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!

 

[tgreaves]

I've just done this mod today using the Accord frameless mirror (08V03-3A0-100) and it was quite easy. I had initially bought the $40 harness with the Accord mirror connector that you route to the fusebox (08V03-30A-100) but I didnt end up using it and will return or resell it.

Here are the steps I followed:

In the car:
1) Remove the stock mirror shroud trim pieces (see other videoes in this thread for details on that). It was not hard, more or less I used a small plastic trim tool to pry apart, starting with a plastic razorblade at the parting line in the center of the trim pieces).
2) Unplug the stock mirror connector and remove the stock mirror by rotating counter clockwise about 30 degrees. I did this by hand but you could easily use some channel locks to make it very easy. Mentally note the position and way the twist connector fastens to the windshield as you'll have to align it again this way during reassembly.

On your workbench:
3) Purchase a new Accord Homelink Gen5 mirror, 08V03-3A0-100. (At time of writing this was $161 new from All Discount Parts).
4) Use a small plastic trim tool to pry apart the clamshell of the factory frameless mirror. (Pry at the seam between the black parts, don't pry by the glass.) I was successful in getting the side apart that doesnt have the on/off button first, then moving around the sides, then getting the side with the on/off button. This took maybe 10-15 mins on the first mirror as I was exploring and being gentle, then maybe 2-3 minutes once I had the technique for the 2nd mirror.
5) Repeat the disassembly to the brand new Homelink mirror
6) Swap the internal wiring harness and stem out of your stock Integra mirror onto the Accord frameless mirror. You are swapping the harness so you can use your Integra's factory mirror connector and not the Accord setup.. Note, there are 4 screws that hold the stem in place, then you remove the spring and pull it apart. To get the spring to reinstall behind the ball joint on the stem I just lined things up flat and fastened the screws again evenly and it pushed the spring back in place behind the ball socket itself..
7) Important: While your mirrors are apart and internal mirror harness is exposed you need to cut back or unravel the tape it is wrapped with, use an exacto knife to strip the insulation from the yellow and red wires somewhere in the middle, solder these wires together, then add some electrical tape to insulate. Rewrap the internal mirror harness in harness tape or electrical tape. I imagine you could also do this with some tap connectors instead of soldering and leave the tap connectors inside the mirror's clamshell. This red/yellow fuse is neccessary because the factory mirror connector on the Integra doesnt provide a power feed to the yellow wire which powers the homelink. Splicing these together internally means when your mirror gets power your homelink will to, which when spliced to the red means only when the ignition is on.

Back in the car:
8) Reinstall the mirror and plug the factory connector back in. The fitting where the mirror stem attaches to the windshield has 5 prongs, 4 in a square and then one extra, for alignment I found that extra needs to be facing down near the dash.
9) Reinstall the mirror trim plastics, like most other things it all just snaps back together when lined up.

To me this method is better than using the accessory harness because it means you dont have to run the harness past the airbag and use an accessory position up in your fusebox. it's little cheaper as you only need the mirror but does mean you have to be brave enough to pry apart your brand new homelink mirror, but then again you're prying apart your brand new Integra too so how much extra risk is it really? Like the car it doesnt really have any screws holding the part together so it's just a matter of finding the right trim tool or credit card to pry it apart.

This approach also means if for any reason you wanted to return to stock (can't see why you would) the whole mod is contained within the mirror and can be swapped back to a stock one in no time and doesn't involve pulling apart the a pillar trim or adding wiring to the fusebox.

I know this is an older post but, do you remember if the wires between the 2 internal wiring harnesses were the same color?
Reason I ask is, I have a harness that goes in between the Integra mirror and factory Integra harness and provides power for a dash cam.. I want to get the Accord mirror harness(or at least the plug end) and depin the Integra mirror end and pin it in to the Accord mirror plug.. Cost $40 more but, I dont need to open up the mirrors and can easily go back to the factory mirror..

 

[bandit81]

The harness on the mirror side does not change if you get the mirrors listed. You have to take it apart to snake the harness plug end through the housing, that is the essence of this write up.

 

[tgreaves]

The harness on the mirror side does not change if you get the mirrors listed. You have to take it apart to snake the harness plug end through the housing, that is the essence of this write up.

I want to use the 5th gen Accord frameless mirror which has a different connector, and without taking the mirror apart..

 

[acurax]

Well, here's the factory mirror connector. The Accord connector has things different and I don't know exactly how it differs.

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