Side Mirrors on SR5

[4runnerlabr]

I'm looking to upgrade my side mirrors on my SR5 to the sport/limited versions. In looking to do so, toyota sells the mirror assembly and the mirror separately. As far as I know, the differences between the SR5 and the sport/limited are the color-keyed paint and the heated mirror.

My options are as follows:
1) Buy the sport/limited mirror assembly and mirror - which would give me the color-keyed and heat; or
2) Have a body shop paint my SR5 mirror assemblies and then install heated mirrors later. This may be a cheaper option.

My question is the following: Are the mirror assemblies the same for the SR5 and the sport/limited except for the color-keyed paint? I realize the sport/limited have heated mirrors and the SR5 typically does not, but if I paint my mirror assembly, can I simply "plug and play" the heated mirrors once I splice the wires in or are the mirror assemblies themselves structurally different?

 

[TechWrench]

I'm looking to upgrade my side mirrors on my SR5 to the sport/limited versions. In looking to do so, toyota sells the mirror assembly and the mirror separately. As far as I know, the differences between the SR5 and the sport/limited are the color-keyed paint and the heated mirror.

My options are as follows:
1) Buy the sport/limited mirror assembly and mirror - which would give me the color-keyed and heat; or
2) Have a body shop paint my SR5 mirror assemblies and then install heated mirrors later. This may be a cheaper option.

My question is the following: Are the mirror assemblies the same for the SR5 and the sport/limited except for the color-keyed paint? I realize the sport/limited have heated mirrors and the SR5 typically does not, but if I paint my mirror assembly, can I simply "plug and play" the heated mirrors once I splice the wires in or are the mirror assemblies themselves structurally different?

This has been gone over several times in earlier threads. As I recall, the sport/limited mirrors are a bolt on upgrade, and I believe the wire harness is already in place inside the doors to connect the heat function, which is activated when the rear defroster is switched on. This is assuming you have a 4th gen.

 

[jharris2]

This is assuming you have a 4th gen.

And assuming it is a 4th gen, you need to check to ensure the wiring is in place. Toyota used various wiring harnesses and configurations in early model SR5's -- for example mine does not have the wiring in place for the heated mirrors (I've checked several times).

 

[4runnerlabr]

Right, I've searched the forum already and I'm not too concerned about the wiring harness issue. My question relates to the structure of the mirror assemblies. If you look on the Toyota dealer sites, the outside mirror is broken into two parts: the mirror assembly and the heated/nonheated mirror. For the mirror assembly, a further subcategory is SR5 or sport/limited.

My question relates to any structural differences between the two mirror assemblies, or is the only difference being that the sport/limited assembly is painted. What I'm trying to get at is if I paint my SR5 mirror assembly, can I buy the heated mirror from Toyota or does that OEM heated mirror only fit the sport/limited mirror assembly and not the SR5 mirror assembly?

Hope this makes more sense. And yes, 4th Gen - this is for an 06 4Runner

 

[scottm]

I haven't looked at these, but I have designed machines to assemble outside mirrors. They should use the same mechanism and mount, and if the wiring harness is in there it should be possible to swap. Some mirrors do require a special tool to dissassemble, basically a plastic prybar. The heater itself is a peel-and-stick in the factory, just sticks to the back of the mirror. I think they sell the mirror and spider back mount as a replacement part.

 

[4runnerlabr]

Thanks. My main concern was whether the OEM heated mirror could be mounted in the SR5 assembly, or if there would be any structural differences that would not allow for this.

Scottm, what do you mean by "spider back mount?" I'm not familiar with that term.

Has anybody purchased the heated mirror from Toyota? What exactly do you get? Obviously, I know you get the mirror (and I'm guessing the heating element already attached to the back), but do you get a mount also, or is the mount located in the mirror assembly? Usually, Toyota provides illustrations of the parts, but I couldn't find any for these.

From what it sounds like, I would just need that peel and stick heating element and the accompanying wires, but I guess Toyota does not sell this separately from the mirror.