PauloFR

Hello,

I have one last problem with my car (at least I hope so): my rear view mirror has grey lines going through it. But although they don't make it unusable, I forget it most of the time, and it stills dims just fine, I would like to address this. I didn't even ask the dealer because I know this is a common problem on Lexuses, and it costs $2,000, which is insane. There is a company called Radar Mirror who replaces the glass for $129, which is very interesting, and they appear to be trustworthy. I even saw people here who received their mirror successfully repaired. The problem is they are in Texas. It will take at least 2 weeks from shipping to delivery and driving without a rear view mirror is illegal here, and I need my car.

So I'm interested in doing it myself, but I absolutely can't find the inside mirror glass alone. The only non-erroneous Google results are the ones leading to the company. With what is possible nowadays I can't believe finding a mirror glass is not, so I want to make sure I have missed something before sending it over.

Thank you!

CowBoE

I got it serviced from them last year and spent close to $150, when including insurance and return shipping.
The mirror came back looking brand new, and initially I loved it.

But now I totally regret it. Nowadays, $150 bucks will get you a dash cam for both front and rear,
and they come with a smart display that hangs over the current mirror.

Take a look at this...I didn't do deep research but there are many to choose from, and this is what I plan to do in the near future.

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

You can buy a cheap rear view mirror at many auto parts stores, the universal ones are probably $15-30 bucks. That way you can send off your rear view mirror for repairs.

something like this

PauloFR

Yes, good idea thanks. I bought one. Now I need to remove the mirror, and I run into issues with that: I unscrewed the screw behind the mirror on the windshield, and I can slide it back and forth a bit but it is blocked by the windshield and the center console at the other end.

@CowBoE I'm going to sell the car to buy a newer model so I must stay as OEM as possible, this is why I'm not slapping an external mirror on it, and to be honest, I wouldn't do it, I don't like aftermarket add-ons in a car, unless it doesn't show and it is really useful. I don't find any video on how to remove it in this car, so if you remember the procedure, it would be interested as can be.

CowBoE

I can't follow what you are saying.

You bought "it"...what did you buy?
If it's dash cam rear view mirror, doesn't just clip on to the front of the existing mirror?

You are going to sell the car...then why do you need to remove the mirror?

Regardless, if you want to remove the mirror, first unscrew the torx bit ( I think it was torx 20 or 25 bit).
Just loosen it 1 to 2 full turn, you don't have to take it out, but it doesn't hurt any if you do remove the torx bit completely.

Then there is a plastic trim that covers wiring between the overhead console and to the mirror.
That is actually 2 piece plastic that expands and shrinks. I think I move the bottom piece up,
and that allowed me to remove that black long wire hiding trim.

Now your mirror should slide out.

PauloFR

I bought a cheap mirror to temporary replace the original one while it's on its way to the shop. I want to replace it so it won't be an inconvenience for the buyer, and most importantly and consequently, he will have the least ways possible to lower the price.

I'll try to expand the plastic slider, thank you

CowBoE

Don't expand that wire covering plastic. Then you are making things more tighter.
Do the opposite. You want to slid the bottom piece up and top piece down,
to shrink it, so that you can remove that cover all together.

Once the wiring cover is removed, the mirror comes up easily.

PauloFR

OK thank you, when I pried the top piece's 2 tabs and it detached, everything became easier. I have to unplug the mirror, how do I reach the cable?

With a bit of luck we're going to make it there's not much left, but it seems hidden way too far inside

CowBoE

I'm drawing blank on this part.
I did that a year ago so my memory is fuzzy,
but if the cable connection is hidden inside the ceiling center console,
then I probably had to pop that open to get at the wire plug.

PauloFR

Got it!!!!!!! I figured out the forward part of the overhead console has to come off in a way or another. After looking up some Lexus radar detector installation threads, I pulled the grey plastic piece towards the ground really really hard and it worked. It is held by 2 clips similar to those for the door panels and many parts in Toyotas and Lexus. Then, the connector is on the driver side and there is a clip below to push so it slides out. Quite hard to figure out but once one does it isn't too bad.

The cheap mirror slid onto the little mount and I ship the OEM one tomorrow.

CowBoE

Nice. In my case, I'm not sure if they repaired it.

When I got the mirror back, the mirror portion looked brand new...
I'm thinking they might just swap out the mirrors...or did a super good job on cleaning.

PauloFR

Yes, they replace the glass itself. I think they get them cheap from a supplier so there's no need trying to repair the old one, if that's even possible. I also saw in a TSB provided in another thread that the mirror frame has to be changed (maybe due to weak clips) so it will be replaced and look new too.

Without knowing it wasn't going to be needed to remove the mirror, I opened the small PCB's enclosure where the screw is at first. Not likely but I really hope I didn't short it with a static charge from my hands. Of course I closed it back before shipping the mirror.

PauloFR

Mirror received and installed. Works perfect, no more stains, compass and dimming work. That's really cool! Although I have some words to say about the customer service:

• They don't tell you when they receive the parcel;
• They don't tell you whether they successfully repaired the mirror;
• It still took 20 days, so towards the end of the period, I sent two e-mails to inquire about the situation, because I have had no news for 2 weeks. No answer;
• When I received it, I wondered if their lack of attention goes as far as I think, and whether the package has a tracking option and they didn't give me the number. Guess what, I typed it on the USPS website and yes, there it is! So there is a tracking number but they don't provide it to you by e-mail so you can rest assured that nobody stole or lost your precious mirror. Why?? If there is a tracking option they might as well give it to the customer.

For God's sake, sending e-mails is not that difficult, but it makes a difference for someone who sends through the unknown an item which can cost him $2,000 in case its disappears.

So I will say I'm satisfied because in the end, I have a functional mirror at a fraction of the cost of the new assembly, and they don't lie about their efficiency: the mirror was shipped back 1 hour 1/2 after they received it! But they are a few e-mails away from perfection, which is a bit of a shame.

CowBoE

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they source the replacement mirrors from Alibaba.com cheap in bulk quantity.
I was also very impressed with the result. Mirror portion came back looking brand new again.

Your turnaround could've been impacted with COVID and recent cold storms in Texas.
I recall mine took about full two weeks.

I think it's a small shop, perhaps, one guy doing the mirror replacement,
so they don't have any fancy order tracking or status update for users to look at,
but they were reliable in fixing things correctly.

It's been nearly 1.5 years and mirror is still solid with no issues for me.