Passenger side mirror glass has fallen out

RandomAccess

As I was pulling into a car park I noticed my passenger side mirror flapping around. I took a closer look and it was just hanging on by a tiny bit of adhesive at the top.

I took it off anyway rather than have it fall off, the heater plate is still in the mirror pod I think because the rear of the mirror part I removed is shiny silver.

I guess the cause is that I leave my heated mirrors switched on all the time and the adhesive has dried out over time. A worrying thing I noticed from some google searches is that it is a common occurrence across various brands of car and the other mirror is likely to fall off soon after the first, and most of the time people don't get lucky and save them from being smashed.

I reckon its a design/manufacturing flaw really since I've never read anything about keeping the heated mirrors switched off.

Anyway, apart from advising everyone to switch theirs off when not needed I am wondering how to go about sticking it back on.

Some people on the interweb say use superglue, while others warn of some kind of glue induced thermal shock which could crack the mirror, some people have used numberplate tape.

Does anybody know what I should do?
Is their a special adhesive I should use?
I am worried that if I glue it on with superglue and it was to break at some point it would be a disaster to remove it then.

Nissan doctor

One of the mirror glasses was loose on the Astra when i got it, I took it off and stuck it back on with silicone adhesive. Hasn't budged since. Its not heated though.

I can't imagine why you'd want to have them on all the time though? Obviously your more likely to burn out the elements as well as the issue you've had.

RandomAccess

Nissan doctor wrote: »

One of the mirror glasses was loose on the Astra when i got it, I took it off and stuck it back on with silicone adhesive. Hasn't budged since. Its not heated though.

I can't imagine why you'd want to have them on all the time though? Obviously your more likely to burn out the elements as well as the issue you've had.

The main reason is that if I didn't leave them on I would forget to turn them on. :pac:
The majority of trips in the car are short (under 10mins) and the electric mirror switch isn't the sturdiest of things so I tend not to bother changing the setting that much.
The side windows and wing mirrors are misted up most damp mornings.

Anyway, i'll probably keep them off now.

W0bble5

Exact same thing happened to me on a 2006 Astra last week. Drivers side was flapping on an uneven road. Caught it before it fell off completely & superglued it back on. Next day it happened to the passenger side. Hope the superglue hasn't stopped the heat from demisting the mirror now.

RandomAccess

W0bble5 wrote: »

Exact same thing happened to me on a 2006 Astra last week. Drivers side was flapping on an uneven road. Caught it before it fell off completely & superglued it back on. Next day it happened to the passenger side. Hope the superglue hasn't stopped the heat from demisting the mirror now.

Bugger,
I might just have to pull the other one off now.. don't fancy having it fall off on me, but it seems solid enough.

W0bble5

RandomAccess wrote: »

Bugger,
I might just have to pull the other one off now.. don't fancy having it fall off on me, but it seems solid enough.

If its solid I'd leave it. Just keep an eye on it and take it off if it starts flapping!

If it ain't broken.....

RandomAccess

W0bble5 wrote: »

If its solid I'd leave it. Just keep an eye on it and take it off if it starts flapping!

If it ain't broken.....

True.

sean1141

my headed mirrors only come on when you turn on the rear screen de mister..

RandomAccess

sean1141 wrote: »

my headed mirrors only come on when you turn on the rear screen de mister..

Yeah, depends on the car.

Hi guys,

exact same thing happened to my car this morning as OP posted. Was there a particular substance that's best for re-sticking the housing and the glass?

It's a 2001 Astra, so not certain whether or not it has heated mirrors, but I doubt it.

Was thinking of using this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3m-300cm-Auto-Acrylic-Foam-Double-Sided-Attachment-Tape-10mm-/120814136183?pt=UK_Crafts_Cardmaking_Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item1c21156b77#ht_3604wt_1270

thanks

RandomAccess

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi guys,

exact same thing happened to my car this morning as OP posted. Was there a particular substance that's best for re-sticking the housing and the glass?

It's a 2001 Astra, so not certain whether or not it has heated mirrors, but I doubt it.

Was thinking of using this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3m-300cm-Auto-Acrylic-Foam-Double-Sided-Attachment-Tape-10mm-/120814136183?pt=UK_Crafts_Cardmaking_Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item1c21156b77#ht_3604wt_1270

thanks

OP Here,

I bought some Araldite Glue in Halfords, but I'm sure you can get suitable glue anywhere.

Heres the range,
http://www.huntsman.com/advanced_materials/eng/Markets/Adhesives/For_Consumers/Araldite®_Consumer_Adhesives/index.cfm?pageID=5902

I used the Red one, Rapid.
Its not very nice stuff, it was thicker than I expected but I managed to spread it thinly enough for a good bond. I would get regular rather than Rapid in hindsight.

The tape would probably be fine, but if the mirror vibrated at all it could cause the image to blur, but perhaps that won't happen.

In my case, I removed the backing plate from the mirror housing and then reattached the mirror indoors. It was still there an hour ago anyway so its done the job.