3rd Gen Power Folding Mirrors - How To!

Welcome to Project Mirror Madness!

This may not be the first and only thread mentioning 3rd Gen Power Folding Mirrors. However, in all likelihood, I believe it is the only 3rd Gen Power Folding Mirror Thread - How To! That’s right The only 3rd Gen Taco with Power Folding Mirrors!

I have done a ton of research on this mod both with 4Runners and Tundras and I’m excited to be the one to bring it to the Tacos.

This has definitely been a fun project and with every new mod, you always run into some bumps here and there. For the most part it has been a pretty smooth process. It all started a little on the rocky side. Not knowing for sure if it was too good to be true or not, I looked into a company that goes by the name Kool Vue. They supposedly make Power Folding OEM Toyota Tacoma Mirrors for the 3rd Gens. This is FALSE! Do not believe what you see or read. I ordered two sets. First set was from Car Parts and I returned them because they arrived without the motors inside the mirrors. They made mention that I must have just got a defective set and refunded me 100%. However, they ran out of stock and didn’t have anymore for our model. Kool Vue partners with three different distributors Car Parts, Auto Parts Warehouse, and JC Whitney. I contacted Auto Parts next, they were out of stock as well. The interesting thing with JC Whitney was that I actually purchased the mirrors from Walmart but they were supplied by JC Whitney. Second set arrived and, once again, it was defective. Or...was it?

I decided to keep the second set of Kool Vue Toyota Tacoma Replacement OEM Mirrors to use for this project verses my OEM Toyota Tacoma Mirrors. Now that I had a new set of side Replacement OEM Mirrors to work on with this build, I made the following purchases off EBay:

MIT Toyota Lexus Scion Automatically Power Folding Control Box + Mirror Switch
OEM Power Folding Mirrors from a Toyota Hilux
OEM Adjust & Fold Side Mirror Switch for Left Hand Side from a Toyota Hilux

You may ask, why did I get two Mirror Switches? The answer is because I first purchased the MIT kit and I’m a big believer in modifications that look OEM. With this kit, it has the Toyota Switch that matches all of my other Interior Switches. The kit also allows for you to opporate your Power Folding Mirrors off of your OEM Key Fob with the option of having it at the touch of your finger in the cab with the Switch located in the Driver’s Side Dash Lower Cubby Switch Panel. After doing more research, I ran into the OEM Adjust & Fold Side Mirror Switch from a Toyota Hilux. I was amazed that it looked just like our 3rd Gen OEM Toyota Tacoma Adjust Side Mirror Switch. The only difference was the addition of the Power Fold Switch on the Side. However, be careful because the Toyota Hilux/Fortuner offer two different options with their OEM Adjust & Fold Side Mirror Switches: one for the LH side and one for the RH Side. I purchased the second switch because it reminded me of the Tundra Power Folding Mirror Builds. Most of the Tundra owners swap out their OEM Adjust Side Mirror Switch for the OEM Adjust & Fold Side Mirror Switch. It looks the exact same as their OEM but has an additional small little Folding Mirror Switch on it. I figured I would test both Switches out and see which one I liked the best.

Enjoy the writeup!

What you need…

*Your OEM Mirrors (3rd Gen in this Case)
or
*OEM Replacement Mirrors

*OEM Mirrors from a Hilux (Heated Mirror)
or
*OEM Mirrors from a Fortuner (Puddle Light)

*Power Folding Mirror Switch



I will also add, for general purpose information:

Mirrors from a Hilux = DO NOT come with puddle lights, but has the heated mirror feature

Mirrors from a Fortuner = INCLUDE the puddle lights, but DO NOT have the heated mirror feature

 

PART 1: OEM Mirrors





It is time to take them apart!

Step 1: Start by removing the Mirror Cover. This sometimes can be a challenge but keep at it. It will come off. It may seem like you are going to break it at times but you most likely will not break it. Just be careful because when it does eventually come off, sometimes it goes flying.







