Spare mirrors -- good to have
 

Those of us in warmer climates often forget that many Mercedes have built-in heaters on their outside rear-view mirrors. The heaters are thermostatically controlled; the thermostat and heater are built into the mirror and come on automatically when it gets cold enough.

Whether any one Benzite (you or me) ever needs this feature is not the point. The problem is the cost of a replacement. Should the mirror ever be broken, the replacement is not just a piece of glass and will be priced accordingly by the dealer. I would guess $50 at least; perhaps someone in the know can enlighten us. Personally, I'd rather not pay for a feature I'll never use. I suppose it might be possible to have a glass shop cut a mirror to size but that sounds expensive too and you still need to attach it to the plastic backing piece.

While at Pick and Pull the other day, I decided to see what it would take to get the right outside mirror out of the holder on a 124. I took the whole thing apart there in the junkyard only to discover that my work was unnecessary -- the mirror can easily be popped out with one of the same tools we use for removing trim strips. At the register, I was charged only $4 for #851 "Misc Body Mirror." I was so surprised that I went back and got the left side too. I now have a spare pair put away (thus guaranteeing, under Murphy's Law, that I'll never need them). :D

I would imagine that if you took the entire pod with the mirror and (manual or electric) controls it would be more expensive. As regards the mirrors only, there seems to be some commonality between Mercedes models but make sure the mirrors you get will fit your car. In particular, late 124s seem to have a different shape from early models, the early models have an unusual square-shaped right mirror, and in late 124s both sides are electric while the early models have a manual left mirror adjust. Make sure you don't yank the mirror out too quickly; there's a 2-prong plug for the electric heater wiring that needs to be unplugged.

Make sure the yard marks the mirrors so you can exchange them if the heater/thermostat turns out to be dead. When you get the mirrors home, put them in a refrigerator or freezer and get them good and cold. Then attach the prongs on the back to 12 volts. The mirror should draw about 3 amps and after a couple of minutes the front will start to feel warm. After awhile, the whole mirror will warm up, the thermostat will cut off, and the heating will stop.

The pictures show a left mirror for my 1987 300D Turbo (W124, OM603). Sorry for the poor focus.

Jeremy

I've been driving around with a cracked drivers side mirror for a few months now...been putting it off and putting it off. Honestly I didn't even know they were heated - I'm guessing the w126s have that feature too?

$50 huh. :eek: :eek:

Item Number MSRP Core Price Price
1248101321 $170.00 $0.00 $117.30
Front door - Outside mirrors - Mirror glass
Mirror glass Right 1990 - 1992
Add to Cart Contact Us
1248101321 $170.00 $0.00 $117.30
Front door - Outside mirrors - Glass
Glass - 1987-89 driver side 1987 - 1989
Add to Cart Contact Us
1248101321 $170.00 $0.00 $117.30
Front door - Outside mirrors - Glass

All years of 124 mirrors are the same, I believe that the 201 mirrors are the same as the 124.

But the Germans got the really cool aspheric ones.

I'm surprised "arm" and "leg" aren't included as a core charge (did you read the fine print? :deal2:)
Looks like I'll either be driving around with a cracked mirror or heading to the junkyard for it...:uhoh2:

Aren't the right side w124/w201 mirror lenses convex?

The hard part on the right side (square glass) is reinstalling, the housing has pegs and joints that the glass backing attaches to that are more complicated (to me at least) than the previous w123 mirrors.

There's an '82 300SD in the Pick and Pull here; I pulled the speedo for a forum member a few weeks ago. I assume the mirrors are good but haven't actually looked at them critically. Let me know if you can't find one locally and I'll get the driver's side for you.

I believe that the SD (W126) had heated mirrors in the early 80's although the "E-class" didn't in the W123 but did in the W124.

Jeremy

[QUOTE=Bio300TDTdriver;2264212]$50 huh. :eek: :eek:

Item Number MSRP Core Price Price
1248101321 $170.00 $0.00 $117.30


:eek: indeed! "Good grief" might be even better. Thanks for the info; as usual, worse than expected. :eek:

Interesting post.

Are the 124 mirrors glass with a coating?

I am wondering because mine have these spots all over them and I am hoping that I could use Plastic-X to polish them out.

The mirrors on my '87 and one of the mirrors that I got from P&P also were badly water spotted. AFAIK, M-B mirrors are not AR-coated so you don't have to worry about damaging anything. However, the water spots are a build-up of calcium salts and other hard-water nasties and something like "Plastic-X" might not be strong enough.

The old standby is vinegar. I have used Lime-away with fair results. If you remove the mirrors, you can lay them in a puddle of Lime-away and leave them for 24-48 hours. With the mirrors on the car, you have to hold a soaked sponge to the mirrors, which is harder to do and then the stuff drains out the bottom.

For a final removal of the stubborn bits in the corners, I used Rutland's "White Off." Made in Rutland, VT, the stuff is designed for cleaning the glass-ceramic windows in wood stoves. I recommend it. Available from places that sell wood stoves, gas fireplace inserts, etc. Florida residents can email info@rutland.com.

Jeremy

Hmmm, I didn't even think of them being calcium deposits. I'll start thinking about the vinegar approach since it seems to be the simplest. Thanks Jeremy.