I have a 2002 E39 M5 with 55K mi on it. We have been having some toasty weather here in CA, and I now have a fluid bubble in the top half of my (internal) rear view mirror. Inside the bubble the mirror does not darken. In the region outside the bubble, it does. In daytime you can barely see the separation, but at night it is quite visible. I know this has been a historical failure issue, and this mirror was already replaced by Magna Donnelly in 2007.
I checked and an OEM replacement from BMW is between $500 and $650, depending on the source. Does anyone know if Magna Donnelly is still replacing mirrors? They appear to have a functioning website (Magna: Contact Us). Are the OEM versions still MD mirrors or are they now made by someone else? I am not sure I want to spend $500 on a mirror that will fail again in a few years.
I thought the replacement from MD was supposed to fix this problem, but it appears not. I had a link at one time to the procedure for replacing the mirror, but cannot find it all these years later...
Also, I considered just placing some sort of aftermarket mirror over the OEM, but that would look tacky, and I have heard these mirrors can leak that nasty electrochromic fluid which is toxic and corrosive soon after you get the bubble. All which mean replacement in the not too distant future.
I checked and an OEM replacement from BMW is between $500 and $650, depending on the source. Does anyone know if Magna Donnelly is still replacing mirrors? They appear to have a functioning website (Magna: Contact Us). Are the OEM versions still MD mirrors or are they now made by someone else? I am not sure I want to spend $500 on a mirror that will fail again in a few years.
I thought the replacement from MD was supposed to fix this problem, but it appears not. I had a link at one time to the procedure for replacing the mirror, but cannot find it all these years later...
Also, I considered just placing some sort of aftermarket mirror over the OEM, but that would look tacky, and I have heard these mirrors can leak that nasty electrochromic fluid which is toxic and corrosive soon after you get the bubble. All which mean replacement in the not too distant future.