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2002 Prius rear view mirror replacement

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by primuspaul, Jan 3, 2017.

  1. primuspaul

    primuspaul Member

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    My rear view mirror was a bit loose so I thought I'd adjust the bolt in the back of it. But it did not turn and in fact was not being held in at all. I tried putting in a larger bolt, but it had no effect. I'd like to replace it with this:

    2001-03 TOYOTA PRIUS REAR VIEW MIRROR GREY OEM KM | eBay

    But I can't even get the thing off. Can someone post instructions/pictures on how to remove it? I see the two bolts in the eBay photo, but have no idea how to get to them in my car.
     
    #1 primuspaul, Jan 3, 2017
  2. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    Take it to a windshield shop. They regularly do this sort of work--probably won't even charge you.
     
    #2 Brian in Tucson, Jan 8, 2017
  3. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    Don't know if you''re still monitoring this, but the plastic cover at the base of the mirror, where it connects to the chassis, prys off from the sides. Use a flat blade screwdriver, that's an access cover. You'll be able to get to the mounting screws. Btw, the screw head next to the swivel on the back of the mirror will tighten the action of the swivel.
     
    #3 Brian in Tucson, Jan 10, 2017
  4. primuspaul

    primuspaul Member

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    Do I put the screwdriver between the ceiling and that cover?
     
    #4 primuspaul, Jan 17, 2017
  5. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    I would say so.
     
    #5 Brian in Tucson, Jan 18, 2017
  6. primuspaul

    primuspaul Member

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    In case anyone is wondering. I did fix the mirror. Removing it requires first the removal of the plastic cover. This can be done with a large flathead screwdriver. Then you use a regular cross screwdriver to remove the two revealed bolts.

    Normally, the bolt in the rear of the mirror tightens a ring in the body of the actual mirror around the steel pivot bolt that holds the mirror's body. However, something happened to my mirror and inserting a bolt no longer had any effect. Thus, the mirror would pivot all the way down from the slightest bump in the road. I pulled out the steel pivot ball, wrapped it in some plastic that was lying around, and forced it back into the mirror's ring. This effectively made the mirror much sturdier.

    It's an easy fix, but totally NOT straight forward to figure out that you need to pop off that plastic cover to even see the bolts.
     
    #6 primuspaul, Mar 19, 2017
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