R230 How to replace indicator lens in door mirror?

[derin100]

As per the title, I need to replace the plastic lens in the N/S door mirror on my car as it is cracked.
I've watched various videos on YouTube but none of them seem to relate exactly to the type of mirrors on the R230. I don't want to break anything just by doing things by trial and error!

Thanks in advance.

 

[zipdip]

Well I take it you have already bought a new indicator lens for your car,if you look at the new part there is a catch at one end of the new part thats the end that goes in to the wing mirror nearest the door,so to take out the old indicator lens you need to go to the end that is on the outside of the wing mirror and sort of push it towards the door and lift/lever the indicator from that end at the back of the wing mirror ,this is far harder to explain than do,I am amazed that this is not on YouTube

 

[derin100]

Many thanks!

I haven't bought the new part just yet but I'm sure what you're describing will be much more obvious when I have it.

So, just to be clear...I don't need to take the housing off or the mirror glass out or anything like that as just the lens itself comes out or can be taken out from the front alone?

 

[zipdip]

There is no need to take the door mirror off the car or take the mirror out or the housing off the back,just buy the new part and I am sure you will see how it fits and comes out,and of course your old one is cracked anyway so given you have never done this before you should do this easily,try not to use a flat screwdriver to do the levering just in case you scratch the paint

 

[derin100]

Many thanks!

 

[whitenemesis]

What year is your SL?
A read here may help, linked video below

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[derin100]

Thank you!
My SL is built 2007 but registered 2008.

Now I'm really confused because if that video is correct there is no way the indicator can be just taken off as suggested above because there are two screws actually holding it in?

I'll wait until I actually receive the part before tackling it so that I can see exactly what it looks like.

 

[c63chris]

Mine is cracked as well and my dealer said it had to be a whole new unit! I’m sure that’s wrong as I have seen lenses for sale on eBay. Be good to know how you do it.

 

[thesewellguy]

Mine too...

 

[derin100]

I will feedback once I've sorted it out.
I'm fairly certain that you don't need to buy the whole unit! It's just a new insert that is required!
It's even listed in the Mercedes parts catalogue . It's part 80 in this link though there appear to be two different part numbers listed. So, I've emailed a Mercedes dealer to ascertain for sure which one I need before ordering:

FG 230.467 - LEFT OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR > Mercedes EPC Online > nemigaparts.com

 

[c63chris]

Looks like it’s held in by a screw so you would have to take the whole mirror off?

 

[AMGeed]

I will feedback once I've sorted it out.
I'm fairly certain that you don't need to buy the whole unit! It's just a new insert that is required!
It's even listed in the Mercedes parts catalogue . It's part 80 in this link though there appear to be two different part numbers listed. So, I've emailed a Mercedes dealer to ascertain for sure which one I need before ordering:

FG 230.467 - LEFT OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR > Mercedes EPC Online > nemigaparts.com

I believe you need the Part # A 171 820 03 21.
The other one listed is for R230's up to 31/10/2003 as in diagram below (Same as your diagram but difference in Part #'s explained)
LEFT OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR MERCEDES SL-KLASSE [Car] [CHASSIS] (EUROPA)

I agree the housing must detach from the mirror body to enable the screw retaining the lens in the housing to be removed.

 

[derin100]

Thank you...that's very helpful!

 

[derin100]

I've managed to find a MB main-dealer selling these new on Ebay.
Genuine Mercedes-Benz R170 SLK LH Indicator Blinker Lamp A1708201721 NEW | eBay

The trouble is that picture doesn't look like the ones on my car. In fact, it looks very different! In the photo in that link you can see little bits of range shining through whereas mine is complete 'white'. Also, on mine the surface is completely smooth unlike the effect if the picture in the Ebay ad (see attached photo for how mine looks)

I suppose an alternative explanation might be that mine have already been replaced at some stage using non-MB parts? What do other people's look like?

 

[derin100]

Right, mystery solved!

I contacted an MB maindealer to ascertain which is exactly the right part for my car and it's this one (just as AMGeed said):
Genuine Mercedes-Benz SLK LH Mirror Repeater Indicator Lamp A1718200321 | eBay

As you can see this looks exactly like the cracked one already on my car.

I've now ordered it and will be able to look more closely when it arrives but on the back it does look to me that a screw goes into the back.

 

[AMGeed]

Right, mystery solved!

I contacted an MB maindealer to ascertain which is exactly the right part for my car and it's this one (just as AMGeed said):
Genuine Mercedes-Benz SLK LH Mirror Repeater Indicator Lamp A1718200321 | eBay

As you can see this looks exactly like the cracked one already on my car.

I've now ordered it and will be able to look more closely when it arrives but on the back it does look to me that a screw goes into the back.

Result.
I doubt very much that there are any aftermarket indicator lens that would fit a Mercedes wing mirror.

 

[renault12ts]

Result.
I doubt very much that there are any aftermarket indicator lens that would fit a Mercedes wing mirror.

I bought one.

 

[AMGeed]

I bought one.

Well thats blown me out of the water.

 

[derin100]

There are-after market ones but strangely not really significantly cheaper than the MB ones. And, I think it could be a minefield of ordering the wrong ones.

 

[derin100]

Ok, I haven't received my new part yet (I think it might arrive tomorrow) but in anticipation of this I thought I set about taking the old one out.

I can confirm that you absolutely MUST, MUST...(did I say MUST?) remove the mirror housing to do this job!

There are actually two, CROSS-HEAD/PHILIPS type screws (i.e. different from the 6 Torx head ones that you already needed to remove to the casing) that hold the indicator lamp into the mirror casing.

If you make an attempt to remove the the lamp from the casing from the front by levering it etc out you will DEFINITELY SNAP your mirror casing and still won't have achieved the job necessary to replace the lamp!


You will also need to disconnect the two thin wires for the mirror glass heating in order to remove the glass. This was actually the hardest step for me as they were on really tight on my car and the the wires and spade connectors look quite fragile.

So,

1) Remove the glass (this simply levers off on UK cars but I have seen videos of U.S cars which seem to have an additional metal clip near the top of the mirror) and its two wires.

2) Remove 6 Torx screws: 3 are silver in colour holds the big black round part of the mechanism; 3 are black releases the outer mirror casing/cup.

3)Remove the outer casing away from the car and off after removing a small white electrical connector that's inserted near the upper part of black plastic of the mechanism.

4) Then you will clearly see 2 silver coloured, small Philips type screws. Removing these allows you to remove the indicator itself from the casing.

I can also confirm that the correct part number (as per the stamp on the plastic at the back) is : A 171 820 03 21