When I purchased my ‘new to me’ model year 2009 DB9 recently, the dealer PPI reported that the driver’s side mirror glass was loose and needed a fix. In the Facebook forums I’ve read about mirror glass falling out on other owners cars. I suspect this isn’t a unique event going on with just my car. Let me show you how I tackled this simple repair on a ‘Saturday Morning’.
[Editors Note – this article was graciously submitted by Darren Crompton. Darren (who lives in Australia) is the proud owner of a beautiful 2009 DB9 Coupe (Aston10734). He’s been kind enough to prepare this article. Thank you Darren!]
Mine is a right hand drive car and the driver’s wing (side) mirror glass was “disconnected” on the right edge from whatever supported it from behind. Time for the adventure to see how it’s held into place!
Tools and Supplies
This one was pretty simple. Other than my hands and a bit of courage, I just needed a small pair of pliers and some silicone grease. Both of these are probably optional, but were helpful.
Removing the Glass
Let’s start by reminding you to Be Careful! You will be tugging and prying on a glass mirror. It could break and injure you, so exercise some caution here.
I prised the glass back to take a peek at the inner workings and could see that it was mounted onto a solid plastic backing and that the backing had become disconnected from the main mount.
Note: If your car isn’t experiencing the exact same issue as mine, you won’t be able to pull it back this far this easily. The process to release the glass is the same, but you’ll need skinny fingers to do the same steps.
The mirror glass just snaps onto the plastic backing plate so a gentle yet forceful pull to the right (outboard direction) and then inwards (away from the housing) disconnected the glass (see the photo below).
Note: Be careful, there are some wires attached – don’t rip it free with wild abandon.
I used small pliers to carefully disconnect the heating element wires from the terminals on the back of the glass (keeping track of which goes where). Did you know the glass had a defroster? I believe it turns on with the rear window defrost circuit. Now the glass was completely removed for better access to the problem area.
Inspection and Fix
It was immediately evident that the backing plate had “unsnapped” from the main mount (see photos below). I have no idea how this happened but expect that the mirror glass had been manually pulled on quite strongly in the past.
All it took was a firm push into place and it securely clicked back into position.
Glass Installation
All I had to do now was put the mirror glass back on. I applied a light smear of silicone grease to the slots on the black housing in readiness for the white hinged guiding tabs.
With the white tabs inserted I lined up the left side of the glass…..
…then pinched the backing plate and glass together.
…and gently pushed the glass into the mirror housing until I heard resounding “click”
A final clean of the glass to remove the mountain of finger prints and the job was done.
Knowing what I know now, I could have just done this last move and fixed the loose glass without pulling the mirror apart but where is the fun and learning in that?
Alternate Part Numbers
I did learn that the folding mirror assembly and the glass is straight off a Volvo S60, V70, S80 of the same era. Cheap as chips on eBay or an auto wrecker. Ford owned both Aston Martin and Volvo at the time the DB9 was designed, so the engineers were able to pick and choose from everyone’s parts bins.
Keep in mind that my car is located in Australia, and is a Right Hand Drive. Drivers side and passenger side mirrors have different shapes, and some have features to enhance the viewing (Objects in the Mirror Look Closer…). Some countries have different mirror requirements. Be sure to research the right part for your particular model where you live.
Here’s what I spotted on my car:
- Folding mirror assembly Volvo p/n: E11015846
- Mirror Glass Volvo p/n: 3001-878
Aston 1936 