How to fix your Toyota Camry side mirror

74

By glassvisage

It started when I tried to beat the electric gate to my apartment complex garage. I was driving my Camry and tried to get inside when the gate was about to close. Thought I could make it. Hit the gas. Didn't make it. Passenger-side mirror broke right off.

I was able to drive without that mirror for a while (well, I wasn't totally without it since I was able to duct-tape it back on for the most part). What prompted me to replace that mirror was when the other mirror broke. I was parked on the side of the street and was side-swiped in a hit-and-run. My driver's side mirror was scattered in pieces all around the street.

I called my local auto body shop to ask how much it would cost to replace at least the driver's side mirror. When I heard "$200" for just the one mirror, I knew I had to do this myself.

I went online on Amazon.com and found "aftermarket" side mirrors, which were just like the ones I had, only black instead of the original color of my car. These were only about $15 - the shipping was actually just as much as the mirrors themselves, so I paid $60 for both mirrors. Check out the Amazon results at the bottom of this Hub.

The installation was very easy. You only need flathead/flat bladed and Phillips screwdrivers, and a 10 mm wrench.

These tips will apply to Toyota Camry cars years 1997-2001. Some cars have mirrors with wires that extend out that you will need to attach to the door (this was the case for mine; for those without the wires, it is much easier to attach the mirror because you don't need to remove the door panel from the inside of the door).

  • FIrst, open the door and use the flathead screwdriver to pry the triangular cover off of the inside of the door, where the mirror is attached to the door.
  • To loosen the door panel to access the wiring, remove the screws around the panel with the Phillips screwdriver. You only need to remove a few to access the wiring.
  • Use the wrench to remove the nuts holding the mirror to the door on the inside of the door. Pull the broken mirror off of the door.
  • Attach the new mirror to the door and secure the nuts. Plug the wires from the new mirror to the door where the old wires were attached.
  • Replace the door panel and secure the screws.
  • Replace the triangular cover.

I would highly recommend the video below if you want to see how the installation is done.

Good luck!

Comments

Rochelle Frank profile image

Rochelle Frank 6 months ago

I am impressed that you did this yourself.

Some of these repair places really take advantage of us-- especially when realizing they probably get the parts for much less than we can. Good work, and (ahem) good hub.

katrinasui profile image

katrinasui Level 3 Commenter 6 months ago

Thanks for sharing such useful tips.

barryrutherford profile image

barryrutherford Level 5 Commenter 6 months ago

I used to have a Toyota! Your advice would have been useful :)

tirelesstraveler profile image

tirelesstraveler Level 7 Commenter 5 months ago

Great ingenuity. We had a broken mirror on our Toy last year. It was just the glass. We had a glass place make a new mirror, but it didn't work well. We had the Toy into our repair shop;they ordered a Toy mirror with the gasket the glass shop didn't have. It was less than $80 to fix. Always take your Toyota to a toy specialist. They are amazing and usually cheaper than dealer or other places.

That Grrl profile image

That Grrl Level 5 Commenter 5 months ago

I needed this a few years ago. We had a big rainstorm, my wipers stopped working and I pulled over cause I couldn't see at all where I was driving. I knocked the passenger side mirror partially off when I hit a mail box.

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