How do you remove the door mirror?

I forgot to answer your question about removing the door panel. Since you haven't done this before, I recommend you view one or more videos on how this is done. I found these to be particularly helpful my first time; they answered a lot of questions.

There are pop off plastic clips all around the perimeter of the panel that need to be detached. This is made easier with a special set of plastic (nylon?) tools made for the purpose. In addition, there are two metal clips in the area of the door handle that need to come off. I found these to be particularly troublesome but I eventually got them to release. I can't exactly remember how I accomplished that part but a good deal of force was required. I presume there's some trick to doing it easily, but I didn't find it.
Bob
 
Thank you for all the information, I have tried to find a used mirror on good condition from salvaged cars but nothing to date. What really dose not make any sense is to me, is to build the mirror assembly in the factory how is the brand new assembly constructed without a splice at all but to repair the unit you have to cut the wires? Did they spend hours fishing all those tiny wires and putting the pins and plugs on one by one. Seems. A very inefficient manufacturing process Wow!!
 
Another thought is could the entire wire bundle be defined at the connection in the door and pulled thru and re installed and reconnected at that plug. Of course all the tape and shrink wrap would have to be removed and replaced, may be alot easier to just cut and splice
 
So if you had it to do all over, would you try to unpin the wires from the plugs at either end so you would not have to cut and splice them as that must be how it is originally assembled. However if the plug is somehow molded over the pins after that would become quite difficult. It does look like a very tight squeeze thru the stalk
 
AM probably going to attempt a mirror repair myself, thanks Bob for starting the thread and the inspiration. Came back to car after a Costco run to find the mirror kind of dangling. Upon inspection it seems someone hit or bumped hard into the mirror. Don’t think it was hit with a car as 5here isn’t any damage so guessing someone walking by just bumped it. It doesn’t seem to be broken per se (no pieces seem damaged?) but Couldn’t figure out if it snaps back on so going to try and remove the housing to see what’s what in there. Any initial thoughts about snapping it back in (if possible?). Definitely avoiding dealer on this - per earlier posts, they will charge like 2k to purchase a new mirror and replace. Camera, motor and all things seem to function just fine.

I’ll post my adventure if it helps anyone as well.
 

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The stalk on which the mirror swivels (with a click) may be broken. If that is the case, you will need a whole new mirror assembly so until you determine that, you won't know whether you can get by with mirror parts or have to buy the whole thing. The base of the mirror has three bolts that go through holes in the outside of the door and are held in place by three nuts. You reach these nuts through holes in the inside of the door that are visible after the door panel is removed. If you drop one of these nuts inside the door, you'll need a magnet to fish it out from the bottom of the door. Harbor Freight has a short one for around $5; they also have a longer one on a telescoping shaft that gives greater reach but thankfully, I was able to retrieve the nut I dropped with the shorter one.

After you remove the mirror base from the door, I think I'll be pretty obvious what's broken. But if the stalk really is broken, you should be able to see that by removing the skullcap with the mirror still on the door.

I'm uploading a pdf that should help you remove the door panel if you've never done that before. Be especially careful not to destroy the three small metal clips around the inside door handle. Perhaps someone else can offer some advice or some trick to remove those fragile clips. In my experience, that was the hardest part of getting the door panel off.
Bob
 

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Bob Simon said:
The stalk on which the mirror swivels (with a click) may be broken. If that is the case, you will need a whole new mirror assembly so until you determine that, you won't know whether you can get by with mirror parts or have to buy the whole thing. The base of the mirror has three bolts that go through holes in the outside of the door and is held in place by three nuts. You reach these nuts through holes in the inside of the door that are visible after the door panel is removed. If you drop one of these nuts inside the door, you'll need a magnet to fish it out from the bottom of the door. Harbor Freight has a short one for around $5; they also have a longer one on a telescoping shaft that gives greater reach but thankfully, I was able to retrieve the nut I dropped with the shorter one.

After you remove the mirror base from the door, I think I'll be pretty obvious what's broken.

I'm uploading a pdf that should help you remove the door panel if you've never done that before. Be especially careful not to destroy the small metal clips (if I recall correctly) above the door arm rest. Perhaps someone else can offer some advice or some trick to remove those fragile clips. In my experience, that was the hardest part of getting the door panel off.
Bob
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Thanks again Bob. I do think the post is busted - seems a shame (as mentioned here..) that it’s gonna cost almost 600... everything else on the mirror is in great shape as far as I can tell.

will keep posting on progress
 
I was able to read the PDF file on how to remove the door panel if you still cannot let me know and I can email it to you. I have yet to fix mine as I am holding out for a salvage yard one to avoid all the splicing and or de pinning re- pinning of the connectors as my mirror only has a busted lower plastic base but is still fully functional
 
