GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Ej1749 on 23 March 2021, 13:14
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So the glass has come out of my right wing mirror and they are heated mirrors. Is it okay to replace them with any old cheap replacement of eBay with a bit of glue or do I need specific glass like on a heated wind shield. I'm being quoted about £120 for a replacement, but on eBay they are like £5-£20. However, those cheap ones may not allow it to heat up as well.... and as we live in England I want to make sure its working for winters.
Any help would be appreciated :smiley:
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https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/macht-mirror-glass-490441381
apply discount code = £35.63
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https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/macht-mirror-glass-490441381
apply discount code = £35.63
You'd get a genuine one from VW for £35
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https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/macht-mirror-glass-490441381
apply discount code = £35.63
You'd get a genuine one from VW for £35
@Elliott Smart; if a genuine VW replacement door mirror glass is around £35, then presumably the £120 you were quoted was for supply and fit.
I’d not pay £120, but then I’d be happy to fit it myself, and £35 or thereabouts sounds OK price-wise for a decent replacement from ECS or a genuine one from VW.
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I got a quote for mirror glass from my local VW garage last year and they said £60
After not driving the car for a number of weeks during the first lock down I went over a slightly bumpy road and the drivers side glass just dropped out (seems to been quite a common thing on the MK7 after a quick search)
Got one from Ebay for around the £10 mark with the blind spot curve as it's a drivers side one. Came with adhesive on the back so stuck it straight on the rubber hear pad and it's been fine. If use use something like glue or silicone it may block the effectiveness of the heat so I'd avoid it. The product page said it was suitable for heated mirrors but I don't know if there's a difference or not. There might not be as mirrors have to survive direct sunlight anyway which would be the same temperature if not hotter
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I got my replacement from Europarts.. then drove 2 mins to the nearest VW garage and they fitted it! They were out of stock so didn’t feel bad.. drivers side so very weird driving without it.
It fell out at speed on the M62!
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Yeah tbf I do most of the general maintenance myself and will fit this as well. Just picked one up for £23 from Parkers as had no clue where to go for it. Looks identical to the VW genuine part, so hopefully it absorbs the heat through the glass and defrosts properly. Just wondering whether the sticky pads attached to it are suitable for the heat transfer, or whether I should rip these off and glue it on so that the glass is closer to the heated backing plate?
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/macht-mirror-glass-490441381
apply discount code = £35.63
You'd get a genuine one from VW for £35
@Elliott Smart; if a genuine VW replacement door mirror glass is around £35, then presumably the £120 you were quoted was for supply and fit.
I’d not pay £120, but then I’d be happy to fit it myself, and £35 or thereabouts sounds OK price-wise for a decent replacement from ECS or a genuine one from VW.
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Cheers for the advice!!!
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Oooh okay so you would recommend not using the glue and to use the sticky pads? I was trying to foresee any issues and wondered if maybe glue would actually get the glass closer/flush with the heat pad so better heat transfer. If you are saying it still works fine with the sticky pads I'll give the glue a miss. Cheers for that.
I got a quote for mirror glass from my local VW garage last year and they said £60
After not driving the car for a number of weeks during the first lock down I went over a slightly bumpy road and the drivers side glass just dropped out (seems to been quite a common thing on the MK7 after a quick search)
Got one from Ebay for around the £10 mark with the blind spot curve as it's a drivers side one. Came with adhesive on the back so stuck it straight on the rubber hear pad and it's been fine. If use use something like glue or silicone it may block the effectiveness of the heat so I'd avoid it. The product page said it was suitable for heated mirrors but I don't know if there's a difference or not. There might not be as mirrors have to survive direct sunlight anyway which would be the same temperature if not hotter
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The issue of the door mirror glass falling out does seem to be quite common - it gets quite a few mentions on various VW forums. A few people who’ve experienced this leave their rotary mirror adjustment knob on the ‘heating’ setting all the time. I don’t know if the heating automatically switches off after x minutes, but if it doesn’t, then for anyone who does leave the adjustment knob in the ‘heating’ position, continuous heating of the mirror glass might degrade the adhesive on the fixing pads over time.
IMHO the VW door mirror heating function is a poor design. Non-VW’s that I’ve owned in the past have had a warning light that illuminates when the heating function is being used, acting as a reminder to switch off the heating when the mirrors have cleared.
