Internal, and External Mirrors.
One of the basic components on the car, and indispensable if used correctly and yet being glass are vulnerable to damage and expensive to replace.
Rear View Mirror.
The bracket for the internal rear view mirror is bonded onto the screen, the mirror is clipped onto the bracket. If you have the misfortune of a damaged screen then ensure when refitting that the fitters not only install the bracket central to the screen but also fit the mirror correctly failure to do so will leave you with a loose fitting interior mirror which will not always hold its adjusted position.
"Oh". And before they take all the triplex or laminated glass away, ensure you have your tax disc, many a disc has gone in the bin with the glass.
Interior Mirror
The interior Mirror is fully adjustable on it is mounting stalk, if mirrors are adjusted correctly they are a wonderful asset to the driver, when parking or passing close to other traffic. They also enable the driver to see what is behind and as well as what is coming along side. Even other drivers interior mirrors can indicate to you, the driver behind, just how switched on the driver in front actually is! If you cannot see his/her face/head in their interior mirror, they cannot see you without adjusting their mirror or dramatically moving within their vehicle!
The interior mirror has two settings. One for normal day time driving and the other for night driving. If the lever located at the base of the mirror is pulled towards you, as you sit in the car, the mirror will be set for day time driving, push the lever away from you and a deflected image appears. This action on your part will help to reduce the dazzle from headlights of the cars to the rear of you from either poorly adjusted lights or where the driver fails to dip his main beam.
External Mirrors
Wing mirrors, where they used to be situated on the "mudguards", or "wings" of the car are difficult to use during poor weather conditions and were not easily adjustable by the driver, who needed to be in two places at once to adjust the mirrors to his/her liking while sitting in the driving seat.
Most cars these days have their mirrors located on the drivers and front passenger doors as with the 'A' Class, where the driver is best able to adjust them, from inside the car automatically, as with the 'A' Class, or by opening the side window. The driver can also clean the O/S mirror without leaving his seat.
The glass of the external mirror is divided into two visual sections, as well as being convened which allows more to be seen. However drivers should be aware that these mirrors also make other vehicles and objects look further away than they really are! A dotted line divides the two sections of the mirror. If correctly positioned, the inner section will enable the driver to see along the side of the vehicle including the rear wing of the car, the outer section will enable the driver to see traffic about to overtake in outside lanes of motor and dual carriageways. Most of us will however be aware that there are blind spots on the 'A' Class namely as cars draw almost level with you in outer lanes, and of course the 'A' posts forward of the driver. In this photo a correctly positioned mirror shows the whole width of the road, effectively three carriageways.
In addition external mirrors are automatically heated at low outside temperatures. A recent test revealed that they were working in temperatures as high as 6.5c (43.7F) which keeps them clear of fogging during adverse and winter conditions.
Mirror Controls
Centre to the dash we have the external mirror controls. The small black switch adjacent to the mirror icon, selects which mirror to adjust. For the O/S mirror simply select the right hand switch, for the N/S mirror select the left hand switch. Each of the four spoke positions/indicated by a dot, will allow the selected mirror, UP, DOWN, IN, or OUT.
Most useful when parking, adjust the mirror correctly and you an see your New Aluminium wheels sliding along adjacent to the kerb rather than being lathed by the granite that does so much damage in such a short space of time. The N/S mirror can play the same roll and be adjusted to assist you with what's going on to your N/S when turning right.
"Parked?" Take Care of Your Mirrors
And having successfully parked without scuffing your New ali's remember to fold your mirrors. No they are not electric like so many New Cars, but they can still be folded in to avoid collision with passing cars and to avoid the damage which can be caused either maliciously or the accidentally by passers by when on crowded pavements.
One point however, remember to open your mirrors before driving off, avoid contact with the mirror lens and you previous settings will be preserved.
These items are expensive to replace and even more so if you have the latest version where the repeater indicator lamp is incorporated into the mirror housing. 'A' Class A150/2005 Although the mirrors look more compact, there is some debate as whether they fold in?
My investigations into this in the showroom clearly says they do not fold! although there are electrically operated folding mirrors as an option on new cars.
