Auto dimming rear view mirror glass
for
BMW M3 e46 & BMW M5 e39
At some point your Automatic Dimming mirror is likely to fail. It's more of a WHEN than an IF it will happen. You are most likely reading this because your mirror has already stopped working or is on it's way out. When it does fail, you have a few options:
A lot of people are actually proactive and take measures before they see any signs. As they say, prevention is better than cure! You now have a few options:
1: Buy a Brand New Mirror from BMW. Bear in mind this is still manufactured by the same people as your current mirror so will most likely fail again some time. They might have resolved the issue that caused these mirrors to fail in the first place, but it cannot be guaranteed. If anyone wants to go down this route the BMW part number is: B51.16.7.892.264. Price is £343.34 + vat = £412.01 inc vat*. A lot of money! *price correct 28th November 2013
2: Buy a second hand working mirror. These tend to sell between £150-£200, so much cheaper than buying a new one from BMW. The problem is, you don’t know how long this is going to last before it fails again. A couple of my customers have purchased them off Ebay and they didn’t work the moment they fitted them. Others have had them fail after a couple of months use
3: Replace your mirror with a non-dimming square one with the traditional ‘lever’ see pic right: Very cheap, but they don’t look good! The Oval mirror in the E46 M3 / E39 M5 looks really nice and the shape compliments the styling. The Auto Dimming function is great and it would be a shame to lose it.
4: Replace just the Glass inside your mirror with a brand new replacement ‘Cell’. This keeps the cost down as you are re-using your mirror housing, sensors, circuit board etc but just replacing the part actually at fault: the sealed glass unit. This is where I can help you out. I can supply Improved replacement Glass Cells. Instead of using liquid between the two pieces of glass, a conductive Gel is used instead. It is also sealed in a different way to the original glass so it should not leak out ever again in the future. It still dims in exactly the same way as the original glass. Some people have commented that it appears to dim/un-dim slightly quicker and go slightly darker when required. It should never fail again and gives you the peace of mind that your mirror is not going to fail at any moment with the potential of ruining the whole mirror and any parts of your dash that the corrosive liquid leaks on to. Some of my customers actually change their old glass for my new improved unit before their existing one fails as part of their preventative maintenance schedule. The cost of going down this route is much cheaper than even buying a second hand mirror. Bearing in mind that a second hand mirror could still fail at any point, this is a 'no-brainer' in my opinion! If you like taking things apart and can use a soldering iron, it is not tricky to fit this yourself. It takes minimal tools, just patience and care. I can do one of these in about 10 minutes now after fixing a lot. If you take your time it will be no more than 30 minutes.
Please see my fitting instructions here
From £99.00
Autodim Rearview Mirror Glass
£109.00
I can deliver anywhere in the UK and Worldwide. I have many satisfied customers all over the World. I can always provide assistance to anybody that has questions when fitting. It really is quite easy with basic tools. If you don't want to do the installation yourself, click here for my Mirror Exchange Service:
