My driver side rear view mirror has become gold in color with a bubble in the top. It appears not to dim but I wanted to know if this was a failed mirror to replace or if what I am seeing is normal. It is a 2002 coupe.

 

Sounds like your mirror has gone bad. Might want to check with a used parts vendor here on the forum and see if they have one in great shape that you can get for a good price.

 

 

Sounds like you have the electrochromatic mirror. Most tend to go bad, you are lucky yours lasted this long. You can try and get a replacement and just wait for it to do the same thing. Mine failed and I replaced the mirror with a non dimming style that still had the heater in it. I got mine from Corvette Central, but others may have them too. It was perfect replacement.

What I got was the mirror with the plastic surround/backing. Some people just buy the plain glass and stick it on with double sided tape, not my cup of tea.

If you want to do what I did here is the guidance. You can do it without removing the housing from the door.

Let me know if I can help further.

Removing the C5 Mirror Insert

This guidance is for removing just the mirror insert (with plastic surround) in cases where the actual mirror has an issue or you need to access the motor assembly behind it.

The mirror housing can be left attached to the door.

Before you start, place a blanket under the door so if you drop the mirror it will not break and if any of the positioner pins come out they will not be hard to find, There are 4 of them.

Move the mirror all the way up or down so you can get your fingers behind the mirror.
Placing some tape around the housing edges before you start so as to not scratch the housing paint would be a good idea.

The mirror connects to the motor assembly with 5 snap in connections.

One is the main pivot ball in the center, The other 4 are smaller with one above, below, left, and right of the large center pivot.

The 4 smaller ones are driven by the motor assembly to position the mirror.

Have a friend hold the mirror housing while you pull on the mirror insert.

The mirror insert should “pop” out and be released.

Note: Now you will have to remove the heated mirror wiring connector and if equipped, the connector for the auto dimming.

One or more of the position pins may come out with the mirror insert or just fall on the ground. This is OK and not an issue.

If any pins come out they should have a spring attached to them so don’t lose the springs. The pins actually are inserted into the springs.

When I removed my mirror insert one pin came out with the spring still attached to the mirror insert. I simply removed it from the mirror insert just reinserted it into the motor assembly before I put the mirror insert back on. Everything worked just fine after I finished.

The mirror insert has “cupped” like connectors that the pivot and pins fit/snap into.
Use a good silicone type lubricant on the pins, pivot, and mirror insert connectors to make reattaching the mirror insert easier.

Please note the 4 pins have a small protrusion that has to be aligned correctly to match the mirror insert connectors . Not hard to “eyeball” the correct alignment but if not close the insert will not snap back onto the pins.

You should now be ready to reinstall the mirror insert.

Reattach the one or two wiring connectors.

If your new mirror does not have the electrochromatic feature (and the original did) just tape the wires off and make sure they are stuffed back so they don't interfere with the mirror motion. It will be apparent which wires are for the heating element versus the auto dimming.

Have a friend support the housing so it does not move when you press the mirror insert back in.

I recommend (must do or similar) cut a block of wood to cover as much of the mirror as possible so when you press in back on so you distribute the pressure and don’t break the mirror. Also place a small towel or soft material between the block and the mirror so as to not scratch the mirror.

As you start pressing the mirror insert in, try to put move the mirror insert and motor assembly so it is not tilted like you did when you removed it. You want all the pins and pivot to snap in at one time.

It takes a good amount of pressure to snap the mirror insert into place. That is why you need a friend to hold the housing and you need to lubricate the pins/pivot and the mirror insert connectors.

If it does not snap in with “reasonable force”, remove the mirror and double check the alignment of the 4 pins. I found out that I had not correctly aligned them all and had to redo that and then it snapped in.

When I reinstalled my insert I did not have a friend to help so I had to press with one hand while I held the housing with the other. It takes good amount of pressure to snap it in but I did it with one hand.

Good luck.

PS:
Remember if you are replacing the motor assembly there are 2 types. One with Memory and one without. The one with Memory has 2 connectors, not one. The one with memory has an additional 4 pin connector.

Also, you can see what the inside of the housing looks like in this link. Look at Post 5.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1589124524

 

There is a video on YouTube that goes through the process of repairing it. The video is by froggy. Hopefully the link works if not search "Corvette driver side mirror repair by froggy".

https://youtu.be/yV4Tvm0Rrz0

 

Replace it with the auto dimming type. It's a nice feature.

 

When that happened to my last C5, I replaced it with a standard heated mirror glass at $60.00. my windows were tinted dark, so the dimming part wasn't as important to me.
The dimming mirror glass was over $160.00

 

Post in the wanted section. You can get the auto dimming used for around 150. A new one is around $600. A new non auto dimming is around 250.00. There are two types of auto dimming mirrors: those that are peeling, and those that are going to peel.