[drotarov]

New to Saab and to this forum. I recently bought a 2007 9-3 Aero convertible that came with a standard rearview mirror. It does not have auto-dimming circuitry. Since my wife will be driving this vehicle a majority of the time and she's directionally challenged, I purchased a compass mirror that has the added benefit of homelink garage door openers built in.

Does anyone have instructions on replacing the standard mirror with the compass mirror? There's a plastic cover that I'll need to remove in order to access the screws and it looks like I can simply pry that cover off, but I want to make sure I don't damage anything in the process.

I presume there isn't an existing connection where I can just plug the new mirror in, so I'll need to tap off of some of the existing wiring that's there.

Any advice from someone who has attempted this before would be greatly appreciated.

I poked around through some of the forums and didn't find anything, but maybe I didn't search well enough. I did find all sorts of other modifications and enhancements that will keep me busy for a while.

Thanks!!

 

[drotarov]

Found a ton of great advice

I tried searching within the forums and did find all sorts of great advice on this installation. In other words.... never mind ;oops:.

Thanks again

 

[drotarov]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

I finally completed the replacement. Below are some finer points for anyone needing to do the same process. A big thank you goes to NICKSHU, who posted very helpful information in another thread dealing with an auto-dimming mirror installation.

This is the installation of a compass, homelink and auto-dimming mirror for a 2007 9-3 Aero convertible.

The hardest part for me was trying to pry off the plastic covers that encased the foot of the mirror and contain the cabin lights and hands free microphones. I didn’t know where the clips were, so it was trial and error. Fortunately, I didn’t do any damage to any of the plastic covers. I’ve highlighted the area to pry open in one of the pictures. Simply insert a small flathead screwdriver in this area on both sides and you’ll be able to easily pull off the main plastic cover. The smaller one that covers the foot of the mirror will come off easy once the main one is removed.

The connection for the mirror was already there, contrary to what my salesman said. I was told it would be “very difficult and expensive” to get a compass and homelink mirror for my car. I found an original Saab one on EBay and paid $190 including shipping. There aren’t many to bid on, so I took what was available. It’s in new condition, with no visible marks on the glass or plastic.

Once I got the plastic off, it was a very easy install. The hex screws on the compass mirror were a different thread, so I removed the big screw holding the metal foot on the plastic mirror arm from the original manual mirror and exchanged the screws. I plugged the mirror in, snapped all the plastic back on, calibrated the compass, and programmed the homelink garage door openers (I did have to remove fuse 10 and 26 from the trunk fuse box to get that to work). Now the Mrs. has a nice, almost new, mirror with a compass, homelink and auto-dimming. The ONLY issue is the small plastic cover that covers the foot bulges out about 1mm due to the different size of the mirror support arm, but it’s not noticeable.

I’m curious about why the dealers are so uninformed about these cars and tell customers it isn’t possible, or it’s cost-prohibitive to replace these mirrors. If they were just trying to make extra money, I’d think they would jump at the chance to install one for a customer willing to pay; but they act like it isn’t doable.