Step 2: Once the Cover has been removed, you will see two screws that hold the Turn Signal in place. First thing you’ll want to do is remove those so that you can get the Turn Signal removed from the Mirror.

















Step 3: Next, you’ll want to remove the inner bottom cover that hides the hinge and power wires. This cover just pops into place so it is really easy to remove. I’d grab a small flathead and just use a small opening to pop the cover up and you can take it from there.







Step 4: Now, because you just removed the inner cover, it will make it easier to remove the outer cover. You do not need to remove the inner cover in order to remove the outer. It is just the order I took when taking my mirror apart. To start, before you just pull, look on the inside and see if you have a little tab that is holding the outer cover in place. If so, just use your hand or a flathead and pop the tab back a little to unsnap it. After that, it is simple. Just pull the cover down and it will come right off.







Step 5: Now it is time to remove the Glass. With the back open, look inside at the back of the mirror to see if there are any tabs holding the mirror in place. This mirror had little tabs holding it in place and a couple screws that I could visually see so I also removed those at this step too.









Step 6: Now that the Mirror is off, you need to disconnect the wires. Depending on what mirrors you have will depend on what wires you have to disconnect at this step. Here you see both bested and BSM Wires in this mirror.









Step 7: Now that the Mirror is set free, it is time to remove the Adjuster Motor from the Housing. You will locate three screws inside the motor. Again, depending on which mirror you have, this can be different.







Step 8: This step you will remove the screw located under the motor in order to do the next three things all together: separate hinge from housing, separate folding motor, and cut wiring.





























Step 9: Seperateing the hinge depends on the Mirror you have as well. Like I have stated before, I have found out during this process that there are like 3-4 different Toyota Tacoma Mirrors out there and they all have a different twist to them. This one has a spring that is holding the hinge together. Once I removed the top clamp, the spring shot out so be careful. This should be a given to most but just in case it’s not, I wanted to make sure I mentioned it.











Step 10: Done! You have now successfully taken apart your OEM Mirrors. This is all of the parts laid out before you so you can see them, but you do not necessarily need to do this when you are completing this mod yourself. I thought since I was doing this first for everyone, it would be nice to completely breakdown each mirror set and then build them back up.

 

Part 2: OEM Hilux or Fortuner Mirrors





It is time to take these bad boyz apart finally!

Step 1: Start by removing the Mirror Cover the same as the OEM Mirrors for the Tacoma’s. Again, just be careful because when it does eventually come off, it may go flying.





Take a look at this BEAUTY!!!



This is the master piece of this mirror. The “Power Folding (Retracting/Extending) Motor”

Step 2: Once the Cover has been removed, you will see two screws that hold the Turn Signal in place. First thing you’ll want to do is remove those. However, you will not be able to remove the Turn Signals at this step like you did before with our OEM Mirrors.





Step 3: Next, you’ll want to remove the inner bottom cover that hides the hinge and power wires. This cover just pops into place so it is really easy to remove just like before. Grab that same small flathead you used before and pick a corner to pop the cover up and you can take it from there.





Step 4: With the inner cover now removed you are able to see the hinge. Go ahead and at this step remove the three torx screws while you are there. They are T25 screws. While you are right here, go ahead and remove the electrical tape so the wire harness is able to be loosened up so the hinge is able to be removed. Unlike the Tacoma OEM Mirror, these hinges are extremely easy to separate. You have a couple screws you’ll see along the way, but that is all!















Step 5: Now, because you just removed the inner cover, it will make it easier to remove the outer cover. You do not need to remove the inner cover in order to remove the outer. I just tried to follow the same order as I did the OEM Mirrors from before. To start, before you just pull, look on the inside and see if you have a little tab that is holding the outer cover in place. If you have the same mirrors, you will notice that these mirrors do not have any tabs like the Tacoma OEMs holding it in place that needs to be unsnapped. After that, it is simple. Just pull the cover down and it will come right off. Once you do this, you will see exactly why we were not able to remove the Turn Signal in Step 2.









