Mazda2 backlit Homelink Mirror to Prius?

I know that this topic has been beaten to death, but....

I go to work in the dark and fumble to find my Model V's mirror's Homelink buttons after backing out of the garage. No fun in that. I've been looking at the Mazda2 Touring mirror as a possible replacement. Both appear to be Gentex. Oddly, Gentex does not seem to offer to the retail market a mirror with back-lit buttons.

The Mazda piece (0000-8C-Z08 -- $250) has three, back-lit, Homelink buttons, and a compass. Anyone have a clue if this could be a simple swap with my stock unit? I suspect that my current mirror wiring harness connector would have to be fed 12v to the appropriate pins for the compass and buttons' back-light to work, but the power for that is there now for the stock item's needs.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Marshal

 

Thanks, Paul. That's what I was thinking about the harness. A VOM will tell the rest of the story. Hope that your installation goes well.

Marshal

 

Order made. I should have the mirror in hand by the end of the week. We'll see how the installation goes. You can send to me your mailing address after I confirm that everything is a "go" on my end.

Thanks again,

Marshal

 

I do the same thing. All of my controllers are configured the same way: garage button on the right; gate on the left; nothing in the middle. It works. I just don't care to do it that way.

My new mirror has not arrived, so nothing to report back on that score.

Cheers,

Marshal

 

The Mazda2 mirror came in yesterday. Other than having back-lit Homelink buttons, and a compass with its own power button, it looks identical to stock: same size; seemingly the same three wires running through the short harness; color; shape; mount. I'll try to install it over the weekend, then report back.

Marshal

 

Don't know yet. This weekend perhaps. Please keep in mind that ALL models COULD install this mirror, but it may get expensive ($100 or so) for those GenIII cars without a Homelink mirror to begin with. My Model V looks plug-n-play, but it may not be. I need to use a VOM to test the three mirror-harness wires for voltage or ground on the appropriate lead.

Marshal

 

Project completed! Everything works as expected. Back-lit Homelink buttons, Homelink functions, and compass are all 'good-to-go'. The compass' display dims or brightens along with the electrochromic mirror's image.

Be warned: this is NOT Plug-N-Play.

It took me six hours. Why? Certainly not because it was such a difficult job; it was not. What took so long was getting the mirror stalk's ball-in-socket separated from the ball on the window mount. Jeeze! There must be an easier way to do this. I used heat. I pulled. All to not avail. I finally chucked the whole thing in a vice and levered down on the stalk until the ball popped out. Gorilla magic. Did that for both mirrors, then swapped-out the mounting balls. Four hours shot. Patience my ***!

Cut the white-insulator covered power cable from the stock mirror, pulled out the three wires used: hot; ground; switched 12v, then tested them with a VOM. Checked the wiring diagram from the Mazda2 instructions and soldered the old wires to a shortened version of the Mazda plug. Tested again with the VOM. Plugged the Mazda cable into the mirror, then plugged the Prius cable into its connector. Ignition 'on' to re-check. Almost done.

Before I started this project, I had wondered why the trim piece between the headliner cover and the mirror ball did not fit. The trim piece had been mounted upside-down. Dumb. After that mystery was solved, I noticed that I did not have enough room for the, now, external mirror-wire to hide under the trim cover, and go over the windshield-side mounting ball. Using a drill and side cutters, I cut a notch in the lower section of the trim. Everything fit.

As per the included instructions, I took the car out for the "three circles" drill used to calibrate the compass. A few clicks set the compass' zone for my area. Done.

Was it worth the effort to me? Yes; no question about it. Would I do it again? Yup. Should you do it? That's really up to you. Do you have a #20 Torx driver? $5 will buy one. Do you have a vice and a lot of faith that your new mirror will not break when you force it? Go for it. Do you have the experience and equipment to run-down the functions of three electrical wires, the courage/faith to snip existing wires, and the skill to solder those to the wires of an unlike connector? If not, stop there. Hire someone to do the work for you.

If 'yes' on all counts, put some major muscle on the ball joint, snip those wires, and have some fun.

Cheers,

Marshal