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That will definitely be why then. I always leave it on and forget to turn it off! It does actually say on the fuel consumption usage that when it is on it is using more fuel, but there is no obvious place to tell you that they are left on. I'll remember to turn it off asap next time haha.. Cheers!
The issue of the door mirror glass falling out does seem to be quite common - it gets quite a few mentions on various VW forums. A few people who’ve experienced this leave their rotary mirror adjustment knob on the ‘heating’ setting all the time. I don’t know if the heating automatically switches off after x minutes, but if it doesn’t, then for anyone who does leave the adjustment knob in the ‘heating’ position, continuous heating of the mirror glass might degrade the adhesive on the fixing pads over time.
IMHO the VW door mirror heating function is a poor design. Non-VW’s that I’ve owned in the past have had a warning light that illuminates when the heating function is being used, acting as a reminder to switch off the heating when the mirrors have cleared.
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Do they not turn themselves off after a set period of time?
They used to my old Mk5, the rear heated screen & heated seats went off after ten minutes and I often had to 're-activate' the heated mirrors if I drove through a pocket of fog/ice.
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Do they not turn themselves off after a set period of time?
They used to my old Mk5, the rear heated screen & heated seats went off after ten minutes and I often had to 're-activate' the heated mirrors if I drove through a pocket of fog/ice.
I’m not sure, that’s why I said in my previous post ‘I don’t know if the heating automatically switches off after x minutes, but if it doesn’t.........................continuous heating of the mirror glass might degrade the adhesive on the fixing pads over time’.
Age-related degrading of the adhesive pads is probably also a contributory factor to these mirrors falling out.
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Every morning about 15-20 minutes into my drive I am turning my heated seats down, so they defo aren't turning off that quickly and I can't think of a time where they turn themselves down. Maybe it is the same as the mirrors.
Do they not turn themselves off after a set period of time?
They used to my old Mk5, the rear heated screen & heated seats went off after ten minutes and I often had to 're-activate' the heated mirrors if I drove through a pocket of fog/ice.
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That's a bugbear of mine too, I keep forgetting to turn off and turn back to Left Mirror for reverse dipping...another grumble lol
My Dad's old Citroen (V plate) used to just dip the mirrors and my old Honda (06 plate) heated mirrors were great. If outside temp was 3c or below the heated rear window would come on automatically as well as heated door mirrors and after 10 mins go off. If I turn on the back window manually, same again! Can't believe in a modern car that's not automatic! Can't have everything I guess but something that uses fuel, all be it tiny amount, you'd think it would do that right!
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Yes, especially from a German car company. You would expect more haha
That's a bugbear of mine too, I keep forgetting to turn off and turn back to Left Mirror for reverse dipping...another grumble lol
My Dad's old Citroen (V plate) used to just dip the mirrors and my old Honda (06 plate) heated mirrors were great. If outside temp was 3c or below the heated rear window would come on automatically as well as heated door mirrors and after 10 mins go off. If I turn on the back window manually, same again! Can't believe in a modern car that's not automatic! Can't have everything I guess but something that uses fuel, all be it tiny amount, you'd think it would do that right!
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The new glass that was £23 from parkers works fine! Heats up just as much as the other side where the genuine plate is. Although I have stuck it on slightly differently wonky to the other side and that is gunna bug the sh!t out of me forever or until it falls off again!
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My drivers side mirror decided to fly off half way down the A1 the other day.
Bought a complete replacement off eBay for £15. Works great, has blind spot and heating.
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Does no one else leave the mirror adjuster in L for the reverse dipping?
I often thought that the people that leave the mirror heating on were the ones that experience the mirror falling out. You could pull the mirror out and run a small bead of superglue or epoxy adhesive round the outside to help keep it in place (run a razor blade over the surface after to remove any that ends up on the glass), but if it's already falling out fire it in between the two, it'll never be that thick to impact heat transfer.
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Does no one else leave the mirror adjuster in L for the reverse dipping?
I often thought that the people that leave the mirror heating on were the ones that experience the mirror falling out. You could pull the mirror out and run a small bead of superglue or epoxy adhesive round the outside to help keep it in place (run a razor blade over the surface after to remove any that ends up on the glass), but if it's already falling out fire it in between the two, it'll never be that thick to impact heat transfer.
