos4 "Taxi"!

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    I replaced my driver and passenger door mirrors with LED signal mirrors with autofold,if you do a search for LED Signal Mirrors there's a "how to" on the dismantling of the mirrors and their housings,as Bill says in relation to the speakers they're only held with little clips,they're small so be careful so as not to lose them otherwise you'll have floppy speakers!!:eek:
     
  5. neocon_artist

    neocon_artist New Member

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    Thanks for the tip, Bill.

    As it turned out, a friend with a 2006 Prius had a mirror that was slightly damaged, which he replaced, being a rather fastidious fellow. He gave me his old mirror for nothing. A little spray paint on the mirror cover, some silicone to seal the crack that prompted the replacement, and I am back on the road.

    Your instructions for removing the mirror were spot-on!
     
  6. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I had a similar problem with an early 90's Honda Civic some creep knocked off the passenger side mirror. I got a cheap replacement but the color didn't quite match. Good enough for me though
     
  7. ljdog

    ljdog Junior Member

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  8. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    See attached.
     

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  9. adrian_nye

    adrian_nye New Member

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    These instructions were missing an important point for the 2007 Prius. In step 2, there is a snap-in plate under the door lever, and a screw behind it, that you have to remove first. This plate is inside the pocket in the bezel described in step 2.

    You'll see a groove in there, so stick your taped screwdriver in the groove and it pops of easily. Then unscrew the screw, THEN follow the instructions for #2 and all the rest.

    Also the screw mentioned later when popping off the entire door panel is not present in 2007.

     
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  10. danl

    danl New Member

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    Reviving an old thread, but this happened to me today. Dealer's quoting me $250 for the replacement mirror and $50 for the painted cover. Just wondering if anyone knows of any cheaper places to get the painted cover.
     
  11. Highly ImPriused

    Highly ImPriused Impressive Member

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    Another one here. My driver's side mirror is dangling by the wires now that some teenager with a death wish ran into it with his bicycle this morning (he appears to be fine luckily). The painted cover on the mirror is also fine. Looking on eBay, there's a couple of relatively cheap aftermarket options ($50 - $80 range), but it looks like they are solid black. I've tried emailing a few sellers this morning to ask if the removable painted cover on the original will snap onto the replacement housing, but none have been able to confirm it one way or the other. Does anyone on here know? Thanks!
     
  12. fshagan

    fshagan Senior Member

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    Rockauto.com has replacement mirrors for around $50. They come with the black insert; it looks like you simply remove the colored one from your old mirror and put it on the new mirror. I have my mirror sitting in the garage awaiting the exchange; I wanted to check here to see how to remove the speaker on the inside to get to the bolts that hold the mirror assembly on. Maybe I'll take pics of my mirror exchange!
     
  13. fshagan

    fshagan Senior Member

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    When you pop off the speaker by pulling straight out, you can see three studs with 10mm nuts on them that holds the mirror on the door. It was actually a pretty easy swap out, although my replacement mirror had a shorter wire harness. I went ahead and spliced the wires together and used heat shrink tubing and electrical tape to finish it off.

    The colored mirror panel snaps off and on pretty easily too. Almost too easy ... I wonder if people steal these panels!
     

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  14. Cip

    Cip Junior Member

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    As I see the "how to" that was discussed in here does not exist anymore. DocVijay's homepage is not active anymore and I could not find the document uploaded. If anyone knows where this "how to" on replacing the side mirror (especially on the easiest way to pop out the door panel) is please give a link or upload the guide. Thank you!
     
  15. Cip

    Cip Junior Member

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    Never mind! I figured how to pull the door panel. I replaced the driver side mirror with the one bought from ebay. My color is seaside pearl. The mirror is black. Now either I paint the mirror cover, either I replace also the passenger side mirror. I think I would do the replacement since it seems about the same price as the painting and I don't mind if both the mirrors are black (anyway it seems that the passenger side mirror is a slightly different color).
    Now what bothers me is that when I snapped back the speaker it is a little loose(2mm). The snap mechanism somehow suffered from when I took the speaker out. No matter how hard I tried I could not fit it back as it was. Then, although the mirror replaced looks and seems to work great, the outside upper corner doesn't fit as snug as I wish to the door; there are a few millimeters; this a design flaw of the replacement; however I don't think it will be a problem, just I don't like it when I look for it.
     
  16. Cip

    Cip Junior Member

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    Does anybody have for sale for 2005-2009 Pri
    - either a seaside pearl driver side mirror insert (cover)
    - either a black passenger side mirror cover ?
    If so please post or PM.
    Thanks in advance!
     
  17. Cip

    Cip Junior Member

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    Here are some photos with the changed mirror. In the photos the few millimeters mentioned are visible for both interior (installation flaw) and exterior (mirror design flaw). Also you may see why I'm looking for a black mirror insert for the passenger side or blue for the driver side :) If somebody has one extra I would appreciate if he will let it go for a few bucks!

    PS: Not sure if this is posted anywhere on PC, but I found a very useful page on mirror replacement at autobeyours.com. I messed up the metal clip they mention there. I have it but I cannot fit it right ... that's why the "speaker" stands loose now.
     

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  18. caymandiver75

    caymandiver75 Member

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    So two weeks ago I'm sitting at a stop light several cars back, but at a complete stop. There are 3 lanes going straight of which I am in the far left lane and next to me there are 2 more lanes for making a left turn. Well out of nowhere I hear this loud "bang!" and realize some a-hole in a new BMW 328i just clipped the mirror to my Prius. It appears to me that he was trying to beat the left turn light and with his lousy driving skills managed to come so close to me that his passenger side mirror clips my driver side mirror. So I see he didn't make the light and it appears like he would have kept going had the light not been red and I pull in behind him and get out. I walk up to his window and inform him in a rather pissed off way that he just hit my car. He said "Yeah" and I look at him like are you going to do anything about it or you going to just keep on going. So at this point I take a picture of his plate just in case he tries to run and we agree to pull over in the parking lot across from the intersection. While pulling into the lot I call the local police to get a report on file and shortly after they show up. The BMW driver admits fault and according to the cop he is supposed to receive a ticket, but lets him off. Wth!? :mad:

    Anyway, new mirror and cover ordered online for about $100 less than dealership prices and I plan to save the $100 it would cost to replace by doing it myself. Anyone have additional tips/advice on the swap?

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  19. ganeydn

    ganeydn New Member

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    What a co-incidence that you should report this today. Friday night my 05 Prius was parked across the street from a friends house while we were at a concert. When we returned there was a note from a neighbor on my windsheild, " Your car was side swiped. Call PD. Report taken." I found the mirror dangling from its wires, with minimal damage, but the plastic part of the door to which it was attached was completely shattered. Seeing that there was enough length of wire that I could solder them back together at a later time, and also that they were color coded for easy identification, I snipped the wires so that I would be able to drive without the mirror flopping against the car do0r.

    But the question remains, is it possible to replace the plastic panel on the door and the arm that attaches the mirror to it? I don't know what it's called in order to be able to order the part on-line.

    Thanks
     
  20. Cip

    Cip Junior Member

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    One year later I can say that ordering an aftermarket is a matter of luck. I have tried 3 aftermarket mirrors and they all were different inside. The fit of one of them was not tight at all. The other one I have installed on the driver side has poor construction: the folding mechanism broke in less than one year ... it folds itself on highway. So I would say, if you are usually not a lucky person, try to find an OEM.

    For swaping, read the posts before ... you need to work carefully not to brake the snaps.

    The panel and arm comes with the mirror, as far as I can say.