Intro:

This is a write up of how to convert a 2015 - 2017 RC350 RCF interior mirror to mate with a 2006 – 2010 IS250, IS350, or ISF and keep Home-link and auto-diming side mirrors. The method is to unpin each mirror and swap factory plugs. It should take about an hour if you have things ready.

Skip to post 58 if you want the plug and play version of this.

Justification:

This will address deficiencies of previous write-ups while also raising awareness of this upgrade. A short term review concludes.

Introduction:

The 2IS platform has several known problems with the interior mirror; vibration, mirror discoloration, and outdated homelink.




To correct these owners must send the mirror out for repair ~$100, buy a replacement for the OEM, or buy an aftermarket/used mirror. I was able to find an RC mirror for $300 shipped.

Methods:

Pull down the wire sheath, and unplug the wire harness first. Then remove the OEM mirror with a T20 on the bottom of the mirror. There are several YouTube videos that show this.

Take a picture of your OEM mirror and the new mirror’s wires on the back of the plug to help record what the initial condition and orientation of the wires are.

It seems clear that the mirror manufacturer just uses whatever color they have on hand for wires. So we need to ID the wires on the new mirror using the location for them on the factory mirror plug instead of using colors.




Now it’s time to unpin.

To complete this you’ll need a few small tools to unpin the harness, but you could cut and splice too if you’re an animal.




First lift the plastic retention clip on the plug.

If you look into the mirror side of the plug you’ll see the pins sticking out and some small holes just above the pins. You’ll use a very small tool like a needle or specialty tool to gently lift the pin clip in the plug. It doesn’t take much force to pull out the wire or to unclip the pin. So if you need a lot of force your tool may be the wrong size J .

If you feel like it you can test the mirror out on the bench. The auto dimming side mirror output (EC – and EC + ) are tested by using a volt meter and covering the front sensor and showing a light to the back sensor. I was able to measure 1.4V, but it appears analogue. So I suspect there’s a larger range.

If you’re good then it’s time to repin your old plug with the new mirror. Insert the RC mirror pins into the correct holes on the OEM mirror plug. Be sure the pin hook is oriented to engage with the pin clip. I had an extra wire on pin 3 of my RC mirror. Let me know what that’s for.

Reattach your new fancy mirror in-place of the old hunk-a-junk.

The last step is to cover your tracks. The OEM used a plastic piece to lock on the ball of the mirror. The new mirror’s ball is a bit bigger (hell yeah). So you need to hog out the plastic piece. Even after I did this it didn’t fit well and I suspect it may fall out under extreme acceleration. If someone orders the RC trim piece I think it will work better, but if not looked into it.




Review:

The mirror is clear and matches the rear window profile better. Auto dimming side mirrors work fine.

The best part of the mirror is that it upgrades the homelink. I can now open a door at my house that uses two-way communication (old mirror wouldn’t even open it). Two-way tells me if the door is going up or down. This is sort of trivial, but I often nudge the door button as I try to press the button for my gate. So I have to back up and make sure I didn’t open the door by accident.

References:

There a many threads related to adding a radar detector that guided me.

This thread added a similar mirror, but not with auto-dimming side mirrors.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...w-install.html

Hope this helps,
Matt

 

Nice, this is on my "to do list" for sure lol. the bulky mirror in general is something ive wanted to address for a while.

 

Nice write up!....honestly never thought about doing this but know I'm like 🤔

 

Good job on the write-up! Did this on my 2014 and it was plug and play, whew!

 

It was also plug and Play on my 2011 isf. Great little upgrade.

 

Do us all a favor and blunt the point on that dress maker's pin. It's plenty easy to convert it into the OE spec tool with a file. Just flatten the point, file a ramp in it, and it won't stab the pin retaining clip when you use it. I did the same with a turkey lacing pin and it's been serving me well for the last 25 years.

 

What did you use or do to the plastic piece that locks the mirror in place? Did you use the plastic piece from the RCF? Or you cut up the ISF one and make it work?

 

Dressmaking pin or turkey lacing pin - tough choice

 

I think you're referring to Figure 5. This is a piece of trim that covers the wires from the mirror to the headliner. Is Used the ISF piece, but I think the RCF piece might work better if it makes sense to use it. The RC mirror has extra metal at the base to hold a trim piece and that makes the ISF trim just a bit too small to fit well...

This listing comes with the trim https://www.ebay.com/itm/14400834542...EAAOSwxodgdzUU

Here's a pic of what I mean:


this is the ISF base:

 

This mirror has that tiny screen at the top right circled in green. Why is that? What’s the difference if I get this one verse another mirror that doesn’t have that? I also checked up on YouTube and found a guy with another Lexus who didn’t repin the connections and just plugged it in and everything worked fine.

 

Looks like the compass.
Beautiful mirror, much better looking than ours.

 

Regarding repin, my understanding is in 2011 Mother Lexus changed the connector. I'm not sure how many models are included, possibly all. So if you have a 2011 or newer it's plug and play.

 

Do I lose the compass using this mirror? I see on the pic you included it doesn’t have the little screen slot on the top right.

 

I think it’s an option on some cars…. This mirror does not have a compass that I’m aware of.

The ISF compass sensor is just below base and is removed with the old mirror. So be sure whatever you order it comes with the compass sensor too.

This is a good point thanks for bringing it up.

I know some mirrors hide the compass behind a two way window. Not the one I bought. Still don’t know what that extra wire is for.

 

Pin 3 on the RC mirror is undocumented. The EWD in TIS shows "unused connection". The empty pins have no description at all. It might be documented by Gentex though.

I've looked at the Gentex models simply because the silver in my mirror is getting really sketchy/streaky with time. I fixed the rattling an buzzing a long time ago, and even then I was looking at Gentex options to replace the unit. Using a Lexus part seems like it would be simpler just because there is documentation and Lexus typically does evolutionary changes with this kind of thing, not revolutionary (at least not very often).