I do but sometimes I’d rather not have it dip so move out but generally in L position.
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Does no one else leave the mirror adjuster in L for the reverse dipping?
Yes, I do. ‘L’ is my default position for the mirror adjuster. I only move it from ‘L’;
- when I need to clear mist from the mirrors. When they’re clear (usually takes just a few seconds), I move it back to ‘L’.
- to fold the mirrors in to make it easier to get into my garage. I move the adjuster straight back to ‘L’ as soon as I next reverse out of the garage.
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I suspect the issue may be the heating and freezing of the adhesive over time causing expansion and contraction.
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I suspect the issue may be the heating and freezing of the adhesive over time causing expansion and contraction.
Yep this is exactly what I'd say too. Plus the fact that it's clearly not fixed on as strong as it should be from the factory if there are this many issues. And to settle the argument, mine just randomly fell off on a sunny day after the car was left sitting for a few weeks during the first lockdown, heating function wasn't on.
Not sure why people are even considering using glue, thats just mad!. What happens if the glass cracked and you needed to replace it? You'd rip the heating pad apart. If anything use an extremely thin layer of clear silicone as that can be removed.
Also if you use an adhesive backed mirror the area you're sticking it to should be cleaned and dried before applying
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Not sure why people are even considering using glue, thats just mad!. What happens if the glass cracked and you needed to replace it? You'd rip the heating pad apart. If anything use an extremely thin layer of clear silicone as that can be removed.
Also if you use an adhesive backed mirror the area you're sticking it to should be cleaned and dried before applying
I think you're a little bit confused on the part. The entire glass, heating element, plastic fixture is a single unit which VW sell for around £35 (price could be different now, been 2 or 3 years since I needed one). So if you glue it back together, you're not damaging anything that's not already damaged.
Note - To remove the mirror glass it takes under a minute with a trim tool and a pair of pliers.
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Does no one else leave the mirror adjuster in L for the reverse dipping?
Yes, I do. ‘L’ is my default position for the mirror adjuster. I only move it from ‘L’;
- when I need to clear mist from the mirrors. When they’re clear (usually takes just a few seconds), I move it back to ‘L’.
- to fold the mirrors in to make it easier to get into my garage. I move the adjuster straight back to ‘L’ as soon as I next reverse out of the garage.
This pretty much what I do. Default is L as I prefer it to dip every time to ensure I don’t curb the alloys lol.
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Yeah I scrapped the glue, cleaned with an alcohol wipe, let it dry for a minute and then straight on with the sticky pad that came with the glass. Works perfectly, I didn't realise how hot the mirrors got until I tested it yesterday, when I compared it to the other side that has the genuine glass in it. Also, the new non OEM glass heats up just as much as the other side which is good news!
I suspect the issue may be the heating and freezing of the adhesive over time causing expansion and contraction.
Yep this is exactly what I'd say too. Plus the fact that it's clearly not fixed on as strong as it should be from the factory if there are this many issues. And to settle the argument, mine just randomly fell off on a sunny day after the car was left sitting for a few weeks during the first lockdown, heating function wasn't on.
Not sure why people are even considering using glue, thats just mad!. What happens if the glass cracked and you needed to replace it? You'd rip the heating pad apart. If anything use an extremely thin layer of clear silicone as that can be removed.
Also if you use an adhesive backed mirror the area you're sticking it to should be cleaned and dried before applying
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I think you're a little bit confused on the part. The entire glass, heating element, plastic fixture is a single unit which VW sell for around £35 (price could be different now, been 2 or 3 years since I needed one). So if you glue it back together, you're not damaging anything that's not already damaged.
Note - To remove the mirror glass it takes under a minute with a trim tool and a pair of pliers.
I swear this thread just about the mirror glass alone and not the glass with the heating unit?
My mirror glass fell out and the heating part was still perfectly attached. The £60 quote I got from VW was for the glass alone. I bought replacement mirror glass from Ebay with an adhesive back and it stuck straight to the heating pad fine, I wouldn't dare put glue on that.
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Reading this thread and mine fell out today drivers side, I just stuck it back on with some 3 m double sided foam tape. I will get a replacement if it’s gets loose or falls out again