Someone accidentally took off my driver's side mirror a few days ago when construction forced everyone over to my side of the road (while car was parked!) with a large lawn service truck parked on the other side for good measure.....Normally I spend time getting as close as possible to the curb without rashing but I was a tired and a bit farther this time, and I also would usually press the button to retract the mirrors (auto-fold was off since I had just washed the car a few days before and I hadn't bothered to turn it back on), maybe this wouldn't have happened had I done either of those things....Oh well!
Luckily both the white cap and the mirror itself was undamaged and I was able to get it back on without too much trouble. I did notice though that the GSM antenna was severed, and while I did my best to patch it on the fly with a length of copper wire, I did not fix the 2nd set of shielding silver wires that wrap around it due to access issues. As can be expected, my NAV and Slacker reception has been terrible, and while it works at times due to the other antennas in the car, it usually has no more than 1 or 2 bars at best and frequently none at all.
Whether I decide to patch it properly with solder or upgrade to a better aftermarket antenna, I will need access to where the cords from the mirror plug in, which don't look to be more than 6-12" away from the mirror inside the door. I'm just not sure of the best way to access it...There's a piece of plastic inside the door on the other side of the mirror that seems to snap out easy enough, but from there I don't know if there's a way to get access just to the top front without removing the whole door panel, or where to see the wire harness connectors. I've had to replace a number of window regulators over the years so I know what a pain door panels can be, I'm just not sure of the specifics for this particular door panel and online information on Tesla service isn't exactly abundant.
I know that the guy who hit it was responsible, but it seems silly to ask him to pay out $800 or go through his insurance and likely pay out $500 deductible and raise his rates, all for what is probably a $10 piece just because Tesla doesn't sell mirror parts separately.....So what's the best way to get in there without breaking any clips and fussing with the door panel as little as possible?
Luckily both the white cap and the mirror itself was undamaged and I was able to get it back on without too much trouble. I did notice though that the GSM antenna was severed, and while I did my best to patch it on the fly with a length of copper wire, I did not fix the 2nd set of shielding silver wires that wrap around it due to access issues. As can be expected, my NAV and Slacker reception has been terrible, and while it works at times due to the other antennas in the car, it usually has no more than 1 or 2 bars at best and frequently none at all.
Whether I decide to patch it properly with solder or upgrade to a better aftermarket antenna, I will need access to where the cords from the mirror plug in, which don't look to be more than 6-12" away from the mirror inside the door. I'm just not sure of the best way to access it...There's a piece of plastic inside the door on the other side of the mirror that seems to snap out easy enough, but from there I don't know if there's a way to get access just to the top front without removing the whole door panel, or where to see the wire harness connectors. I've had to replace a number of window regulators over the years so I know what a pain door panels can be, I'm just not sure of the specifics for this particular door panel and online information on Tesla service isn't exactly abundant.
I know that the guy who hit it was responsible, but it seems silly to ask him to pay out $800 or go through his insurance and likely pay out $500 deductible and raise his rates, all for what is probably a $10 piece just because Tesla doesn't sell mirror parts separately.....So what's the best way to get in there without breaking any clips and fussing with the door panel as little as possible?