Retro fit is not financially viable due to the number of components that need to be fitted including into the instrument cluster
If you are considering the purchase of a W169 A class please check this information before committing, I for instance cannot garage a W169 because the mirrors on the W169 I had on loan would as far as I could see fold.
A Shows the two wires that connect onto small terminals at the rear of the mirror B shows the securing spring.
Remove & Installing Mirror Glass
*Fold the outside mirror forward
*Tip the top edge of the mirror gals to the outside
*Using a screw driver, push the retaining spring (1) upwards and remove the mirror glass from the drive
*Disconnect the connector (2)
* Reassemble in reverse order, Start from the bottom side of the mirror and work your way upwards, paying attention to the support spring (3) and seat arrows.
Helpful owner forwards information to help us all.
If every time an owner suffered a problem on the 'A' class we as a community were made aware of how the owner overcame the problem we would all be a well informed., and would save a fortune in spares and labour.
When 'Sirpic' suffered a broken mirror, not only did he replace the broken mirror himself but also sent me the information along with photos so they I could inform you all as well. Many thanks 'Sirpic' and thanks for the Photos which as always speak louder than words.
Lofty,
Quote
Recently my wing mirror was broken. It was just the mirror glass that was badly cracked. I enquired at 'Euro car parts' and they wanted £40 for a pattern part replacement mirror. I didn't even bother asking how much the original part was at Mercedes Benz.
Then I saw a stick on replacement mirror on ebay for £8.50 including p&p. So I gave the latter a go.
Please see attached pics,
I removed the broken glass form the foam backed surface of the original mirror and simply stuck on the new one. The foam backing contains the heating element so should not be removed.
Quite an easy job, but obviously got to be careful with broken glass.
The replacement mirror for driver side was AGL440C.
Unquote
My only observation is that on my present mirrors the outer 1/4 of the glass gives me a view of cars on my extreme off-side, on the 'Sirpics broken glass the dotted line can still be seen, I cannot see this on the new /replacement glass.
Mirrors being made of thin glass obviously do get broken with reasonable ease, sticking out as the necessarily do makes them just a little vulnerable that other parts on the car and being a vital component when it comes to driving safely means we need to replace them as soon as possible.
Next.
Back to Index,
Purchase DVD.
Please Make a Donation.
Rear View Mirror.
The bracket for the internal rear view mirror is bonded onto the screen, the mirror is clipped onto the bracket. If you have the misfortune of a damaged screen then ensure when refitting that the fitters not only install the bracket central to the screen but also fit the mirror correctly failure to do so will leave you with a loose fitting interior mirror which will not always hold its adjusted position.
"Oh". And before they take all the triplex or laminated glass away, ensure you have your tax disc, many a disc has gone in the bin with the glass.
Interior Mirror
The interior Mirror is fully adjustable on it is mounting stalk, if mirrors are adjusted correctly they are a wonderful asset to the driver, when parking or passing close to other traffic. They also enable the driver to see what is behind and as well as what is coming along side. Even other drivers interior mirrors can indicate to you, the driver behind, just how switched on the driver in front actually is! If you cannot see his/her face/head in their interior mirror, they cannot see you without adjusting their mirror or dramatically moving within their vehicle!
The interior mirror has two settings. One for normal day time driving and the other for night driving. If the lever located at the base of the mirror is pulled towards you, as you sit in the car, the mirror will be set for day time driving, push the lever away from you and a deflected image appears. This action on your part will help to reduce the dazzle from headlights of the cars to the rear of you from either poorly adjusted lights or where the driver fails to dip his main beam.
External Mirrors
Wing mirrors, where they used to be situated on the "mudguards", or "wings" of the car are difficult to use during poor weather conditions and were not easily adjustable by the driver, who needed to be in two places at once to adjust the mirrors to his/her liking while sitting in the driving seat.
Most cars these days have their mirrors located on the drivers and front passenger doors as with the 'A' Class, where the driver is best able to adjust them, from inside the car automatically, as with the 'A' Class, or by opening the side window. The driver can also clean the O/S mirror without leaving his seat.
