Interior rear view mirror replacement

[JoeZZLevy]

Can someone coach me through removal and replacement of an interior rear
view mirror (windshield attached)?

Here is some background. The "auto-dimming" feature on the upgraded mirror
that came with my 2001 Forester has failed. I was never very happy with it
anyway, so I picked up a used manual day / night mirror (eBay) with the
assumption that the fixture on the windshield would be the same.

It looks like I should be able to remove the existing mirror by turning it
90 degrees through the plane of the windshield, but it's not budging, and I
don't want to force it and shear the fixture off of the windshield.

The replacement mirror has an oval "mushroom" head on the back. It looks
like it would fit into a matching opening on the fixture, and lock in place
with a quarter-turn. It's probably the same on many models and model years.

Anyone have any tips?

Thanks,

Joe
(e-mail address removed) delete double-Zs to reply directly

 

[null]

Yes twisting it forward and pulling it down will remove it. However the
standard mirror uses a different
size horseshoe clip then the autodimming one, so you'll need to pick up
one at the dealer.