Rear view mirror fell off...

[Vinci]

I bumped my rear view mirror while cleaning the windshield this evening and it popped right off (base and all). It must have been waiting to come loose, as I didn't bump it very hard. I don't want to be driving around without it, though the extra visibility is fantastic.

How do I go about reattaching it to the glass? Is there a special glue or adhesive disc of some sort?

[IslandS62]

I've seen the adhesive for mirrors at the auto parts store.

[jr1966]

Buy the windshield mirror glue, take the base (it is a small round disc) off the mirror assembly, follow the instructions to apply the glue, stick it on the windshield, let it set (15 min in the instructions but I prefer 24 hours), then put the mirror assembly back on.

[Ryan328i]

Yeah, auto parts stores will have a special rear view mirror kit with glue for reattaching it.

[Vinci]

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

[Vinci]

I picked up a Permatex adhesive kit today. Unfortunately, the adhesive is clear, instead of the original black. Now I have an ugly silver dot in the middle of the windshield.

[LSUalum97]

I bumped my rear view mirror while cleaning the windshield this evening and it popped right off (base and all). It must have been waiting to come loose, as I didn't bump it very hard. I don't want to be driving around without it, though the extra visibility is fantastic.

How do I go about reattaching it to the glass? Is there a special glue or adhesive disc of some sort?

Mine is not detached , but getting very loosey goosey on the swivel part at the mirror.....I think the mirrors are about 100$ ....chalk it up to maintenance

[jr1966]

I picked up a Permatex adhesive kit today. Unfortunately, the adhesive is clear, instead of the original black. Now I have an ugly silver dot in the middle of the windshield.

Damnnn, wasn't even aware that there is black and clear. No wonder my Jeep has that silver dot when i put the rear view mirror back on and my z3 roadster, on the other hand, is black. I should check the color next time I get one.

[Vinci]

Yeah, it sucks. Oh well, just more reason to look forward to finally getting a rock chip big enough to end up with an insurance replacement. New windshields come with the mount pre-installed, right?

[siny528i]

About 7-8 years ago I was in construction biz. I knocked off my partner's Ford Econoline rear view mirror with my head. I just used regular CrazyGlue and it was holding it just fine. For atleast few months, as long as I worked there...

[IRPancake]

I hope he fixed it within a years time

[erbillingsley]

The best thing to do is take it to a glass shop and have them put it back on. They don't charge a lot to do it and they usually guarantee it. I have tried the auto parts store glue before and it is not as good as what the glass shops use.

[Vinci]

It's still holding fine since I repaired it, despite not looking right. I have made an effort to keep my head away from it when cleaning the interior, though.

[fastpat]

At least yours popped off the glass. On my e30 I attempted to replace the mirror and stem only, not the base. The old mirror was delaminating and looked like crap, so I pulled it off and attempted to install the new one.

Crack!

So, a new windshield later, the installer showed me how to install the new mirror, the windshield was off the car, making it much easier.

I know this is an older thread, but if I were to need a mirror install, I'd take the car to a auto glass shop and pay them to do it. They have the tool to clamp the base to the glass and the adhesive, including clean up chemicals.

[Joemamaman]

I picked up a Permatex adhesive kit today. Unfortunately, the adhesive is clear, instead of the original black. Now I have an ugly silver dot in the middle of the windshield.

Hey Vinci... My mirror mounting plate just fell off recently too when I tried to remove my stock mirror (it was getting real loose). Anyway, I noticed there's a black rubber trim around it... and the adhesive part was black too. Did you scrape all the black off to bare metal? I tried to chip the black stuff off (old adhesive?) but after seeing your post, I wonder if I should just try the auto-store clear adhesive over the old black stuff.

Also, when you glued it back, did you glue the plate on by itself first? or with the mirror as an assembly? Any other tips you can share?

Thanks!

[Vinci]

If you haven't damaged the old black adhesive, I would suggest trying to re-glue it with it in place. I sanded mine down to bare metal and have had to live with the ugly metal spot since. It's not that noticeable, but I see it.

When I glued my mount back on, I did it by itself. I did a lot of measuring and made some tape "brackets" on the windshield to help me position and orient it.

[KeysCoupe]

There are a few tricks to re-mounting mirrors. First, you have a choice where to re-mount it (if you want it other than where it was). Hold the mirror EXACTLY where you want it, and have someone carefully mark the position on the outside of the windshield with a sharpie pen or equal. This gives you a target for positioning it when glueing.
Make sure the windshield and disc are CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! Use only a drop as this makes a stronger bond. I usually hold the disc in place with moderate pressure for about 5 minutes (or as long as you can), then tape it and leave it until the next day.
I have always left the black finish on the disc so it doesn't show metal color as all the glue I have ever used is clear.
NOTE: Don't try to pull your mirror off with the disc intact! More than likely it will crack the windshield.

[setho1993]

Had it happen to me twice; once when detailing, second when i got it back from the shop. Hey if you mess up just "accidentally" bump it again lol.

[Joemamaman]

Great tips! thanks!

Let me get this straight...
-Sharpie the outside and mark location
-use 1 drop of glue if possible, and hold 5 mins/tape overnight
*is this done w/ just the base? (like most cars?) or w/ the mirror on it?

If the base is glued on first, then does the mirror assembly just rotate/snap back on? I know most of the M guys are ditching the stock mirror... but I'm actually planning to install the oval M mirror. Hope it's not so bad.

Thanks!!

[spacecowboy]

I use a piece of masking tape on the outside of the windshield where the imprint of the mirror mount was. Razor blade the windshield clean & apply primer. The metal part of the mount needs to be cleaned, then lightly roughed up with medium grit sandpaper, & then wiped clean of debris. Prime the metal lightly & evenly. When the primer dries, maybe 60 seconds, spread an even coat of glue lightly on the metal part, you don't want it oozing out when you press it against the windshield. Press it into place, 20-30 seconds should do it. Wait 20-30 minutes before installing mirror. If you use a cheap mirror adhesive, without primer, it will take a long time to dry & may not stay on the windshield long.

[Vinci]

Be very sure that you have the orientation of the base correct when installing it. It would be really easy to install it rotated 60 degrees too far one way, and you'll be kicking yourself.

[Joemamaman]

whoa... is there an upside to the base disk? It looks pretty symmetric, and I only noticed one of the notches should be in the top (12 O'clock) position. Can any of the notches be up? I'll have to take a look again.

I didn't scrape all the black stuff off yet, so I'll try to glue it as is... but cleaned of course.

I have this bad feeling (because of how easily the base plate fell off)... that when I try to mount/rotate the new mirror on... the base will fall off again. Hope I'm wrong!

[ashbabe83]

Please Help Me! I have a 2005 BMW 325i. My rear view mirror fell off my front windshield and is now hanging by the wires. I got a kit to reattach the mirror from an auto parts store and followed the directions to the letter but it didnt work. I then my car into a shop ( to get some other things worked on too) they tried gluing it but it didnt work. Ive gone back to the shop either 3 or 4 times for them to reattach the mirror to the windshield. They have used stronger glue and all kinds of tape to hold the mirror up while the glue dried but it still didnt work. The mirror is just so damn heavy. Is there a way to detach the mirror from the silver circle on the back of the mirror? Ive been taking it to an extremely reputable shop who has worked on my car before. I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

[Wojtek79]

Take it to a place that replaces windshields.

[Vinci]

Bumping this up since my mirror has now fallen off around 6 times since the original post.

Auto parts store (Permatex) adhesive is good for maybe a year, in my experience.

I'd still like to find some black adhesive. This clear stuff looks bad AND doesn't hold. I'd settle for one or the other...