Patdown45 said:
I was able to read the PDF file on how to remove the door panel if you still cannot let me know and I can email it to you. I have yet to fix mine as I am holding out for a salvage yard one to avoid all the splicing and or de pinning re- pinning of the connectors as my mirror only has a busted lower plastic base but is still fully functional
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I ended up trying to epoxy the post back onto the base without removing the mirror entirely - I won’t be able to fold the mirror back anymore (which may have ironically prevented the situation in the first place!) but I’m hoping it will hold for a while... 600 bucks for a 5 dollar plastic piece is too hard to swallow. Hoping to extend the useful life of the mirror as everything else (camera, mirror, defrost, etc) works fine... I’ll post (pun intended) again when I confirm the fix with additional detail on removing the mirror and the back cap.
 
Welp, I'm giving up. I was able to successfully epoxy the post back on but I won't be able to get the mirror snapped back in. The motor that moves the mirror is screwed into the housing and works basically by extending and retracting two posts that have little ball bearing type fasteners that position the mirror up, down, left right. In order to get the mirror back on though, you have to snap the mirror itself off the motor - that's where the trouble is. In order to get the mirror back on, you have to snap it back on to the posts, which push too far in when trying to snap them, making the whole thing useless in the end (see picture)... What a frustrating mess. It was all good and I figured out the whole construction and how to solve it only to find out in the end, the darn 5 dollar mirror itself won't snap back in - which is the most important part i suppose...

Tip of the cap to you Bob, you told me I'd need a whole new mirror but I decided to waste 2 days figuring it out for myself - although for other reasons.

Why in the world would Honda make it so hard to fix the mirror - especially with some many moving parts...

Feel free to message me if you have questions on the assembly of the mirror - and think twice before snapping off the mirror!
 

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Just to assist others who might resurrect this thread again in the future. This all loops me back to my first post (#2 in this thread) where I simply said "good luck." Rare is the body shop that will make efforts to repair mirrors. It's not economically feasible for the amount of time and hassle and risk involved. So when a mirror breaks (with the exception of simple snap-on trim on the outside), I suggest resign yourself to replacing the whole assembly, despite the price, unless you REALLY are committed to a substantial project and have a lot of time and patience on your hands like Bob did here. There are no manuals or guides or tutorials on how-to either...for all the same reasons...nobody really fixes them, cuz it usually doesn't make sense to try.
 
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FWIW there are 2 left, and 3 right used mirrors on Ebay for sale right now, in various colors...$350-ish depending on which you choose. Save yourselves some hassles and just get a used mirror and replace it. Another dozen or so for sale on http://www.car-part.com/ for various prices. They're not that hard to find...
 
craze1cars said:
Just to assist others who might resurrect this thread again in the future. This all loops me back to my first post (#2 in this thread) where I simply said "good luck." Rare is the body shop that will make efforts to repair mirrors. It's not economically feasible for the amount of time and hassle and risk involved. So when a mirror breaks (with the exception of simple snap-on trim on the outside), I suggest resign yourself to replacing the whole assembly, despite the price, unless you REALLY are committed to a substantial project and have a lot of time and patience on your hands like Bob did here. There are no manuals or guides or tutorials on how-to either...for all the same reasons...nobody really fixes them, cuz it usually doesn't make sense to try.
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I definitely agree... now, haha. I’m a tinkerer by nature and sometimes just need to figure it all out. With corona, I had some spare minutes to fiddle with it. Thing is, the only problem that seems to be unsolvable - quickly at least - is getting the mirror to snap back onto the little motor mounting shafts. If you can figure that out, you could actually replace any of the mirror parts, maybe with the exception of the post spring, as Bob learned.
 
Already figured out and late to the party but was researching other things and wanted to attach these for posterity. May help someone else, and probably me someday soon.

Cheers,

Cash
 

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Cash Traylor said:
Already figured out and late to the party but was researching other things and wanted to attach these for posterity. May help someone else, and probably me someday soon.

Cheers,

Cash
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Love these. Thanks so much for posting. I will say that in the mirror removal directions, I was unable successfully snap the mirror back onto the posts. The posts themselves get pushed all the way in and it didn’t seem to line up right. If anyone does do this, I’d recommend removing the entire mirror housing first, then snapping off mirror, doing whatever work, snapping mirror back on, then reattaching mirror housing. Getting the mirror back on is damn near impossible...
 
