its clear when looking at your new one how to release the clip with a thin screwdriver or dental pick type tool
our diy and probably in this thread- has several pics, and the actual factory instructions

do NOT wiggle the mirror! thats how you break the glass
for gen2 it says use a rubber mallet to gently tap the unit loose!

 

Just a sad story to report.

Mirror developed the problem today, it looked fine yesterday. Unfortunately it immediately started leaking. Picked up the kids from school, noticed the strange liquid filling the mirror figured I would look into a replacement mirror next week. But I just went out to the garage and the entire contents of the mirror have now dripped onto my centre console. The grey bezel around the shift selector is now trashed. Drips of the nasty stuff have likely permanently damaged bits of plastic all over the console. It's actually a good thing the car is very dirty. My pile of paperwork sitting on the passenger seat has many dark spots on it from the liquid crystal splatter shielding the leather somewhat. the pile of receipts stuffed into the console also helped. But that shift bezel is just wrecked.

So doing some part lookups here. I probably need:
54710-S0K-A94
Escutcheon, Console The big plastic piece most damaged by the liquid. Going to have to take apart most of the console to get at it's mounting points too.
$125

54716-S0K-A01ZA
Garnish, Escutcheon ring
$42

and of course:
OEM auto dimming rear view mirror
Original Part number 76400-SEP-A02ZA
Replaced by: 76400-S3V-A02ZA
$125

About $300 worth of parts only covers the pieces with the worst of the damage. Some of the darker plastic seems to be less reactive with the liquid crystal fluid and didn't melt as badly. It's just cleaning this gunk is tricky. magic eraser and wet wipes seems to work.

Yeah it's an old car, 14 years but really been trouble free overall. Only real problems I had were the transmission issues covered by the big recall. I was one of the lucky ones where the transmission completely destroyed itself so I got a completely new one and it has been perfect since.

 

bummer you didnt know about this problem earlier.
Please be very careful cleaning the car out- that is a HAZMAT you are dealing with!!
Latex gloves and maybe a face mask? safety goggles!!

The good news is our sponsoring vendor dealers cut a big break on parts prices, I have seen the brand new (improved) mirror for 80 dollars in our for sale section
Local junkyard may have the console part- or our hookup on new parts

Be glad you are not the guy who thought it was spilt soda and licked his sunglasses! His story is at the beginning of this thread.
Emergency Room visit/Lawsuit started the whole replacement campaign some years back. Thats over- now you pay!

 

Well, local dealer is charging about the same. (After currency conversion to CAD)
Local West Edmonton dealer charging me $94.92CAD for the mirror. So that's a nice thing.
-no shipping
-no customs charges crossing the border
-I can get it today

Also just checked the online inventory on the local self service scrap yard. They have 2 TL models in the yard of the appropriate age, so next week I might take the tools out there and pull a shift selector and console out of one of their donor cars. If not I will see what those parts cost at the local dealership while I'm out there.

Been such a great car, I hope this isn't the beginning of the end. But 14 years after I rolled it new off the lot it certainly has been a long time. My original plans would have me buying a replacement car years ago but I just couldn't find a reason. The wife has been getting new cars more often as a result. We tend to use her car for most family driving now.

 

yours is running good and you take care of it- very hard to replace it.
The mirror failure is a pita- but a long known issue. You saw how many pages of this thread and several years of it. No , acura didnt make a big deal about it, and there was no recall or TSB,,just a secret warranty some knew of-- that ended when the actual maker of the mirror changed

Did yours have a discoloration- an oval shape appear on its face recently or a while ago? that's the usual warning but with this many years on them - anything can happen!

Spend more time on the forums and less time having a real life,,,!

 

ck our DIY section for help on removing the center console parts

 

Yeah, it was fine 2 days ago. The day it leaked is the first day it showed a bubble. Even if I knew about it I'm pretty sure I would not have changed it in time. From what I read most people had signs of failure for some time before any actual leak and I wouldn't have had time that afternoon to do anything about it until later when I did go out and saw the damage.

I guess the seal break was likely at the bottom of the mirror for it to leak out so quickly. Just have to deal with it now. Mirror is already swapped out, taking the week off this coming week as it's Canada day and kids are out of school for the summer. So July 6 I will probably go out to the scrap yard and see if the pulls are in good shape and if not just order the new parts.

I checked a few threads on console mods and take apart. I have also taken it apart partially before to install some accessories (sat radio, and some mods to get power to my bluetooth speakerphone unit).

Got a quote on new parts from the dealership today when I picked up the mirror. Their prices are pretty good, about the same or slightly lower than the USA parts websites I checked overall but without the cost of shipping added on.

 

That's good for others to know- in 2015, failure can happen without notice
Replace the mirror now!

 

Is there a non auto dimming Mirror replacement, so this can Permanently be avoided?

 

aftermarket type with holder you glue to windshield is possible

The NEW design and maker of the mirror has a different material inside = so no more poison issue, and have not heard of one failing in the several years they have been in production!

 

don't buy used mirror- its probably got the failure,, or near it!!
The newer ones are still mounted to their cars~

 

Wow, who would have thunk? I've been away from the forums for more than a decade. I was one of the first 5 people to post to this thread and now more than 20 pages later, I have to report that this problem is still occurring. Just a couple of days ago, my mirror leaked out on to the gear shift console area. Only sad it didn't happen sooner when all the free replacements were going on. Just want to say I've been very happy with my 02 TL-S over the years and hope my next car serves me just as well (when this one dies after another 15 years or so)!

 

Has anyone put in just a regular mirror. One you can buy for like 20 bucks?

 

You can but you will lose the auto-dimming feature.
The socket for the mirror is universal, you can fit what ever your heart desires.

 

Mine is not leaking but has yellow ring around it. Hard to see out of.

 

Cool have tinted windows so auto dim don't matter. But will regular one fit on the same nub the old one came off of. Or do i need to replace that too.

 

NM i see what you said Thanks

 

I know this thread is years and years old I just can’t find anyone comparing the difference to the original mirror and the new one, how do you read the date code on the back? Mine says donelly on the back but some say magna. What is the newest safer one?