Step 6: Now we take the time to remove the Turn Signal and the Motor from the Mirror. In order to remove the Motor, you will need to remove one more screw and the wire harness. The only way to remove the wire harness is to cut the connector off. You could spend the time to de-pin the Connector but there is no point in spending the time to do so when we are not using that connector for anything. Go ahead and make the cut! Now remove the wire harness and the Motor.



































Step 7: Now it is time to remove the Glass. With the back open, look inside at the back of the mirror to see if there are any tabs holding the mirror in place. This mirror had little tabs holding it in place but all you have to do from the front is literally pull it off. It feels like you are going to break it but you aren’t.





Step 8: Now that the Mirror is off, you need to disconnect the wires. Depending on what mirrors you have will depend on what wires you have to disconnect at this step. You may also take the time to remove the Adjuster Motor from the Housing. You will locate three screws inside the motor. Again, depending on which mirror you have, this can be different.







Step 9: This step you will remove the screw located under the motor in order to separate the motor hinge from the housing.







Step 10: Done! You have now successfully taken apart your Hilux OEM Mirrors. This is all of the parts laid out before you so you can see them, but you again do not necessarily need to do this when you are completing this mod yourself. I thought since I was doing this first for everyone, it would be nice to completely breakdown each mirror set and then build them back up. You can see how there are a lot of similarities, but yet slight differences in each of the mirrors!

 

Part 3 : Combining OEM + Hilux/Fortuner = ?

These are all the parts (taken apart more than YOU need to)



Step 1: Take the Hilux/Fortuner Powerfold Actuator and screw it into your OEM Connection Plate with the 2 Screws. The Connection Plate is fitted just for the Powerfold Actuator.











Step 2: Now take the OEM Hinge and attach it to the OEM Connection Plate and the Hilux/Fortuner Powerfold Actuator with the 3 allen bolts from the Hilux/Fortuner or the 3 philips bolts from the OEM. It’s up to you and your preference on which ones you choose to use. The hinge only fits one way so don’t worry about that…











Step 3: With the hinge attached now, you can take the lower section of the mirror and snap it into place. Just line it up and snap it into place. Pretty easy.



Step 4: It is time to re-install the OEM Turn Signal. It goes back in the same way you took it out. Then take the 2 OEM screws and secure it in place on the mirror.





Step 5: To finish off the bottom of the mirror, you just have to snap the inner section in place now. It covers the hinge and power wires.





Step 6: The last piece of the puzzle is the back cover of the mirror. These come in a variety of colors to color-match your Tacoma.









Step 7: Now flip the mirror over and it’s time to install the Adjuster Actuator inside the mirror. Take the 3 OEM screws and attach the Actuator to the Connection Plate.









Step 8: The final step would be to install the OEM Mirror Glass. This literally just snaps back into place.





This completes the OEM + Hilux/Fortuner Mirror. Its definitely coming together!

 

Part 4: The Switch and Wiring!

Here is the New OEM Replacement Mirror Control Switch



Now I made it so there are a couple of ways you can mount this switch into your Tacoma depending on your skill set. You can use the Custom made MESO Bezel





However, if you want to live on the edge, you can use a Dremel and a variety of Bits and cut the shape directly out of your panel. I cannot stress it enough that you need to take your time with this process.









Now that the Switch is installed, you have the wiring. We first start with the Power Folding Plug-N-Play Wiring Harness. Here is a overall look at the door with it all plugged in and then a closer look at the actual harness.







Here’s a close up of our OEM O1 Connector that will look a little familiar to you



This is the only thing you will have on your truck and everything else will come to you in the Kit. Yours will look like this



When you insert those wires above, it will look likes this



All you need to do is make sure that the terminals are seeded all the way insides the pin location. Then just follow the diagram above and everything is 100% Plug-N-Play. The last Plug-N-Play Wire Harnesses are for the Folding Actuators and this is how you matchup the colored wires and connectors





Finally, this is the brain of the operation. This is my control module that operates my whole system and tells everything what to do and when to do it.



Welcome to the 3rd Gen Tacoma Power Folding Mirrors!

