gserep1

Hello Again,
I just returned from a weeklong trip to Japan on business...(Got to ride the bullet train..WAY COOL).
Anyway, I suspected that my driver's side electrochromatic mirror was bad since the day I bought the car, and I was right. I took it apart 2 weeks ago, and verified that the entire element was burned up. Plus the defrost part would not work either, so it stayed fogged up while the other side got warm and cleared up the frost right away.

After the local Lexus dealer gave me near terminal heart failure..($462.00 plus tax ) for the entire assembly, I priced the mirror only, and it was still about $365.00. Disassembly was easier than I thought.

I talked with Steve Ganz at Carson Toyota/Lexus, and I got just the mirror for $265.00. Thanks to all the posts, I was able to remove the old one, and install the new one in about 5 minutes. SURE is NICE to have everything working right again.

Thanks
GSEREP1

Letsride

Good job!!

bluelex

great...where r the pics?

gserep1

Hello Guys,
The pictures will be sent in a day or so...just as soon as I recuperate from my Japan trip.
GSEREP1

James2210

Don't suppose you know where I could get just the bit that the mirror glass clips onto (it's the white gimbal type thing with the worm screws on it). My dealer in the UK wants £270 (nearly $400) for a whole new mirror assembly which I resent paying as the rest of the mirror and glass is in A1 condition.

Thanks

gserep1

Hello,
I saw that part you are talking about when I changed my mirror. What is wrong with yours? Did you crack the entire piece? The mirror attaches to this piece through the 6 holes. I don't think that this piece is serviceable separately unfortunately. I know Lexus makes great cars and parts, but these prices are ridiculous in most cases. Sounds like you will have to go to a junkyard, or try a search engine like GOOGLE or LYCOS, and search for "used Lexus parts", or something to that effect.

Maybe you will get lucky, and find someone who changed out the whole mirror assembly. I just needed the mirror because everything wlse worked fine, Plus I was afraid that the newer mirror would have better paint than the rest of the car.The entire mirror assembly costs $462.00 + tax from Lexus dealers. They are already painted to your car color, and cost about $370.00 from Carson Toyota in California. Just a bit cheaper, but anything is better than nothing. I am sure SOMEONE has an old mirror assembly lying around.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

GSEREP1

James2210

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the part was broken by the previous owner of the car so I kind of inherited it. I had some success with a scrap dealer who wanted £120 (nearly $220) for a mirror assembly (without glass) but he said it was from a GS300S not SE and wasn't sure whether the memory positions would work properly with it but I suppose I could buy it and canabalise it just for the part. It's really annoying that the manufacturers probably produce this part for about $0.50 and I have to weigh up whether having it so my wife can adjust the mirror once every month when I get too drunk to drive is worth paying the £$£$£ for!

gserep1

Well FINALLY...
I got around to taking pictures of the mirror install. It was a nice warm CALIFORNIA day (between 65 to 70 degrees in San Diego). So armed with my trusty digital camera, I took a series of pictures. This is the first time I've uploaded pictures to ClubLexus, so I hope I do it right.

Here goes: I will do the text first, and hopefully put the pictures in order. If I have to change something, please be patient.

1. Leave your key in the ignition, and turned to "ACC", and put the driver's window all the way down.
2. Using the mirror control, roll the mirror all the way up until the mirror starts clicking. This is as far as it will go.
3. Putting your fingers under the mirror...use fingers on both hands for balance..(I couldn't because I had to take the picture, but I DID do it after I took the picture.) You may have to put your thumbs in the glass as well, but lift sharply UP from the bottom to unsnap the 4 snaps in the bottom. The glass will swivel upwards as soon as they unsnap.
4. Roll the glass straight up until it comes out the holder. NOTE: the top 2 connections on the mirror are "HOOKED" the frame, and therefore comes out on an angle. Once the mirror comes free of the shell, only the wire harness will be connected to the glass...be careful and do not drop (unless the mirror is already bad).
5.Follow the wire up from the glass towards the blue harness connector...(if this has not been removed previously, it may be covered with some insulation to keep the water out. Remove this, but understand that you may damage it taking it off, so the insulation may have to be replaced with new stuff. Pressure sensitive 2 sided tape will work fine.
6. Disconnect the harness, and the mirror will be free from the car.

To reinstall the old one, or put in the new one, reverse the process up above. Make sure that the top of the mirror goes in FIRST because it hooks in, and the bottom goes in last because it SNAPS in.

The pictures will show the procedure I just described. The mirror connects to the white swivel base inside the shell. Try not to disturb the wiring inside, but you can clean inside if desired. NOTE: The white piece swivels around the motor, and although it is delicate, it can be moved around carefully without damage. It is designed to "GIVE" a bit, in case of snow, and it will click loudly if the base is moved without the motor moving. Don't be too rough on the gearing. Use only enough force to put the mirror back in place.

To test: Roll the mirror back and forth using the controls with one hand, keeping your free hand under the mirror assembly to catch it, in the event the clips did not fully snap in. It should go the first time, but it may take experimentation. Now for the pictures:

gserep1

The first picture showed the damaged mirror.
The next mirror shows the back of tjhe bad mirror. This one was on the car when I bought it. A close look at the wires will show that the heating element was missing, and the wire was left dangling, AND the two small wires on the bottom were not even connected to the electrochromatic system. The dealers pulled a fast one on me. The first picture shows the glass rubber damaged on the bottom left side, and it was glued in place with rubber cement. I didn't notice it until after I bought the car. This mirror never dimmed, nor did it ever heat up when the car was in "defrost". Now you can see why.

gserep1

Look at the rats' nest of wires on this mirror. Nothing was connected, so nothing worked. I am not sure where this mirror came from, or if it was the original mirror on the car, but once I saw this jangle of wires, I knew it was time for a new mirror.

gserep1

Standing outside the car with the window rolled down, use the mirror control to roll the mirror all the way UP. Then put your fingers under the mirror. The book says to drape a towel through the top of the mirror and down to the bottom to use as leverage. I thought I could do it this way, and it worked.

gserep1

You should really use both hands for balance, and put thumbs on top of the glass for balance. Quickly and firmly (still using finesse), pull up, and unsnap the two lower sets of clips. You will feel them give.

The bottom will swing up at that point

gserep1

Roll the glass up to clear the upper hooks, and the glass will come down into your hands. Both circuits of the mirror can be clearly seen on the left side. I am unclear which is which, but one set of wires attach to the heating element, and the other set of wires activate the electrochromatic portion to dim the mirror at night.. This is the good mirror being removed just for the pictures.

gserep1

In the previous picture, if you look at the center of the mirror back, the 2 upper connectors have hooks, and the 4 lower connectors have snaps. Now let's look at the white piece the mirror attaches to: Those 6 holes correspond to the 6 connectors on the mirror. Be very careful with this piece, because this is what holds the entire mirror assembly in place. If this gets broken, the entire shell assembly will have to be replaced...OUCH! Please CENTER the mirror in these holes, and then push back in to install. This piece may have to be repositioned to properly center the mirror upon re-installation

jcramair1

Excellent little mod to the ride...I bet Japan was an experience in itself