Timbomac said:
Love these. Thanks so much for posting. I will say that in the mirror removal directions, I was unable successfully snap the mirror back onto the posts. The posts themselves get pushed all the way in and it didn’t seem to line up right. If anyone does do this, I’d recommend removing the entire mirror housing first, then snapping off mirror, doing whatever work, snapping mirror back on, then reattaching mirror housing. Getting the mirror back on is damn near impossible...
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Well, my wife woke up this morning to a note stating that I had a "butt accident".... with the Clarity's mirror next to it. Was wiping the glass roof on the Tesla while using a stool (lol butt accident), and on the way down hit the mirror with my butt. The thing snapped at the stem. Wow! I didnt even hit it hard enough for it to hurt... after examining it for a while I think the plastic they use is terrible! It seems porous and non elastic, it shatters instead of bending. Maybe to make the mirror withstand tens of thousands of hours of sun exposure, but still... if thats the plastic you gotta use, then design it in a better way, or how about a metal rod, just an inch of it, at the stem?

Anyhow, took it to dealership to get a quote (I already was expecting $1300ish including labor from other posts here). Yup, mirror itself is around $950, labor/calibration is $250, plus if you need the back cap (which is painted to match your car) then its another $88.

I knew these were the numbers I was going to be get, but I still told the parts guy... WoW, that mirror is like 1/20th the cost of the car...

I confirmed with him that its not serviceable, they cant reuse anything except for the $88 cap. So no matter what, my mirror is trash now. Why cant you reuse a perfectly good mirror motor/camera, is beyond me... if its hard to service, then why is it not designed to be easy to service?

Since this the state of things I figured I might as well tinker with it to see what I can do to salvage the situation. It wasnt long before I came to the conclusion that I can definitely fix it. However that would require that it no longer folds. This is because the design uses very thin plastic, gluing it wont give enough support, additionally it is right against the moving plastic, unless you use a microscope you wont be able to glue one without gluing the mechanism together.

Seeing how this is the passenger window, I dont think we've ever folded it in the 1 year ownership of the car. Plus, this means that Id be giving $1300 just to have the 'feature' of it being foldable. (I feel my fix made it more durable than a replacement would be, or at least just as much).

I saw 3 approaches.

1) Superglue (I think too brittle for this type of job)
2) 2 part epoxy (should be strong enough, after a few days its as hard as a piece of amber)
3) Screw the two pieces together. It would be inside the housing so would not be visible at all. (but has risk of cracking the plastic, would need careful pre-drilling etc).

I decided to go the epoxy route.

The mirror is back on the car, I test drove it, camera, adjustment work perfectly. Didnt test the heat as there was no condensation, but Im sure it works. If at some point it breaks off again (although I gave it a tug and its solid as a rock), or I decide I want the fold. Ill pay up the $1300 to get it replaced. or maybe Ill find an aftermarket/used part eventually for a few hundred.

Now, as to why Im replying. I spent a good 2 hours trying to figure out how to take the cap off. Never could figure it out. There are 4 squeeze clips visible, and there are 3 hidden clips inside the housing. All service manuals Ive looked at just say "release clips". I have no idea how you are supposed to release clips you cant see or get to. Id queeze the housing, hear them release, but the cap wouldnt budge. I eventually gave up and disassembled the base of the stem and went that route. That was enough for the glue approach.

Now, as to snapping back the mirror.... WOW.. no kidding. Who designed this thing? and Im curious how do they do it at the factory!

I ended up doing it after 15 minutes or so of huffing and puffing by taking thin pliers (not needle nose, just something that has a thin profile), covered the ends with masking tape to prevent damage and squeezed the white actuator posts as I put the mirror onto them. It worked. You have to do it in specific order, if you do it on wrong order then the gap for the pliars is too small.

After the two are on you have to snap the center on. I havent tried, but perhaps you can snap the center on first, then the posts will reach even if fully retracted?

Anyhow, I have a fully functioning mirror now, except the folding in.
 
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insightman said:
Anyone else with your extreme level of skill would have charged more than $1,300 to perform this resurrection. Good job!
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Thanks. I guess the weird part to me is how much $1300 is proportionally to the cost of the car. It just doesn’t seem right. The part itself, a simple motor, a low resolution camera, a $1 mirror plus a few more components should not cost as much as an iPhone or laptop.

Im ok with labor costs, the part costs is what bothers me.
 
Duxa said:
I guess the weird part to me is how much $1300 is proportionally to the cost of the car.
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Sadly, you could do this exercise with ANY car...
If you added up the dealer cost for all the parts, it would probably be more than 10X the cost of the vehicle.
 
look at this video, at 1:25 you can see that the two white posts could be taken off the actuator. I know it's a different car and side mirror housing, but if one takes the similar white posts (plastic) off the Clarity power mirror actuator and stick into the back of the mirror first, it may be easier to push the other end of the white posts into the actuator. This would make the installation a lot easier.
 
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