 

Part 5: 3rd Gen Power Folding Mirrors in Action

https://youtu.be/qbpdDL0_h2k
https://youtu.be/GqsHw-TypXg
https://youtu.be/Ou8ROHMp6-U

 

Will look forward to this write up!

 

Awesome!

 

Look forward to the writeup! This would be a solid mod for those tight trails when you need to fold those mirror in.

 

Subbed!

 

Looking forward to this as well! Thanks for taking the time to do a write up

 

Would the mirrors still retain the break away feature?

 

In! Can’t wait to see this

 

No Looking back now

 

Power Folding Mirrors come in handy in tight places such as a garage, parking lot, trail for off-roading, Car Wash (if you are one of those that use car washes :/), etc. This is a very convenient way that you will not need a passenger or a spotter to fold in your Passenger Mirror for you anymore. Or...personally, you having to put your truck in Park, get out, and walk around to the side just to fold in the mirror yourself either. Who wouldn’t want to have this as an option.

 

The only addition to the mirrors is literally the motor. You swap out the spring for the motor. You’ll have to stay tune. There are a lot of ways you can make this happen but that is the shortest way of explanation without confusion at this stage.

 

Thanks for the info and will be following, that break away feature is awesome. Last week a chunk of ice flew off a tractor trailer from across the highway and into my fender where it broke in half and hit the mirror, If it didn't have the break away feature it would have been destroyed.

 

Going to make some kits? My wallet is willing.

 

If I am able to, that is my plan. I’m currently talking to my vendor where I got all of my parts to work something out. If I’m able to do so, I was thinking of maybe offering three options:

Option 1 - “3rd Gen Power Fold DIY Mirror Parts Kit” for those TW members that are willing and able to do so themselves, but just need the right parts.

Option 2 - If you can go without your OEM Mirrors for a little while, due to a second Mirror set sitting around or a second vehicle in the household, you send me your OEM Mirror Set, I make the modifications necessary, and then I send you them back.

Option 3 - For a Deposit in Advance (Cost to purchase a new set of OEM Mirrors plus Shipping), I’ll send you my OEM Mirror Set, you send me yours, I make the modifications necessary, and then I send you yours back. Once you install your OEM Mirror Set back into your truck, you send me my OEM Set back to start the process with someone else.

The least expensive Option being #1. However, after getting into this project, I will say this is definitely not a “beginners” mod project. It’s been a lot of fun and I have taken as many pictures as I can throughout to make this write up for everyone to be able to follow if they so choose to do so themselves. I have found out during the process that the Toyota Tacoma has about 3 to 4 different OEM Mirrors that are out there on the market that I am aware of. With that said, each of these OEM Mirrors would take a little different tweaking to do this mod. I’m definitely willing to answer any questions at anytime for those TW members that want to attempt this mod themselves; but, for this write up, I will only be posting pics for one model and then you can take it from there.

With that said, I have taken a lot of pics at each Part of the process. I have also taken the two mirrors I am working with completely apart so that you will be able to see both sets of mirrors 100% all the way broken down and then built back up together. Obviously, when you do this mod or I do this mod for you, this will not be necessary. Only the necessary parts that need to be removed will be removed from the OEM set and then replaced with the “3rd Gen Power Fold DIY Mirror Parts Kit” I am hopefully able to workout with my vendor. Currently, you are not able to just purchase the motor and parts needed without purchasing a new set of Power Folding Mirrors. By hopefully arranging for this kit in a bulk order, this will save everyone from having to do what I did on buying two new sets or one.

You ask yourself, I’m sure, why did you buy two new sets. Well....if you were doing a new mod and it didn’t work out, would you rather it be a aftermarket set of mirrors you messed up or your OEM Mirrors? Then for the second set, I had to purchase the Mirror that came with the Motor for the Fold In & Out feature to see what exactly was different between our OEM and that set. Therefore, if I am able to work something out with my vendor, this helps out all of us. I get money back in my pocket and every member that is interested in this mod saves money by only having to purchase the necessary parts needed for this mod. Win, Win! That is my goal