Degraded rear view mirror glass

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Darren C

Admin Team
Evening all,

Hope you are all keeping safe and well.

My rear view mirror glass appears to have degraded, best I can describe is it looks like it needs wiping, but the marks are behind the glass. I'm guessing the fluid is leaking out. I have the auto anti-dazzle mirror and was wondering if a cheaper alternative might be to source a conventional mirror and swap the glass over if this is even remotely possible.

Unlikely anyone has tried this before, but I'd welcome any advice.

Thanks, and regards,

Darren
 
Solution
audifan
Standard manual dip is achieved by mechanically moving the mirror and not by darkening the panel as in the auto type. Perhaps there is a direct swappable unit on other Audis? The A6C5 always comes to mind when I look for things like that. Who knows you may even get an upgrade that has built in compass?
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Not swapped one myself but would have thought that downgrading to a manual dip mirror would be straight forward, unless you can obtain a direct compatible auto mirror.
 
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Thanks Graham. This is always an option. I'm wondering of the glass is interchangeable and therefore I could retain the auto anti-dazzle feature by buying the conventional unit and swapping it over. This might not be a practical option, but it has me thinking.

audifan said:
Not swapped one myself but would have thought that downgrading to a manual dip mirror would be straight forward, unless you can obtain a direct compatible auto mirror.
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Standard manual dip is achieved by mechanically moving the mirror and not by darkening the panel as in the auto type. Perhaps there is a direct swappable unit on other Audis? The A6C5 always comes to mind when I look for things like that. Who knows you may even get an upgrade that has built in compass?
 
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Solution
Thank you Graham, that answers my question, appreciated.

audifan said:
Standard manual dip is achieved by mechanically moving the mirror and not by darkening the panel as in the auto type. Perhaps there is a direct swappable unit on other Audis? The A6C5 always comes to mind when I look for things like that. Who knows you may even get an upgrade that has built in compass?
Click to expand...
 
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The A6C5 was sold in the UK in far greater number so would expect good used examples to be more plentiful hence cheaper. In this case Iwould recommend going to a conventional scrap yard rather than our recyclers ( unless they by chance have one ).
 
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Got into my car today and I have fluid leak from my auto dim rear view mirror (looks like a half filled fish tank) so I need a replacement too. Not sure if the heat has caused it since it’s been sat in the sun stationary for the last two weeks.

@Darren C what conclusion did you come up with? Have you replaced like for like or put a non auto dip mirror on?
 
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Jeetesh said:
Got into my car today and I have fluid leak from my auto dim rear view mirror (looks like a half filled fish tank) so I need a replacement too. Not sure if the heat has caused it since it’s been sat in the sun stationary for the last two weeks.

@Darren C what conclusion did you come up with? Have you replaced like for like or put a non auto dip mirror on?
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Afternoon,

Once this has happened the only thing you do is replace it. As far as I know you cannot repair.

@Darren C purchased a factory A2 replacement from @drewroberts.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
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Thanks Tom, yes, I was lucky enough to source a direct replacement @Jeetesh. To be honest, unless you are doing a lot of driving in the dark, a switch to a manual one is always an option. I was keen to retain the factory option in my case.
 
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Darren C said:
Thanks Tom, yes, I was lucky enough to source a direct replacement @Jeetesh. To be honest, unless you are doing a lot of driving in the dark, a switch to a manual one is always an option. I was keen to retain the factory option in my case.
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My A2 has only been out in the dark once in the last 12 months however like your good self I want to keep OEM.

It had that option so want to keep that option and it’s attention to detail which means a lot to me. I’m a bit pedantic about this stuff but for good reason, the A2 is a future classic.
 
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Mine is driven in the dark even less, I do wonder if the heat generated by the OSS played a part in its premature demise.

Jeetesh said:
My A2 has only been out in the dark once in the last 12 months however like your good self I want to keep OEM.

It had that option so want to keep that option and it’s attention to detail which means a lot to me. I’m a bit pedantic about this stuff but for good reason, the A2 is a future classic.
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Darren C said:
Mine is driven in the dark even less, I do wonder if the heat generated by the OSS played a part in its premature demise.
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Having had two go in my 6 years of ownership I think age & temperature are the two factors causing this , the liquid is not to be messed with either gloves or catch in container as I believe it’s hazardous!
I would now only consider a new one
 
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Darren C said:
Mine is driven in the dark even less, I do wonder if the heat generated by the OSS played a part in its premature demise.
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I don’t have OSS on mine but believe the heat was the cause.

Having done a bit of research, it has two pieces of glass with a conductive gel/liquid between which when subjected to electrical current (triggered by the sensors) darkens - the super geek in me thinks this is pretty cool.

As the seal has gone by either age or expansion of the liquid due to temperature it’s caused the leak resulting in my ‘half full fish tank analogy’. Nothing last forever, especially not seals which usually have some sort of rubberised properties.
 
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