I've seen a few posts about rattling rear view mirrors across the forums so I thought I'd post this repair info.
What seems to happen is that the internal plastic 'cup' moulds itself to the shape of the swivel mounting 'ball' end over time. There is no lubrication. This makes the mirror 'stiff' and if it is then moved abruptly and more than just slightly the cup sticks to the ball and drags the internals such that it levers against the internal plastic retainer mouldings and they snap off. (I expect always the top ones as this is where the leverage is great, besides the lower ones are better supported.) The mirror is then left in a 'ratting' state as the internals are no longer secured. The design isn't great and just the very slightest amount of lub. on the ball and socket would mitigate the chances greatly. (As would a teflon cup rather than the one made from an engineering plastic.) No WD40 or similar though, use a dry film lub. or the tiniest amount of HMP / lithium grease.
Anyway, here's an idea for fixing the broken clips so the mirror can be re-secured. Remove the mirror from the car - it's tight! You may damage it doing this if it's already loose as the usual technique is to pull down via the ball joint. I'm sure there could be a tool to lever behind the retaining spring to make this easier but I've not see it mentioned anywhere. If I were doing this regularly I think I'd make something. A well hooked tyre level might do it. Look on the web for pics and videos of how it's fixed if you don't know. It's a teutonically sprung breakaway fixing.
Once off, take the mirror apart carefully. The main snap fixings are on the top edge, the bottom is just lipped. Observe what's broken. It's made from engineering plastic (ABS/PC mix) and cannot be readily glued.
From a bit of carpet trim or tile trim fabricate a couple of suitable clips. The stuff I used was a bit thin, a tad thicker material, say 1mm, would be nicer, but not too thick. As I recall, 10mm wide, 15mm long and with a 4mm return. They should not touch the dimming mirror electrical connection at the bottom, if fitted. Find a couple of suitable small small screws - self tappers, taptites etc. to suit the material thickness of the clips (appx. 4 x 12mm I suggest). They can be long enough for ease of assembly but not long enough to damage the mirror or mounting. Mark the top of the mirror 9mm (check the measure yourself, it needs to be accurate) from the edge and drill holes slightly under the screw diameter (to give a tight fit). Attach one of the spring clips to the mirror plate, hooking under the bottom retainer. Add a clip you fabricated at the top and tension the spring clip, then mark the clip through the hole you drilled on the case. Do the same for the second clip, then drill (or drill and tap) the clips to suit the screws. Fix the clips in place and re-assemble the mirror. If the snap clips are broken one can use sticky-tape on the top edge. It's not really visible in the car. Similarly countersunk screws if you are fussy!
Here's some pics to help.
What seems to happen is that the internal plastic 'cup' moulds itself to the shape of the swivel mounting 'ball' end over time. There is no lubrication. This makes the mirror 'stiff' and if it is then moved abruptly and more than just slightly the cup sticks to the ball and drags the internals such that it levers against the internal plastic retainer mouldings and they snap off. (I expect always the top ones as this is where the leverage is great, besides the lower ones are better supported.) The mirror is then left in a 'ratting' state as the internals are no longer secured. The design isn't great and just the very slightest amount of lub. on the ball and socket would mitigate the chances greatly. (As would a teflon cup rather than the one made from an engineering plastic.) No WD40 or similar though, use a dry film lub. or the tiniest amount of HMP / lithium grease.
Anyway, here's an idea for fixing the broken clips so the mirror can be re-secured. Remove the mirror from the car - it's tight! You may damage it doing this if it's already loose as the usual technique is to pull down via the ball joint. I'm sure there could be a tool to lever behind the retaining spring to make this easier but I've not see it mentioned anywhere. If I were doing this regularly I think I'd make something. A well hooked tyre level might do it. Look on the web for pics and videos of how it's fixed if you don't know. It's a teutonically sprung breakaway fixing.
Once off, take the mirror apart carefully. The main snap fixings are on the top edge, the bottom is just lipped. Observe what's broken. It's made from engineering plastic (ABS/PC mix) and cannot be readily glued.
From a bit of carpet trim or tile trim fabricate a couple of suitable clips. The stuff I used was a bit thin, a tad thicker material, say 1mm, would be nicer, but not too thick. As I recall, 10mm wide, 15mm long and with a 4mm return. They should not touch the dimming mirror electrical connection at the bottom, if fitted. Find a couple of suitable small small screws - self tappers, taptites etc. to suit the material thickness of the clips (appx. 4 x 12mm I suggest). They can be long enough for ease of assembly but not long enough to damage the mirror or mounting. Mark the top of the mirror 9mm (check the measure yourself, it needs to be accurate) from the edge and drill holes slightly under the screw diameter (to give a tight fit). Attach one of the spring clips to the mirror plate, hooking under the bottom retainer. Add a clip you fabricated at the top and tension the spring clip, then mark the clip through the hole you drilled on the case. Do the same for the second clip, then drill (or drill and tap) the clips to suit the screws. Fix the clips in place and re-assemble the mirror. If the snap clips are broken one can use sticky-tape on the top edge. It's not really visible in the car. Similarly countersunk screws if you are fussy!
Here's some pics to help.
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