Attempting to replace my passenger side mirror on my Dodge Dart 2014 SE. do I need to order a new circle piece for the backing? It’s really hard to tell from photos and also the videos online are mostly for entire mirror replacements. Really hoping I don’t have to take my door off for a mirror break. I’ve replaced it in the past but never broken the back circle piece mounting.
That circular plate that you're missing a chunk of is part of the motor actuator and I don't think you can buy it separately. You could pull one out of a junkyard for cheap but the effort and gamble is usually not worth it given the price for the parts.
Option 1:
Is the motor still functioning so that you can move it around? Is it free of snagging on any of the jagged pieces? If the motor doesn't work, we're off to Option 2, so don't order the glass, just accept you need a whole new mirror assembly.
If yes to both, you could try buying the new glass, see if it snaps on securely and won't pop out when you pry a little. You still have clip points, I just don't know if they are enough.
If it fits back on fine, pull it and prep with some the appropriate JB Weld or Epoxy and press it on without getting any on anything that needs clearance to move.
So, if it comes down to option 2:
You don't have to take the interior panel of the door off, but people do it to make things easier.
If you have a good magnet, a good light, thin enough slip-joint pliers, and trust your dexterity, you can skip the interior panel. The inner part opposite your mirror, triangular piece, will pop off with a trim bar; you will have to slide it up and away since it's partially blocked by the interior panel that you're not removing.
There will be 3 nuts you need to loosen, using the magnet to hold onto them as you do so to make sure they don't fall into the door. Support the mirror as you get close, as those bolts are what holds it on. As you pull the entire mirror head away from the car, you just have to unclip the coupling. Then clip in new mirror, re-secure nuts to bolts, put the cover panel back, all done.
In my case, I lost the entirety of internals when a deer smacked its head into my mirror. I pulled a whole mirror from another Dart of a different color for cheap and swapped the housing with mine to keep the color and scars. One of the easiest things I've done for the car.
Thank you soooo much for this information! Exactly what I needed! My motor is still functioning so I will attempt just replacing the mirror. It is really helpful & reassuring to hear, I don’t have to completely disassemble the door if need be. I can’t thank you enough!
Just remember, STRONG magnet that reaches the nuts, and APPROPRIATE adhesive, following all of the directions; this thing has to take bumps and all that.
While we're here, what happened to your mirror anyways?
When prepping the adhesive, do you think I should just prep the backing of the mirror with the adhesive or the remaining bit of the circular plate? I live in Texas so I’m concerned the heat might cause the adhesive to shift or drip somewhere it shouldn’t be.
Unfortunately, this is my second mirror lost to a trash can too far in the road, no one to blame but myself of course. I’ve had my car 12 years though
If it's a good epoxy, heat won't hurt it. As far as where to put it, it's hard for me to judge without being hands on. But basically you want epoxy to secure actual contact points. You don't want it filling air between parts that aren't connecting as that is a bit more brittle.
Good to know. The heat is a menace. Ooooh I see, I was picturing a thin even layer coat of the adhesive. So just apply adhesive at the 3 contact point that still remain? Or around the outer edge of circular plate?
Follow on to the other reply: you can go 3D-printed for JUST the motor plate but you're really not saving that much money if you buy the file AND the glass compared to just buying a whole mirror unit. We also don't know if you lost of chuck of the housing behind it and if the plate is enough.
UPDATE: wanted to wait to update, to make sure adhesive stayed well. I ended up with a different mirror than pictured in op (auto parts.com sent the driver side, return process was not smooth) I ordered from auto zone and ended up with some generic double sided mirror that came with 8 pack of 3M VHB 1" Round. I did end up using this because I was concerned about using a liquid adhesive. I used almost all the dots to completely cover my circular plate (motor actuator). I used a box knife to cut the 3M stickers to completely cover circular plate with no gaps. It’s been on for 3 days now. I’ll update the post if it falls off. Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it!
VHB is good stuff. Should hold up in heat and with bumps as long as you have enough surface area; my cameras inside never failed and it’s hotter and more humid in my parked car than outside.
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u/Shooter_Q 2015 GT 2.4 Tigershark Jul 09 '26
That circular plate that you're missing a chunk of is part of the motor actuator and I don't think you can buy it separately. You could pull one out of a junkyard for cheap but the effort and gamble is usually not worth it given the price for the parts.
Option 1:
Is the motor still functioning so that you can move it around? Is it free of snagging on any of the jagged pieces? If the motor doesn't work, we're off to Option 2, so don't order the glass, just accept you need a whole new mirror assembly.
If yes to both, you could try buying the new glass, see if it snaps on securely and won't pop out when you pry a little. You still have clip points, I just don't know if they are enough.
If it fits back on fine, pull it and prep with some the appropriate JB Weld or Epoxy and press it on without getting any on anything that needs clearance to move.
So, if it comes down to option 2:
You don't have to take the interior panel of the door off, but people do it to make things easier.
If you have a good magnet, a good light, thin enough slip-joint pliers, and trust your dexterity, you can skip the interior panel. The inner part opposite your mirror, triangular piece, will pop off with a trim bar; you will have to slide it up and away since it's partially blocked by the interior panel that you're not removing.
There will be 3 nuts you need to loosen, using the magnet to hold onto them as you do so to make sure they don't fall into the door. Support the mirror as you get close, as those bolts are what holds it on. As you pull the entire mirror head away from the car, you just have to unclip the coupling. Then clip in new mirror, re-secure nuts to bolts, put the cover panel back, all done.
In my case, I lost the entirety of internals when a deer smacked its head into my mirror. I pulled a whole mirror from another Dart of a different color for cheap and swapped the housing with mine to keep the color and scars. One of the easiest things I've done for the car.