My Wing Mirror Started Flapping… Audi A4/S4/RS4 Wing Mirror Glass Replacement Guide

Just as I started driving down to the SMMT Test Day at Millbrook – fantastic day by the way, please do check out the first drive videos from there if you haven’t already – right as I joined the motorway to do the 2 hours of monotony down the road I noticed my passenger side wing mirror glass… well… flapping. The bottom edge was lifting about a centimetre outwards, hinging from the top. The problem was a bit sporadic, sometimes it was shaking like crazy, other times it looked perfectly normal. I managed to get to the hotel I was staying at overnight, and even got to Millbrook without issue, but after the day of driving fun cars I knew I had to do something to make sure the glass didn’t just fall out on the way home.
My solution? My first aid kit’s microporous tape. Sounds dumb I know, but it worked like a dream. The mirror didn’t move on the whole journey home, the tape held it in well. When I got home I removed the tape and inspected the damage. And found what had happened was the mirror glass had come completely unstuck from its heated backing, save for a tiny strip of glue at the top. I stuck some more tape on it then got a lift to my local Audi dealer to pick up a new mirror and carrier.
I could have tried gluing it back on and if you’d rather not spend the £56 it costs to get a brand new one you are welcome to try, but I decided I valued the peace of mind and ease of installation over the cash so I got a new one. Here’s the part number for this by the way if you’d rather hunt on places like ebay instead.
Removing your wing mirror glass is pretty easy if you’ve got a set of trim tools. There is a central ring of clips around the tilting mechanism in the middle and two longer plastic slides that help guide and support the glass. You just move the carrier so you can slide the trim tool in behind it and pop it out on one side then the other and with a bit more prising it should come off nice and easy. This is easier if the glass is still there and intact as it provides resistance making it easier to pop off, if like me you just have the thin plastic carrier it just flexes to it’s a bit more tough but it does come off.
The harder bit is removing the two electric connectors for the heater element. Mine were nicely corroded on, so it takes a lot of prising and twisting with the trim tool to get them off. Make sure to mark one side as they aren’t otherwise labelled.
In my case I thought it’d be a good idea to remove the glue residue from the tape before putting the new part in, I tried using isopropyl alcohol wipes but then I tried some WD40 on a cloth… I’m blown away. Seriously, this was really sticky glue, really gummy stuff and a single quick wipe with the WD40 wiped it all away in an instant. I am genuinely amazed.
With the mirror clean, it’s time to put your new one in. Hook up the two electric terminals in the same order as before, then push the carrier into place, letting the longer plastic rails slide into their slots, and give a reasonable push to get all the clips to click into place. You don’t want to push too hard for fear of cracking the glass, but once it’s secure that’s it.
This process is the same if you want to install the dynamic turn signals too, which I’m considering as they look amazing, just with a couple extra steps to remove the outer cowling.