S80 2001 Auto Dimming Rearview Mirror Repair How To (long)

[VCA]

I was wondering if the 2006 comes with the electronics for auto dimming, and if so, could I follow the procedure in this thread to put the mirror glass from the 2002 on the ECU from the 2006 (and put the manual mirror on the 2002 before I sell it)?

No, you cannot do that. However, you are somewhat more fortunate in that you can add autodim to your car. In the software partnumber listing for a US market 2006 S80 there's SW part 9499432 "Auto dimming cont. app" which is to "To add "rearview mirror autodim" function." It appears you can purchase an autodim capable UEM (it would have to be a new one, I think you can understand why), order a UEM Reload, then order that part to make it autodim.

[CodyS80]

Thank you for the quick reply!
At under $21 that sounds like a great option. Given the price I assume that it is just the UEM, and that I would still use the glass from my 2002.
Thanks!

[VCA]

Given the price I assume that it is just the UEM, and that I would still use the glass from my 2002.

No, that's the software to enable the function, you'd still need to install an autodim capable UEM mirror (it's sold as the whole integrated unit), I didn't quote a part number because it varies by chassis code, but by way of our sponsor VolvoWholesaleParts.com, part 30728698 is $345.

[CodyS80]

Thank you for the clarification. At that price I guess I will have to think harder about whether I want the auto dimming feature enough to shell out $365!

[dcarlson12]

Follow up on my previous post about sending the mirror assembly to Sybesma's.
It has been at their facility for more than 4 weeks now. They have been rather wishy washy as to whether they would be able to obtain a new cell from Magna mirrors. I finally contacted Magna and spoke to their warranty/quality engineer. He said that they are very busy supplying mirrors to many of their OEMs and that orders from Sybesma's are usually for a quantity of (20) units of any one style of cell and maybe (50) for a maximum order size.
He said he did not see anywhere in his schedule an order entry from Sybesma's so I sent an email today to the customer service rep at Sybesma explaining my conversation with Magna. Including the name of the Magna order taker who has apparently not yet entered any order from Sybesma's.
Sounds like Sybesma maybe won't even order cells unless they can foresee the possibility of selling them quickly.
I have not yet heard back from them re this last email.
Maybe if a lot of you guys were to make inquiries regarding getting your mirrors repaired, it might spur them on to order some cells?
The Magna engineer suggested I just replace with a prism/flip style mirror but I pointed out that the assembly contains printed circuit boards for more than just the mirror dimming and I wasn't sure if I could just buy an after market mirror to fit appropriately. He did say that from model year 2005 onward, the autodimming chemical is baked onto the mirror and thus there is no possibility of liquid leakage from the new design. Thus if I want to get a used mirror cell from a wrecker, I would have to go for year 2006 or later...(i.e. because there might have been some old style in the production pipe line which could have been used on model 2005)
So the saga continues and I will update again if and when I have some news....

[dcarlson12]

Well have pretty well given up on Sybesma's being able to install a new mirror 'cell'. Had several conversations with the Magna people and they more or less said that they are unlikely to do a small production run of the mirror 'cell' which I require i.e. to sell to Sybesma's. This is because Magna is very busy doing OEM runs and Sybesma's has not even ordered any of the cell required from my vehicle. Am going to get it sent back to me.
I have sent a whining email to e Volvo Global Customer Relations at: [email protected] saying that I believe they should supply a new assembly to replace the one which has electrochromic fluid leaking out of it. Said it is a safety issue and kind of threatended to raise a stink with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. I doubt it will do me any good but like to 'stir the pot'.
Do any of you guys know of a place which might have a wrecked 2006 S80 which might have the autodimming mirror assembly which I could buy to rob the mirror cell from?

[nhjeff]

I have to add my name to the growing list of very happy campers who saved a bundle following this post. I have long wanted a manual mirror, and this was the perfect opportunity. I found one via ebay for $30 + shipping.

It is a little nervous uncoupling the mirrors from the electronics - glass is so much stronger than circuit cards. Not caring about the replacement circuit card, I bent it slowly away as I disengaged it from the replacement mirror and foam. Once I had pried the ends up, I maintained the space with a couple of plastic tubes (marking pens) and heated the middle section. I pried the rest up very carefully and slowly. Patience is the key to keeping the adhesive layer atop the foam intact, and I found the adhesive came away from the circuit card without too much trouble.

It is not a bad idea to either wear cotton gloves or a wrist ground strap while you handle the car's original circuit card. To help keep the original circuit card whole, I heated the mirror and used both putty knife and cutter with (snap-off) blade fully extended (any long, thin, sharp implement would work - a Ginzu knife would work well, too, but I didn't have one). I got a little way in from each end with the putty knife, then used the cutter to carefully saw away the middle foam. Once the mirror and circuit were apart, I gently heated the remaining foam and s-l-o-w-l-y peeled it away.

Putting things back together was anxious - at first it appeared dead - but using the remote lock/unlock and key a few times in combination did the trick.

And now I have a mirror that dims when I want, every time! Can't thank you enough.

[lyca]

I'll add my name to the long list of grateful, happy people. I too bought a mirror on-line and followed these excellent instructions. No more lava-mirror! Thanks!!!!

[dcarlson12]

Update on my June 9 post above.
To my great surprise, I received a call from one of the higher ups at Sysbesma's. He told me that he had good news for me. It turns out that my multiple conversations with the gentleman at Magna Mirrors caused him to go above an beyond. He was able to locate a single mirror cell and sent it to Sybesma's. Sybesma's repaired the mirror at no charge due to the very long delay that had occurred. Result is that I have an autodimming mirror which uses the material which is not subject to 'running'. Unfortunately the Sysbema's guy said that this was a one of situation.
I now have a prism style mirror in my possession which someone here may wish to purchase to use in place of a used auto dimming mirror. I bought it off ebay before I received the goods news phone call from Sybesma's.
It anyone is interested, it is for sale for what I paid for it i.e. $35.00 plus appropriate shipping cost.

[Tim41]

I did this repair exactly as described, and it worked absolutely great. Thanks for the great pictures and instructions.

I now have a mirror that I can see out of, and dims fine.