Retrofit Honda Civic Dimming Mirror w/ Homelink

[JC-RH]

Thanks for posting this and it helped me when doing this mod on my car. I agree that taking a couple mirrors apart and swapping parts is better than having to take the car apart to add a wiring harness.

I did do a couple things differently though. The first was the removal of the trim from around the base of the mirror. I found it very difficult to remove the trim cover over the base by prying it apart so I ended up pulling the edge of the flat cover down where it fits up against the headliner and then popped the mirror off its base so the mirror and trim were loose and they were only held in place by the sliding tabs on the upper trim piece. I then moved the trim and mirror together from side to side which released the tabs on each side which allowed the whole assembly to came off together. Once on my workbench it was easy to pry apart the mirror base trim using a small screwdriver on the tabs from inside of the trim pieces and remove them from the mirror.

I found the easiest way to pry the mirror housing apart is to start in the middle of the top seam of the housing using a small, thin steel spatula and inserting the tip of the spatula blade into the seam at an angle until it slipped in and under the rear housing. With the blade inserted I was able to insert an old credit card into the resulting gap next to the spatula blade and then pull out the blade. With the credit card holding the gap open I then worked along the seam popping the housing apart. The ends of the housing are the most difficult to pry apart but just be patient and they will eventually pop apart.

I also found that the spring around the plastic ball joint cup on the mirror bracket that needs to be removed to swap the Integra stem into the new mirror rear housing did not go back on by tightening the mount screws during reassembly. I had to put the stem ball through the rear housing, reassemble the spring onto the plastic cup and then snap the cup back onto the stem ball. The photo below shows the spring in question partially removed from the cup.

The last thing I did differently was to purchase a used mirror from a '22-'24 MDX which is the exact same mirror as the Accord one. For some reason they tend to be cheaper in the used market than the Accord mirrors.

That these cars did not come with Homelink or even have it as an option is hard to believe. Thanks again for your post and it really helped me do this mod.

I think I’m ready to go the route of the MDX mirror. Please help clarify the following:

1) If I buy a used MDX mirror that has damage to the front glass, I can combine my Integra’s glass to the back half of the MDX mirror?

2) If so, what other parts should I use from my Integra? I want the angle and height to be the same as stock (I heard the Accord mirror changes this).

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[acurax]

I think I’m ready to go the route of the MDX mirror. Please help clarify the following:

1) If I buy a used MDX mirror that has damage to the front glass, I can combine my Integra’s glass to the back half of the MDX mirror?

I'm not sure anyone has tried this, but it looks like you should be able to swap it out.

2) If so, what other parts should I use from my Integra? I want the angle and height to be the same as stock (I heard the Accord mirror changes this).

You'll only need to use the mount from your integra mirror.

 

[355]

It is correct that you only need to use the Integra mirror mount.

As far as swapping the broken mirror glass goes, after looking at the glass and circuit board from my Integra mirror, it appears you can swap the circuit board and buttons assembly from the broken MDX/Accord mirror glass onto the Integra glass. The circuit board and buttons easily slip off two black plastic mounting pins on the back of the glass assembly after removing the two white mirror wires from their spades on the circuit board. The photo below shows the backside of the mirror glass assembly and attached circuit board.

 

[bandit81]

When reassembling the stem to the mirror, reattaching the stem to the mirror is NOT in reverse order. Here is the difference:

Disassembly, the spring needs removed first then you can pull the stem off the mirror.the spring helps the plastic clamp down on the ball.

Reassembly, the spring goes back on around the plastic of the mirror (around the socket), then you snap the ball of the stem back in place with some force.

If you snap the ball back first you would then need to slide the spring back on which will be / is very difficult. Some people gave up trying to put the spring back but rather use the back cover as the mechanism to hold the spring in. This leaves the spring applying pressure to the back cover plate of the mirror, which will someday either break from the fatigue or cause the mirror to fall off as the ball will not be secure in the socket.

 

[JC-RH]

Ok great. I appreciate everyone’s input. I ordered an MDX mirror and will give this a shot once it arrives.

Thanks!

 

[JC-RH]

I finished my MDX mirror swap today. Here is how it went:

I found a used mirror on eBay with chipped glass. It was cheap enough that it caught my attention. I was able to swap it out pretty much using the Accord mirror instructions.

Since I had to reuse my Integra glass, the only difference I encountered was the little LED light that blinks on the actual glass right above where you press the buttons. On the MDX, you can see a perfect little circle along with the Homelink logo when you hold up the mirror (rearview mirror split open) to a direct light source. The LED light placement on the electrical board make are the cause of that. However, the Integra glass portion has that same little area (four square sections…3 on the bottom and one on top), but they are filled in with some sort of residue. It’s weird because the stamped part numbers are the same.

In any case, I scrapped off the area in the top square where the main status light blinks. I kept checking it by holding it up to a light, and it was a shapeless area due to the random scrapes. I cleaned it up a bit more, and I applied some dark nailpolish with a paper clip. I basically filled in the spot but left a defined circle for the light to shine through. The finished product was more than adequate. However, I wish I would have applied some nail polish to the square below it (homelink logo area) because the bright LED shows a very dim area beneath the status LED. I’ll have to monitor it. If it bothers me enough, I’ll take it apart again and apply the nail polish from the inside.

So in the end, it worked out. MDX is confirmed to work on our Integras. If the glass is undamaged, you won’t have to go through the added steps that I had to go through.

As far the programming steps, they were a lot simpler than what I’ve done with previous Homelink mirrors. All I did was clear the memory (hold button number 1 and 3 at the same time for about 20 seconds until rapid blink), press the button on the mirror that I wish to program, press/hold the main button on remote (while holding remote close to mirror) until light pattern changes. That was it. I didn’t have to press the Learn button on my garage door opener motor.

Ignore the extra red wire and posi-tap in the last 2 pics. It isn’t connected to anything. I simply cut the yellow and red wires. I slipped some shrink wrap and added a small piece of bare wire to compensate for the lost length of the cut and twisted wire. Then I soldered it and sealed it with shrink wrap.

Hope all this helps the next person!

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