Good question, I am pretty certain all mirrors manufactured by Donnelly are suspect. And it appears, all the early year Jags, not just the XK8's, were built using the defective product. My theory is the mirrors changed sometime after Donnelly was bought out by the much larger Magna in the summer of 2002. If mirror problems began to surface, Magna would certainly have had the resources to re-engineer the mirror. Furthermore, everything I have read about mirror replacement program has had the Magna name associated with it.

So I am guessing the upgraded mirror was available sometime after 2002. I haven't seen too many mirror replacements in cars assembled after that. (If someone has a later model problem mirror, let me know and I will edit this page. ) There is probably a cutoff month, with a few cars afterwards getting old batch mirrors when they assembled. Remember this is a Magna Donnelly issue, not a Jaguar one.

 

Does anyone know this YET? I am wanting to get my mirror fixed or replaced and would like to know if anyone has had the company fix the mirror and the auto lights started working again???

 

I do not know the chemical composition of the chromatic fluid. However, I had read somewhere that the chromatic fluid is toxic. So toxic in fact that when the problem first surfaced, Magna-Donnelly replaced the mirrors free. It was a voluntary action, not a recall so we cannot make a claim on it. Still they have been pretty good about standing behind their product with the exchange program. It is certainly better than sourcing another OEM mirror from Jag NA to the tune of $400+.

 

Mine died this week on my 97 XK8, I had no problem getting the mirror off, you just pull off the back plastic plate (facing the windshield), put your finger up there where you feel the metal tab that is slightly flexible, push it fwd (upward), while sliding the entire unit downward, popped right off, I've done it a couple times thusfar, no need for any hammering or anything.
As to the fluid, I just got off the phone with a guy at Magna (I was hoping to convince them to replace mine under this rumored recall) who told me it is not toxic despite what I read on the internet. I don't recall his exact word, but he said something about it being an electrolite fluid and that you wouldn't want to drink it, but that it's not going to harm you if you just wash it off, so who knows.
Anyway, I've also contacted Sybesma's Electronics, and they currently require you to send in your current unit and they will refurb and send it back to you, $95 plus the cost to ship yours to Michigan. They claim no more than 72hrs from receipt to shipping it back to you.
Thanks for the tutorial, it was super helpful.

 

Mine just died, too. I successfully removed it this evening, it's packed up and will be on its way to Sybesma tomorrow. I called them and got the same response...72 hour turnaround, $ 95.

Thanks Gordo, your mirror DIY is a gift that keeps on giving.

 

Good to know about the 72 hour turn around. I just shipped my dads out on Monday. I left my phone number so they could call me and get the credit card info. Hopefully they'll call today. Looks like they're getting a few this week.

 

More than a few! Sybesma received my mirror today and called for payment...I spoke to the customer service rep for a few minutes. This one company receives 8 - 12 auto-dimming rearview mirrors for repair EVERY DAY. The vast majority have the same problem ours do, and most are from BMWs and a few other high-end cars.

That's about 2,500 mirror repairs a year, for this one little company, based on five days of shipment receipts per week. And these are just the mirrors from guys like us, who want to avoid the dealer and have found an alternative.

A nice reminder that Jags aren't the only high-end rides with a few glitches here and there.

 

...and another one bites the dust. The mirror on my wife's VDP started separating this weekend. I just hope it doesn't start leaking before I take it off and ship it out.

Thanx for the info guys.

 

 

I plan on sending my mirror in for rebuild to Sybesma's Electronics.

I have a question about the auto on-off headlight feature built into the rear of the mirror.

My car has been updated to hi intensity headlights and they only operate on the auto function setting on the switch.
It would appear as the other switch positions have been disconnected.

The auto off-on function don't seem to work anyway, but not sure if removing the connector from the mirror would change the operation of the headlights.

Thanks to all the great details many of you have done to help the average owner get the help to DIY and save a bunch.

 

Mine's loose too! After you got it off, what did you have to do to tighten it?

 

I just got my mirror back from Sybesma yesterday. Exactly 1 week from when I sent it out - and $95 lighter

 

Yep, got mine today...also exactly one week after sending it off. The refurbished mirror looks great, and it's already installed.

I must say, though, I kind of liked the open feel of the windscreen without a rearview mirror for a few days! Just a few more over-the-shoulder checks to make sure I don't cream somebody. But I suppose rear-view mirrors do have their place, and mine is back in action without the "70's wave machine" look and toxic chemicals.

To all: the Sybesma Electronics mirror refurbish is highly recommended.

 

Just followed this guidance and found it super useful. Thank you. My mirror just popped off as clean as a whistle after proper preparation, including a touch of WD40.

 

Add another to the list. It failed today, and thanks to this forum, I have the solution within 5 minutes of research.

 

So this helped me with my mirror also, a question about reinstalling, is there an audible or "tactile" moment when the mirror is all the way home ? how do you know when the mirror is fully in place ?

thanks,

terry

 

When reinstalling the mirror, one can feel the metal detent seat itself into the receiving bracket mounting to the inner side of the windshield. . In addition, one can also see that the pedestal base is vertically centered over this bracket.

 

Thanks for all the info ... will contact them to get a new mirror!

 

Took mine off last night and it has shipped today to get fixed!

However, i noticed a plug in the the header that is not connected to anything and looked it shouldn't be. My question is what is this BLUE ended plug?? Looks like it had 2 wires to it. Is that a RAIN SENSOR wiring???

I will take a pic if anyone doesn't know what I am talking about.