Corolla Door Mirror v Pheasant. I'm going to try to fix it!!*

[Youngsod]

After an enjoyable day at the Anglia Classic Car Auction on Saturday I was coming along Sixteen Foot Bank when a cock pheasant decided to attempt a flight that would have embarrassed the Wright Brothers. It barely cleared the windscreen, but hit the driver’s door mirror. I'm actually relatively sanguine about it, I genuinely thought it was about to come through the windscreen. First I saw it was it flapping out of the hedgerow and I can still see the bloody thing as it flew in front of the windscreen inches from hitting it.

Still, I can't be too hard on it. It was the last thing the poor bloody bird ever did.

 

Anyway, it left me with one shattered door mirror and housing, and I have decided to break the habit of a lifetime and try to fix it myself. This is scary for me as I am more of a theoretician, I am usually not allowed to try to fix things as anything practical tends to end up like this:

 

 

But I’ve just had to cough up for a new tyre on the wife’s Volvo V60, and then 5 whole days before it was replaced it needed a new radiator after being pierced on the A14, so I’ve decided to try to fix the Corolla myself. Besides, it’s about time I tried to actually fix something. I can do that cant it? Can’t I…?

 

The car is a 2006 Corolla, not shite to start with but I’ve had it 5 years and I refuse to get rid of it as the thing is so bloody reliable.

 

So I’m buying a Haynes manual for the first time in over 20 years (unless you count the ones for the Space Shuttle and Saturn V), and going for it. I’ve been online and spotted a couple of breakers with the correct model and even the correct colour, so I thought I’d just get the part and fit it myself. From the looks of it, the mirror, housing and mounting are all one part and I’m guessing you simply undo it from the inside, then in the immortal words  "re-fitting is the reverse of removal". Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Or is it difficult difficult lemon difficult?

 

All help / tips / encouragement / warnings  welcome. I’m sure you are all looking forward to the pictures of a burnt out Corolla on my driveway

 

 

* The mirror, not the pheasant. It is beyond help. I'm sure the crows have taken care of it by now and some crow chick enjoyed pheasant for tea.

[oldcars]

Are you fixing the mirror of the Pheasant?

[Skizzer]

Go for it.  If I can manage it, anyone can.

 

Shiny new (old) mirror by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

 

Edit: The mirror, not the pheasant.  I can help with the pheasant too though: 20 minutes per lb + 20 mins, at 180 degrees, and pretend that people need to be careful of pieces of shot.

[Squire_Dawson]

It would've been nice to eat the pheasant.

[Stanky]

I have replaced three mirrors in my 12 years of driving, all due to vandals. They are (in my experience) very easy, open door, pop* off the plastic plate thing in the leading edge of the door on the inside and they are usually held in with 3 stout screws. Undo these (with someone holding the mirror's remains on the outside) and then ease it out. If it is electrically adjustable there should be a multiplug thing to detach, othewise the adjuster will usually be integral to the whole thing.

 

Refitting is reverse of removal. You really will need someone to hold it in place when refitting, but just do up the three screws and replace the plastic cover thing and you're done. If it is electric then you'll be to re-attach the multiplug but its not hard and should be obvious when you take the plastic cover off.

 

A word of warning, from my experience, you will never get it seated right and it WILL make a whistling noise at speed. Turn the radio up and ignore it.

 

(experience based on a mk3 golf, SD3 rover and Mk2 Suzuki Swift, if it helps)

[Youngsod]

You've given me all hope! 

 

For amusement, my wife phoned up the local Toyota dealer and asked for a price:

 

£154.26 for an electric wing mirror

£33.59 for cover

£45 for professional paint job (this involves sending it away although they could provide us with the paint to do it ourselves!!)

Approx £70 fitting

 

 

And that's not counting the vets bills for the pheasant

[wuvvum]

I had a pigeon fly into the side of the Perodua on the way into work today, which is not something I've ever had happen before.  Looked in the mirror and couldn't see it splattered on the road so assume it must have survived, although it made quite a thump.