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

[visforvolvo]

Thanks for this post. I just got an 2003 mirror for my 2000 S80 T6 off ebay for $52. Did the replacement just as described and all works great. Mine was the lave lamp before and now its as clear and auto dims just fine. Thanks again!

PS. Just a note, the early model mirrors 1999-2000 have a removable security board. So if you got a replacement the same year then you could just slide the boards apart without having to remove the circuit board from the back of the mirror. Because I got a 03 mirror I performed the replacement as described in this article.

Does anyone happen to know the VIN ranges of the cars that got the slide-out circuit board? That would make it a bit easier to make the switch.

[Astro Bob]

FYI,
That innocent looking "brown liquid", by most accounts, is very toxic and should be handled accordingly. The dark colored goo is normally a thin film which stays sandwiched between the two plates of glass that make up the mirror (auto dimming type). Based the threads of other auto maker's auto dimming mirrors (BMW, GM, etc) it would be prudent to avoid exposure to this substance. Nearly all these mirrors come from one company, which has since switched their design to eliminate leakage/ contamination. Please consider this when handling these "zippered" wafer type mirrors...just thinking of all of our health and long life.

[mberman]

Thanks all for such an authoritative and helpful set of information. I'll add my name to the list of those who inquired at the dealership about a replacement, and was told $500 for the part plus programming and installation...

I have two things to add:
- Tidbit of information: I inquired at the dealership about the light sensors in my auto-dimming mirror and their relation to the car's dimming/brightening of gauges and displays. I was told that the same light sensing mechanism used in the mirror drives these functions (and thus, at least to me, seems pretty important!).

- Related question: In a correctly functioning mirror, does the little covered hole to the left of the seatbelt light (top edge of the mirror, opposite the rear-facing photo sensor) light up green? It looks like it should? [My issue involves a mirror that has not lava-lamped, but rather simply seems to be dysfunctional. I can't tell from the pictures above whether or not this is the case (they seem to show only the back of the exposed circuit board).

Any help would be much appreciated. My car is going to our trusty and clever mechanic of 25-years next week; If I get ahold of any information that hasn't already been mentioned here, I'll be sure to pass it along.

[emk]

Yes, thanks all for the great information. I, like @mberman above, have a dysfunctional mirror. No lava lamp (yet), but only the right half of the mirror dims?!? Has anyone experienced that?

[maved]

Thank you!!! To the member who posted the careful description of how to use a salvaged mirror assembly and the original circuit board to save hundreds and hundreds of bucks!

Add my name to those who were disappointed when a used mirror assembly didn't work in my 2001 S80. Once I read the above post and understood why it didn't work, and the careful instructions on how to switch out the circuits, I did the repair and got a fully functioning auto-dimming mirror with all electronics (security, sunroof, etc) still working, for about $60.

Thanks again!

[pkt]

Hi!

Great post! My rearview mirror broke up last July, and I was forced to make my own one, as the local volvo dealer wanted to charge me 700 euros just for the rearview mirror plus 50 euros for programming it.

This is my own story which saved me more than 600 euros on the repair. http://www.volvo4life.es/foros/showthread.php?t=60907.

The bad news is that is written in Spanish.... Maybe you can use translation.google.com...

Nice job yours!

[ryanwong]

Hi vegas,

thanks for the very detailed instructions, it was very helpful indeed. in return, i thought i would contribute my experience with changing the rear view mirror on the family S80.

1. tip! you do not need to remove the whole mirror assembly from the car to change the mirror, this saves a whole lot of time and reduces the risk that you might break or forget something. however you need a little bit more patience and you need to know where the release points of the mirror's casing are. so you only need to release the control cable, then press down on the release points using a mini screw driver and another to keep the casing pried open, then slowly work your way around the whole mirror.

2. there are 2 types of mirrors in the market;
- "clip type" whereby a plastic backing is attached to the mirror using double sided foam tape and the circuit board is attached to it via moulded clips.
- "direct mount" where the circuit board is directly stuck onto the mirror using double sided foam tape.
for the direct mount, you need a very sharp blade preferably a 1" wide pen knife and long enough to reach through the other side of the mirror. unsolder the wires connecting the mirror before cutting through the foam tape, be careful not to cut the mirror's wires or disturb the exposed jagged metal wire surrounding the mirror edges. then apply a good quality adhesive remover to the remaining tape on the mirror, leave for 5 minutes and using a plastic piece, gently scrape off the adhesive.

the rest is pretty much as what vegas has indicated on this post.

hope this helps. i've got some pictures showing the release points and the 2 types of mirrors but i can't figure out how to attach it to the post. but if anyone needs the pics, just let me know and i'll email it to you.

cheers

[simonspanswick]

What an outstanding set of instructions for solving the mirror problem.

I undertook this having sourced a mirror unit via Ebay in the UK for just £28.

I was a little nervous but my fears were unfounded. I tackled the problem slightly differently...

Firstly I undid the newly-sourced mirror using the jewellers screwdriver and then removed the mirror from the circuit board.

In the car I managed to undo the mirror casing without removing the whole unit from the car - this may have been slightly more problematic but I think that overall it saved some time and effort.

I separated the electronics from the mirror and then attached the newly-sourced mirror to the car's electronics...although the circuit board was a slightly different model to the new one which meAnt lining it up to the marks I had made was slightly out...but in the end it all went back together perfectly OK.

Connecting the unit back to the car was a nerve-wracking moment, but everything worked OK and I hadn't even disconnected the battery. Now the mirror is working perfectly once again...a good couple of hours work but worth it. And I certainly couldn't have done it without the fantastic instructions in this post...so once again, many thanks.

[dcarlson12]

On the weekend I put the 99 S80 T6 back on the road after garaging it for a year. I routinely started and warmed it up biweekly or monthly to keep the battery charged and the fluids 'flowing'. Today after our second warm spring day I noticed the bubbles rising and the 'clear' 'bubble' forming in the top of the mirror. Is there no where one can buy a new just the mirror portion? I am a bit reluctant to obtain a used mirror from a wrecking yard because it might just crap out like the original mirror...
Can one just use the mirror without the auto dimming? i.e. Does the 'bubble' eventually obscure one's vision?
Also, will the leaking fluid eventually start dripping from the mirror?
Thks.

Edit: 2011/04/27:
Did some more googling and found that one can send the mirror assembly to Sybesma's Electronics (http://www.sybesmas.com/home.html) and they will replace the mirror with a new one which uses gel rather than liquid so it is very unlikely that the problem of leakage would occur. They are quoting US$95.00 (or $120 to Canada) including handling and shipping. I am going to give this a try because the little extra compared to buying a used unit on ebay and then doing the disassembly/reassembly seems worth it. Will report back if I have success....

[CodyS80]

Hi,
I have a 2002 S80 which I really like, but I wanted AWD, so I recently purchased a 2006 S80 AWD.
The 2002 has the auto dimming rearview mirror, and the 2006 has the manual version. 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)? If the ECU is already in place, then I would not have an issue with the programming. It seems to me that if the ECU controls a number of functions that they probably did not make more than one version of it, they just left off the auto dimming glass if the option was not installed.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Chris