Hi, today my 3 year old son managed to pull my rear view mirror off. Not just the wide plastic piece which holds the mirror, but the whole unit which makes direct contact with the windscreen. Has anyone got experience of taking this on and off, and how I might go about fixing it?

Halfords sell a kit for re-attaching rearview mirrors http://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repair/adhesives/loctite-rear-view-mirror-adhesive-kit

Does your mirror base have any sensors in it looking out thru the screen?
If yes I thought there was a metal piece bonded to the windscreen and the mirror latched onto and was screwed to this.

49 minutes ago, Urrell said:

Does your mirror base have any sensors in it looking out thru the screen?
If yes I thought there was a metal piece bonded to the windscreen and the mirror latched onto and was screwed to this.

Just had my screen replaced.  Yes - auto lights etc = mirror base pre-bonded on the screen. 

Thanks for the help guys. This is what he has left me with. 

Non Rain sensor

 

With Rain Sensor

Thanks Nigel. I definitely don't have rain activated wipers, but I do have automatic headlights. I have seen that round attachment on youtube for VAG cars, but mine definitely isn't a round fitting.

Have you tried clicking it back on?

I did try it last night Urrell, but it was getting dark, my son was crying because he had got a shock at pulling it off and then I shouted at him. So after a couple of attempts I just gave up. I will try it again in the bright light on Thursday when I am in the car on my own.

 

Next time I am round at the boot, he's not getting in the front seat again, I can tell you that much.

@smick100 - You can remove the black cover that's still attached to the mirror, the split is just above the screws in the picture you posted. Be careful as the connection is quite fragile.

 

Once the cover is off, you should have a much better chance to reattach it. I've not tried that style but it looks like a twist fitting, once refitted, you can add the plastic cover again

 

This might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IBp0Pkoa24

Thanks a lot Langers. That was what I did. I was able to undo the clips to take off the top half of the surround. Then it was a case of putting it on at about -30 degrees and twisting right until it clicked back into place. Then putting the top piece back on while it is in situ.

 

Thanks for everyone's help!

On 3 October 2017 at 18:24, nige8021 said:

With Rain Sensor

 

My Yeti is a little different from pic. Mirror fell off on a hot day - adhesive to metal baseplate had just completely detached. Has had windscreen replaced a few years ago, so presume the installer has to transfer the baseplate from old to new screen??? My brother's new Up had the large laser/mirror housing drop off. Presume a similar problem with adhesive and heat not coping with the differential thermal expansion.

 

So i decided not to use proper mirror adhesive if it's going to fail on a large size retaining plate. Was probably designed for the non-rain sensor small plates with less thermal expansion. Retaining plate shape was not well matched to the glass, so I resurfaced with wet/dry. So far I "temporarily" attached the mirror with 3m VHB tape (RP45) + cure time in warm car. It's still on after a day in the sun and the load of the sensor springs. When it falls off, I'm going to try SikaFlex 252 and use some small bits of VHB tape for spacing and holding while the Sika cures. Theoretically, the few cm2 of VHB tape can hold 60kg in tension. 3M recommends 60cm2/kg of ongoing load because of creep. 

 

Metal pedestal (5) slides up onto retaining plate (8). Wasn't easy to slide off without the retaining plate attached to anything. Very tight and no good lever points to get it moving. Plus a small bump on the pedestal that catches in a groove on each side of the plate when it's fully on. Maybe a bash with a soft faced hammer would have worked best. I levered the parts apart and the pedestal springs released (as designed to in an accident). Was easy to slide back on.

 

Not shown in the manual is a plastic clip that holds the rain sensor in the retaining plate for assembly.

 

Windscreen installer previously mangled the housing getting it off. Magic release point for the pedestal housing clips is the top left side of the join. Fingernail pressure in the gap works (but hard to get a finger in when the mirror is on the screen). Some tool used gently will work without marring.

 

1 hour ago, blouis79 said:

had windscreen replaced a few years ago, so presume the installer has to transfer the baseplate from old to new screen??? 

Mine had the baseplate attached to the new screen, bonded at the factory.

I have the exact type of mirror unit as smick100 on my Octavia.. Managed to headbutt it. I followed smick100 's method and all is well. I notice that the black plastic cover is two pieces that clip together. I had to remove both to line up and lock the mirror in place. In the course of this operation I managed to get the mirror to come away from the socket where the ball sits. Oh joy! I couldn't get it back in so took to a local garage. They did it in a couple of mins and didn't charge but I gave the mechanic a tenner anyway.