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Replacing Mirror Turn Indicator

72K views 32 replies 12 participants last post by  Punjabi1015 
#1 · (Edited)
I decided to replace the right side mirror turn indicator myself and grab a copy of instruction from the web. Unfortunately, that instruction is not for my car. My mirror housing is one piece design and is not the same.

MERCEDES E W211 EVO – Replacing the mirror-mounted turn indicator

Following the instructions, I obtained a Torx screwdriver with various Torx screwdriver bits. That was the only bit of info that was useful for my project.

The mirror is snapped onto the motor assembly and held by a wire spring on the top of the mirror. There are 2 other flat springs that do not lock the mirror but just to provide pressure and hold the mirror in correct position. Ignore these two flat springs and do not pray on them.

Rotate the mirror down. It is not necessary to turn the mirror inward as it is not necessary to get fingers behind the mirror to release it. Look at the back top edge of the mirror and there is a wire spring. Use a small screwdriver (in fact anything long and narrow object would do) to push the wire spring forward and lift it up slightly. This would release the catch. Then push the bottom of the mirror forward a little and slid the mirror upward. The mirror would slide out. It is one minute job. I spent 10 minutes getting the mirror out using my fingers behind the mirror. I was lucky that I did not break something.

The motor assembly is held by 3 long Torx screws. It is a five minute job when I have to do it again.

This is where I got struck. The mirror housing on my 2006 E500 is one piece and I did not see any screws that held it to the metal frame. This frame is blocking my access to the turn indicator. All I can see is a spring horizontally across the top of the housing. I did not want to do something stupid and break my housing so I reinstalled the motor and mirror. Any help on how to disassembly the housing would be appreciated.

One word of caution, fit check the motor onto the mirror before installing. I did not and spend 15-20 minutes trying to snap the mirror back without success. I had to remove the motor, and fit checked it to the mirror. Once I figured out how that wire spring worked it was a piece of cake.
 

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#3 ·
I just got some new info on how to remove the mirror cover. So I'll give it a go this coming weekend again. Well, this time, I should get the mirror and motor out without fuss. I'll post some pictures and instructions after I got that turn indicator replaced.
 
#4 · (Edited)
No need to take apart the mirror!!!!!!!!!

There is a single tab that is pressed and releases the entire mirror from the car...no tools required except a single flat blade.

Bend the mirror BACK (towards the rear of the car, (about 20#'s of force required). exposing about a 3" gap at the front of the mirror joint), Look at the 9 o'clock position with the mirror pushed backward and you can see the lip of the stainless steel tab, release the stainless steel tab (yes its a bit hard to see at first, use a flashlight if needed) Once you pry the tab aft it "unsnaps" , the mirror, Return the mirror to the normal position and the whole mirror housing slides right off exposing the two torx bit screws.

There are no wires to mess with since the mirror stays on the mounting and the signal uses a built in auto disconnect harness. Just leave the mirror in the normal position and it won't inhibit removal of the housing.

To reinstall, simply push it back on until you hear the tab re-snap, job done!

Tools required, One 10" narrow flat blade screwdriver, one T-10 torx bit. total time, 2 minutes.
 
#6 ·
After another fruitless weekend. I found out what I did wrong. I found this video on Youtube. While it is on a different model, I think it is similar to mine. My problem was that I never did fold the mirror housing far enough. I'll try again this week end

 
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#7 ·
After another fruitless weekend. I found out what I did wrong. I found this video on Youtube. While it is on a different model, I think it is similar to mine. My problem was that I never did fold the mirror housing far enough. I'll try again this week end
Hey there chompx2. Sorry to hear it gave you more pains over the weekend, I was wondering how you made out. That video makes it look so easy, a ton easier than what I dealt with, but then again I had no idea what I was doing and just winged it. Yes, the housing does need to be pretty far folded in order to access the clip, I hope you get it this coming weekend! Good luck.
 
#9 ·
It is alway easy if one knows how. I now can unclip the mirror in less than a min. Motor off in less than 5 min. My problem was that I did not fold the mirror housing back enough. That video helps a ton. I am going to give it a go this coming weekend again.

Thanks for all the help. :)
 
#10 · (Edited)
I did it and replaced my mirror turn indicator.

