8V wing mirror cover removal

[Alicia]

thinking of buying carbon wing mirror covers for my A3 8v Sport but I’m wondering if there’s a way to remove the original covers without having to remove the actual glass mirror first?

If you’ve replaced your mirror covers, how did you do it?

 

[AlS3BE]

Quick answer no.
The glass needs to come out so you can access the clips that holds it in place.

 

[dannyboy1985]

I’ve just done mine and it is a full on pain in the ***.

1. Remove the mirror glass and remove heating wires

2. Remove mirror motor 1 screw in the centre and unplug it.

3. Remove 3 screws from the inner cover. Then there are 4 tabs on the 4 corners that you have to use a small screwdriver to gently pry up while gently pulling away from the rest of the mirror. You have to be very careful because the indicator light protrudes through this piece and can easily brake (I broke mine).

4. Once that is off you can access 3 more clips to remove the mirror cap gently sliding it forward. Again there is a catch on the inner that if not slid off perfectly it can break.

Complete the procedure in reverse and then the other side...

 

[Rcord]

Well maybe it's too late for this information to be useful but after having so many troubles with mirror caps, currently I use another method to remove the mirror caps without disassembling anything in the mirror. I insert a plastic sharp tool between the base of the mirror cap and the mirror body at the indicator ligth side (not so easy, as it's not supposed to exist a space to insert a tool there) then shift the cap toward the front of the car. Repeat that along the edge of the indicator light. That releases the tabs that connect the lower part of the cap to the indicator. By doing this, the upper clips are released almost automatically. Spares me a lot of time (or maybe I'm very lucky).

 

[AlS3BE]

Well maybe it's too late for this information to be useful but after having so many troubles with mirror caps, currently I use another method to remove the mirror caps without disassembling anything in the mirror. I insert a plastic sharp tool between the base of the mirror cap and the mirror body at the indicator ligth side (not so easy, as it's not supposed to exist a space to insert a tool there) then shift the cap toward the front of the car. Repeat that along the edge of the indicator light. That releases the tabs that connect the lower part of the cap to the indicator. By doing this, the upper clips are released almost automatically. Spares me a lot of time (or maybe I'm very lucky).

I ended up doing something similar with loads of trim tools inserted along the indicator edge as I didn’t want to break anything especially the cap as it’s not cheap.

 

[wobbly box]

This guy makes it look easy enough, I think you can remove the cover without removing the mirror. He only removed the mirror to get to the screws that fit into the indicator.

 

[AlS3BE]

This guy makes it look easy enough, I think you can remove the cover without removing the mirror. He only removed the mirror to get to the screws that fit into the indicator.

You need to know exactly where the tabs are that holds the cap in places to do it without removing the mirror. Other thing is the first time the caps are removed it’s probably most stiff, second time round it’s a lot easier so that’s probably why these YouTube videos make it look easy.
I wouldn’t remove the mirror like him either. Turn mirror towards car and slip fingers in and gently using your fingers tug and it should pop then the other side. With fingers you can feel the pressure against the glass with that trim tool all pressure is against a small point instead of across a wide area.

 

[Rcord]

I wouldn’t remove the mirror like him either. Turn mirror towards car and slip fingers in and gently using your fingers tug and it should pop then the other side. With fingers you can feel the pressure against the glass with that trim tool all pressure is against a small point instead of across a wide area.

Audi manuals recommend using a suction cup to remove the mirror glass (I use the suction cup of an old GPS windscreen holder mount, works better when wet). Requires some strength but the glass comes out safely.

 

[Alicia]

Thanks for your replies and help everyone. If removing the glass is the only way then I’ll have to, was only a bit worried about breaking it ‍ My mirrors aren’t heated so at least I won’t have to worry about wires

 

[yawut]

They're easier to remove than you might think. I've had mine off several times without issue. Blake's Garage has a pretty simple walkthrough:

 

[Rcord]

Thanks for your replies and help everyone. If removing the glass is the only way then I’ll have to, was only a bit worried about breaking it ‍ My mirrors aren’t heated so at least I won’t have to worry about wires

Actually, non heated mirrors also have the wires for the heating circuitry, but instead of having them connected to contacts on the mirror glass, they are fitted into empty slots located at the back of the glass in the place of the contacts. They are easy to remove and to reinstall though.