M3 Oval rear view mirror DIY

[cannondale>]

I been sick of getting new rear view mirror which only last for months and as you guys know bmw mirror are prone to failure without notice. this is the 2nd time i change the mirror as i thought it can last longer since the are 10 years old but it fail twice in a year due to heat according to review on forums. normally in US they will sent back to exchange for 75 but i dont think this is a good idea for me to sent back not including the shipping.So i try to open and check what is in the mirror, and what i found is a piece of mirror attached to some electronic parts.I take out the wire attached to it and sent to to out local glass shop and for glass replacement. they charge me 15 only and i show all the details below. its a 5mm glass.This is the way i replace the glass and i am now without the auto dim function. I have no problem with it.

 

[aidilj]

Bro cannondale, what happens when the rear view mirror fail? What do you mean when you say rear view mirror failure?

 

[cannondale>]

there are lots of article on the net about the failure, very common to M. its the leaking inside the glass, i think is mercury , if leak out will damage all the console area. you will see air bubble inside the glass.

 

[aidilj]

The liquid is from the electrochromatic mirror, which actually is a one pixel LCD (liquid crystal display) to implement auto dimming. With normal mirror, there'll be no leaking.

 

[cannondale>]

http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=29873

 

[ansonsoo]

This is also 1 of the good solution, if you send to repair also cost few hundred at least, but now RM15 settled !

 

[cannondale>]

few hundred bucks dont gurantee you from heat. it will still fail in no time.

 

[seewai]

Read from one of the UDM forums and found out that a company in the USA Sybesma's Electronics could get it fixed and problem will never recur. This is done by replacing the electrochrome mirror with an equivalent electronic component that has the same function. No more LCD thus no more leakage.

 

[M.Directspares]

btw the cause of leak mirror maybe by non proper service reset/ecu re-flash, should unplug the fuse before do the reset job (software).

 

[seewai]

Can we replace the original oval with autodim / rain sensors with non-oval standard shape with similar features?

I believe it's harder and more expensive to find an oval replacement.