The Ultimate Guide to Replacing Wing Mirrors

Thursday, 27 June 2024

Wing mirror viewing motorway traffic

Wing mirrors are an important part of a vehicle. They enable you to drive safely and enjoy full awareness of all other vehicles, objects, cyclists and pedestrians around you. If you are driving with a broken wing mirror, even easy driving manoeuvres that we often take for granted can become exceptionally dangerous. Driving without two fully functional wing mirrors places both you and other road users at great risk.

But what should you do if you have a broken or damaged wing mirror? Should you try to fix it yourself, or get a replacement? Find out with our comprehensive guide to replacing a wing mirror.

Replacing a wing mirror

It’s now incredibly easy to source a replacement for a broken or damaged mirror. There’s no reason whatsoever for driving with poor peripheral vision at the wheel. It’s also worth noting that if you enter your vehicle for its MOT with a broken or faulty wing mirror it will receive an instant fail. Replacement mirror parts are widely available both new and second hand.

At ASM Auto Recycling we offer three different types of wing mirror replacements that you can purchase:

Full wing mirror units
Replacement mirror glass
Replacement mirror covers

These are available from our used car parts service, which now has over 100,000 searchable spare parts from manufacturers ranging from Alfa Romeo to Volvo.

Full wing mirror units

In the event that you need a complete replacement, it is important to know what type of mirror you have. In order to get the right unit, you’ll need to be aware of which features your replacement wing mirror unit needs.

Manual, electric or cable?

Was your original mirror a manual one that required you to move the mirror glass by hand to the ideal position? Or was it an electric mirror, which could be adjusted using a button or joystick inside the vehicle? Or was your original mirror a cable mirror that required you to adjust the mirror glass using a manual lever?

Heated mirrors

Some mirrors have heating elements in them to keep mirrors free from ice, fogging and dimming in the colder months. If you’re unsure of whether your mirror was heated, look for a heating symbol on or close to the electric mirror adjustor. Alternatively, remove the old glass mirror from the unit to discover if there are electric cables attached to the rear of the glass.

Folding mirrors, puddle lamps or inbuilt indicators

Folding mirrors automatically move inwards when a vehicle is parked and locked. Some cars will have mirrors fitted with small lights, known as puddle lamps, which light the floor around the front doors when it is unlocked. Was your mirror fitted with an inbuilt indicator?

Replacement mirror covers

It is very easy to damage mirror covers. They can easily snap off on the road if you get too close to another vehicle, or if your parked car is the target of mindless vandalism.

If the housing is cracked or snapped open, exposing the internals of the mirror, you can find mirror covers that are the same colour as the rest of the body of your vehicle. If the replacement is a neutral colour, you can always get it sprayed to match the rest of the vehicle.

Replacement mirror glass

In the event that your mirror glass is cracked but the rest of the unit’s housing is in good condition, it’s possible to carry out a simple replacement of the mirror glass.

You can search for mirror units, mirror covers and replacement glass through our used car parts service.

Should you replace a wing mirror unit yourself?

We would advise against replacing wing mirrors yourself, unless it is just the glass that needs replacing. It can be very fiddly and turn into a bigger job than you expected. To replace the complete mirror unit will involve removing the door panel, taking screws off and working around electrical cables.

How to replace wing mirror glass

Ensure you are aware of whether you need a replacement offside (driver side) or nearside (passenger side) mirror glass. Also check whether your wing mirror glass is convex (curved out to provide a wider perspective) or flat.

Firstly, you will need to lever the broken glass, so it unclips itself from the mirror housing. Check for any broken tabs or clips. Taking your new mirror glass, attach any wires that are needed for heating or indication, and align the glass with the clips that will hold it in place. Pressing firmly down, the glass should click into place.

Readjust the mirror position so it is in optimum position for your sightlines when driving.

Should you replace a broken wing mirror with a second-hand part?

It is perfectly acceptable and safe to replace your broken wing mirror with a used mirror from another vehicle. At ASM Auto Recycling all our spare parts are cleaned, tested and covered by our 90-day guarantee.

With our used car parts service, you can find all the parts our yard stocks for your make and model of vehicle. Buy them online and get them delivered or call our parts department and collect in person from our Thame depot.

Replacing a wing mirror at ASM

Replacing a wing mirror is easy at ASM Auto Recycling. You can find mirror units, replacement mirror glass and mirror covers via our used car parts search engine, saving you up to 70% on main dealer prices.

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