I was backing out of the garage a couple months ago and hit the passenger-side mirror against the right side of the garage. (Anybody else absolutely hate driving in reverse in the Prius?) The mirror itself is fine and the silver exterior housing is only slightly cracked. The only part I'd really like to replace is the black plastic piece inside the housing (you can pry the housing off with a table knife, it just snaps into place). A smaller fragment completely broke off of that black piece, and I was able to superglue it back in place. But it looks kind of bad. Does anyone know if this black plastic piece can be purchased by itself, or do I need to buy the whole assembly? (about $172 I think for that)
$172? You're getting off light. Buy the assembly...since you said that it is already cracked anyway. Alternatively, you can try to sweet talk the guy or gal in the parts department into looking up the piece-part on their computer - or maybe somebody on the forum has access to a parts list. Good Luck. FWIW....I'm not a big fan of this car's rearward visibility either!!!
The $172 is from a quick online search, may not be OEM and not sure what is included. Probably would have to get it painted too. And the comment about driving in reverse isn't so much about visibility as steering/handling. Not sure if it's because the wheels are so far forward or what but I find steering in reverse to be a real challenge.
At that price you might as well get the turn signal type from Sigma or other. [edit]: I found a replacement mirror at this site for like $70.00
Moved to Prius care, maintenance and troubleshooting: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...83147-posting-in-correct-forum-sub-forum.html
It's better to look back to see if anything is behind you, and then look again forwards while backing out of a garage space. While looking forward, peer the left & right mirror for clearance and adjust the steering wheel accordingly. Then glance the rear view mirror just in case some idiot came into your own driveway. I have very little clearance and this method never fails me. There's no reason to twist your neck while backing out of your own garage.
