Wing Mirror Glass

[mrn1967]

Hi, just about to sell my IS300 but both wing mirrors need replacing as they have got some crazy kind of ink staining which appeared at the bottom and then slowly spread. Any tips on how to replace and where to get the replacement glass from?

[durg]

Well you have two options here - the cheap way and the expensive way - and there is quite a difference as I found out!

The IS300 has heated and auto-dimming wing mirrors. I had exactly the same problem you are talking about I think - it looks like a blue colour growing out as it gets worse. In the end you can see the heating elements in the glass and the mirror becomes more ineffective.

If you are going to go for a Lexus mirror then you need to remove the old one and replace it. The mirrors are held in by a clip on the back of the glass and some sticky white stuff that is applied to the back of the mirror from new. To remove it you pull with a gentle steady force (from the bottom I think - when you get a new glass you can tell exactly which way to pull by looking at the clips) until it releases from the glue (you think you are going to damage it but they are quite tough really) and then pull the glass down and away from the housing. There is an electrical connection going to the glass and this can be released using a very thin screw driver. Once you have done this you simply reverse the process with the new glass and it's job done. Now the bad news is that these mirror glasses are about £220 each!!! There is a part for the IS200 that is heated only but this does not work as the connections are different on the plug behind the glass. The other option you have is to go for a cheap stick on glass from an autospares type place (Halfords do one I think) which you just put on over the original. You can get one of those for about £10-£15 each but it will look nothing like the orignal. It's up to you. I went for the expensive option in the end but I only needed to change one glass and it's the only thing that has ever gone wrong with the car in the entire time I've owned it so I didn't think it was too bad in the scheme of things - especially not when you compare it to my mates cars who have all had to shell out hundreds and hundreds of pounds over the years to keep their cars on the road at every service. Also I plan to keep the car so I wanted it to look right.

The choice is yours!! Hope this helps - let me know if you need any more help.