The glass of the external mirror is divided into two visual sections, as well as being convened which allows more to be seen. However drivers should be aware that these mirrors also make other vehicles and objects look further away than they really are! A dotted line divides the two sections of the mirror. If correctly positioned, the inner section will enable the driver to see along the side of the vehicle including the rear wing of the car, the outer section will enable the driver to see traffic about to overtake in outside lanes of motor and dual carriageways. Most of us will however be aware that there are blind spots on the 'A' Class namely as cars draw almost level with you in outer lanes, and of course the 'A' posts forward of the driver. In this photo a correctly positioned mirror shows the whole width of the road, effectively three carriageways.
In addition external mirrors are automatically heated at low outside temperatures. A recent test revealed that they were working in temperatures as high as 6.5c (43.7F) which keeps them clear of fogging during adverse and winter conditions.
Mirror Controls
Centre to the dash we have the external mirror controls. The small black switch adjacent to the mirror icon, selects which mirror to adjust. For the O/S mirror simply select the right hand switch, for the N/S mirror select the left hand switch. Each of the four spoke positions/indicated by a dot, will allow the selected mirror, UP, DOWN, IN, or OUT.
Most useful when parking, adjust the mirror correctly and you an see your New Aluminium wheels sliding along adjacent to the kerb rather than being lathed by the granite that does so much damage in such a short space of time. The N/S mirror can play the same roll and be adjusted to assist you with what's going on to your N/S when turning right.
"Parked?" Take Care of Your Mirrors
And having successfully parked without scuffing your New ali's remember to fold your mirrors. No they are not electric like so many New Cars, but they can still be folded in to avoid collision with passing cars and to avoid the damage which can be caused either maliciously or the accidentally by passers by when on crowded pavements.
One point however, remember to open your mirrors before driving off, avoid contact with the mirror lens and you previous settings will be preserved.
These items are expensive to replace and even more so if you have the latest version where the repeater indicator lamp is incorporated into the mirror housing. 'A' Class A150/2005 Although the mirrors look more compact, there is some debate as whether they fold in?My investigations into this in the showroom clearly says they do not fold! although there are electrically operated folding mirrors as an option on new cars.
Retro fit is not financially viable due to the number of components that need to be fitted including into the instrument cluster
If you are considering the purchase of a W169 A class please check this information before committing, I for instance cannot garage a W169 because the mirrors on the W169 I had on loan would as far as I could see fold.
A Shows the two wires that connect onto small terminals at the rear of the mirror B shows the securing spring.
Remove & Installing Mirror Glass
*Fold the outside mirror forward
*Tip the top edge of the mirror gals to the outside
*Using a screw driver, push the retaining spring (1) upwards and remove the mirror glass from the drive *Disconnect the connector (2)
* Reassemble in reverse order, Start from the bottom side of the mirror and work your way upwards, paying attention to the support spring (3) and seat arrows.
Helpful owner forwards information to help us all.
If every time an owner suffered a problem on the 'A' class we as a community were made aware of how the owner overcame the problem we would all be a well informed., and would save a fortune in spares and labour.
When 'Sirpic' suffered a broken mirror, not only did he replace the broken mirror himself but also sent me the information along with photos so they I could inform you all as well. Many thanks 'Sirpic' and thanks for the Photos which as always speak louder than words.
Lofty,
Quote
Recently my wing mirror was broken. It was just the mirror glass that was badly cracked. I enquired at 'Euro car parts' and they wanted £40 for a pattern part replacement mirror. I didn't even bother asking how much the original part was at Mercedes Benz.
Then I saw a stick on replacement mirror on ebay for £8.50 including p&p. So I gave the latter a go.
Please see attached pics,
I removed the broken glass form the foam backed surface of the original mirror and simply stuck on the new one. The foam backing contains the heating element so should not be removed.
Quite an easy job, but obviously got to be careful with broken glass.
The replacement mirror for driver side was AGL440C.
Unquote
My only observation is that on my present mirrors the outer 1/4 of the glass gives me a view of cars on my extreme off-side, on the 'Sirpics broken glass the dotted line can still be seen, I cannot see this on the new /replacement glass.
Mirrors being made of thin glass obviously do get broken with reasonable ease, sticking out as the necessarily do makes them just a little vulnerable that other parts on the car and being a vital component when it comes to driving safely means we need to replace them as soon as possible.
Next.
Back to Index,
Purchase DVD.
Please Make a Donation.