The video posted is indeed correct. The mirror housing could be removed without removing the mirror or the motor. A flash light is a must to locate the stainless steel tab. It is very hard to see.

I have removed the housing with both the mirror on and with the mirror off. I did have to run to Sears to get a small Phillips Screw driver. My Phillips screw drivers were either too big or too small.

The replacement turn indicator had an extra light that my mirror does not have provision for. I believe it is for the down light. I reasoned that my car will see an open circuit if I just clipped it off. My old turn indicator did not have this, so it would look like an open circuit to the car anyway.

I’ll let the pictures to tell the story.
 

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#33 ·
I did it and replaced my mirror turn indicator.

The video posted is indeed correct. The mirror housing could be removed without removing the mirror or the motor. A flash light is a must to locate the stainless steel tab. It is very hard to see.

I have removed the housing with both the mirror on and with the mirror off. I did have to run to Sears to get a small Phillips Screw driver. My Phillips screw drivers were either too big or too small.

The replacement turn indicator had an extra light that my mirror does not have provision for. I believe it is for the down light. I reasoned that my car will see an open circuit if I just clipped it off. My old turn indicator did not have this, so it would look like an open circuit to the car anyway.

I’ll let the pictures to tell the story.
Hi, I bought a new passenger side mirror for my 2006 E350. There were two connectors, one black and second one white. Black worked fine, white one for turn signal came with two wires and my original one had 6. Anyone knows how can I connect it correctly to make it work. Which wire out of 6 wires needs to be connected to which two wires?
 
#11 ·
Nice work, glad you got it together :thumbsup:

My new lens showed up on Friday, I will have to tackle it in the next couple of days. I wish my mirror housing was as easy to slide off, I will have to follow the video in your original post~that is the type of mirror on the E350.
 
#20 ·
Well as luck would have it a semi trailer smacked a row of orange construction barrels and three cars in traffic hit them. I got nailed by one on the right side. It just scuffed paint the from the bumper to the
middle of the front door which I have already polished out.

The bad news is it took out the mirror glass on the right side. It hit so hard the the metal frame work that hinges forward and backward is also bent. There is a 1/4" gap at the bottom around the rubber seal and a 1.8" gap/skew at the top of the housing. The turn signal bar is also cracked.

The housing is actually OK . However using the W203/W211 instructions the stainless locking tab moves just fine. The housing will not budge. It tries and then I hear the locking tab snap back into place. So I enlisted a helper and had the same results. Upon further inspection I looked at the housing from the inside and there are a couple of cracks and it appears the housing is seized on the frame from the impact. I have taken these off before on other cars so I know how easy it should be.

Seeing as a new frame comes with a turn signal lens my only resort may be to cut the housing off very carefully and install the new parts that way. Looks like I have no other choice unless somebody has had this happen and knows a trick.
 
#23 ·
Leave the housing off it makes it easier to put the glass on.
Connect the wires. You will see a spring clip at the top of the back side of the of the mirror.
It has to be released (do not lose it it is not available separately).
You will see how the back of the glass has a round part that mates to the motor plate. line that
up and move it around a little and it will set into place. You will feel it and know when it is right.
Then move the spring clip back into place and you will see it captures one of the tabs on the
motor plate. That is what really locks it into place.
No need to force anything, it is more of a finesse thing. It may even be discussed in that thread I posted a link to.
 
#24 ·
@niraj29

There are quite a lot of similarities on different models and years. It might help if you post pictures of your parts. Others might recognized the parts and able to show you how to get your mirror back on.
On my ’06 500E, it is not necessary to remove the mirror and/or the motor to remove the housing. I have removed the housing with and without the mirror/motor removed. If you have the same type as mine, it would be easier to mount the mirror back on without the housing and then slip the housing back on.
Take a close look at the pictures. The mirror is locked in place via a wire spring on the top. The mirror is installed by first inserting the bottom part in place and then rotating it to lock the top via the wire spring. Fit check this before you have the housing on and see how it is installed. Without the housing you could see everything.
 
#26 ·
That is what I wrote it off to. The impact mine suffered bent the mirror frame and mad getting the cover off a real pain. It was all progress after the damaged cover and blinker strip was off the car.
Putting the mirror on the motor was a bit of a trick, but once it was done it is one of those things that is now a snap to do.
Glad yours is all back together.
 
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