Need Advice on Replacing Left Door Mirror on 1999 Forester

[Mike]

Hi,

Can someone please tell me how to replace the left door power mirror
on a 1999 Forester? Do I need to remove part or all of the door panel?
Any advice is appreciated!!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[John Varela]

Can someone please tell me how to replace the left door power mirror
on a 1999 Forester? Do I need to remove part or all of the door panel?
Any advice is appreciated!!

Some detail might help.

Presumably you are replacing the mirror because it is broken. How badly? Is
it just the glass or is the whole unit ripped off of the car? Or is it merely
that the power adjustment no longer works?

 

[Mike]

Some detail might help.

Presumably you are replacing the mirror because it is broken. How badly? Is
it just the glass or is the whole unit ripped off of the car? Or is it merely
that the power adjustment no longer works?

John,

The inside of the mirror unit is broken (not the mirror itself) and
the mirror unit just hangs by the cable. I taped it and the power
adjustment feature still works. I want to replace the entire power
mirror unit. Do I need to remove the entire door panel or is there an
easier way? I can see where the two screws are that hold it on.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Florian Feuser /FFF/]

The inside of the mirror unit is broken (not the mirror itself) and
the mirror unit just hangs by the cable. I taped it and the power
adjustment feature still works. I want to replace the entire power
mirror unit. Do I need to remove the entire door panel or
is there an
easier way? I can see where the two screws are that hold it on.

Thanks,
Mike

If it's anything like my 98 Legacy GT (non-hinged power mirrors), there are
three screws accessible from the inside after removing the triangular tweeter
panel. These pass through the door and go into treads embedded into the inner
structure of the mirror.

If the outside of the mirror is undamaged you could try to epoxy the inside
structure back together but you'll likely end up with a weaker repair. I myself
found a used replacement for under $100 incl shipping online and put it on
myself.

You will probably need to remove the door panel since the cable connectors for
the electric motors are usually behind the door panel. This is not that hard to
remove once you've located the location of the screws and clips.

It's a wise investment to get the Haynes manual or the proper pages off <http://
techinfo.subaru.com> to avoid frustration and damage during disassembly.

Florian

 

[Xtranet]

The inside of the mirror unit is broken (not the mirror itself) and

the mirror unit just hangs by the cable. I taped it and the power
adjustment feature still works. I want to replace the entire power
mirror unit. Do I need to remove the entire door panel or is there an
easier way? I can see where the two screws are that hold it on.

I don't think you need to remove the entire door panel. There's like
a triangular area right behind where the mirror attaches. That area
could also hold the speaker tweeter. Just remove that and you'll have
access to the screws. I think you can just pull it off.