This is a writeup for the rearview mirror retrofit I did by swapping the mirror ball joint mount and internal cable.

Unlike our BMW cars, our new F56 SE did not come with HomeLink mirror because it has Signature Trim. It came with the option 431 Interior Mirror With Automatic-Dip. The part is 51169285373 Rearview mirror EC
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...169285373~oeb/

The part with HomeLink is 51166821264 Rearview mirror EC / LED / GTO / Compass
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...166821264~oem/

The lowest price I could find online was around $200 on eBay, so I began searching for BMW Fxx alternative. The closest part is the mirror from 2 Series or X1/X2, 51166821262 Rearview mirror EC / LED / GTO / Compass
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_0968

I can readily find this on eBay for around $35-40. The two parts 51166821264 and 51166821262 appear to be similar or identical except the stem.

Step 1 Buy the 51166821262 part cheap as you can on eBay
I bought the part that came from 2018 X2 F39.


Step 2 Remove the connector from wires
Pry up locking retainers with small screw driver or flat prying tool. They should pop up.

Remove the terminal pins by pressing and releasing the locking tangs as you pull each wire. You need to do this at two locking locations for each pin.


Step 3 Remove the mount
Protect the cable and mirror housing with masking tape.
Rest the mirror on a flat surface. Place a piece of plastic or wood on one side of the stem to pry against. While holding onto the mirror body, gently and slowly pry up with ball joint separator (pickle fork). The ball joint should pop out.


Step 4 Remove the cable to swap
This step is optional. Because the Mini F56 stem is longer than BMW F39, the cable is too short. I could solder wires to make it longer but decided to swap the cable also.
Open the mirror by removing its bezel held in place by tabs around the mirror housing. I found it's easiest to start at the either side of the mirror. Start by inserting a small screw driver or flat prying tool to gently unhook one tab. You only need to pry up slightly for the tab to be released.

This creates enough gap to insert a trim tool into the groove. Then pull the trim tool along the groove around the mirror to disengage the rest of the tabs and remove the bezel.

Carefully remove the entire mirror/PCB assembly. Disconnect the HomeLink cable if present.

Disconnect the connector with cable from PCB. Wires are punched down so just lift out each wire from the connector.

Repeat step 2-4 on the other mirror

Step 5 Assemble the retrofit mirror
Basically perform the steps in reverse.
Insert the wires into the connector in the correct position. Here, left is from F56 without HomeLink and alarm. Right is from F39. Blue wire will be missing but that's okay because our F56 doesn't have alarm. Push the wire in with small screw driver then check with meter for continuity. Reconnect the cable to PCB, reassemble the mirror and snap the bezel back.

Route the cable through the ball joint stem. To reinstall the mount use force (body weight or a press). It takes a lot of force but I was able to lean on it and snap it in place while wiggling the mount side to side slightly. Just for reference, I'm 150 lb.
Route the cable with terminal pins through the mount then reinsert each pin in the correct location and orientation (locking tang faces outside) until you hear clicks. Squeeze the locking retainers on the connector. They snap in. It's now ready to go back into the car.

Programmed the HomeLink buttons and they work great. Drove around few miles until the compass is set. Auto-dip/dimming works as before.

 

I just had our garage opener replaced and my 2006 mirror seems to be too old.
There is tons of info to find about older openers, hubs and programming tricks, but I'd like to try a swap if it's cheap and easy.

If mine has rain sensing wipers, does that complicate things?

 

I wouldn’t think so. Mine has rain sensors, camera but the mirror just needs power.

 

I really should have asked this before, but what about keyless entry?

My original UGDO mirror is out. It has more than 4 wires running to the connector and Keyless entry isn't working. In another thread, someone said they had to transfer a daughter board from their old mirror to a new mirror but I think that was for the updated Mini UGDO mirror.

 

I don’t know much about keyless entry but I can’t imagine the mirror having anything to do with it. I think power/signal for rooftop devices go through so that might be what’s happening. Not sure if your mirror included the alarm.

 

I guess it depends on the model/year. I have to take apart the donor mirror and see what's inside and possibly move the '315mhz' board from the original mirror into it according to what I've read.

Other than that, the donor mirror compass and garage door opener work fine. I would still have to swap the attachment arm/ball joint parts.

 

It appears to work but:

• The older mirror mount ball joint is smaller. I used silicone wrap tape to make the ball portion bigger and it worked surprisingly well
• The keyless entry receiver is a separate PCB that normally has a special space to hide in the original housing. I had to trim a non important corner off of it and wedge it into the new housing opposite the compass
• there are empty spaces in the connector for the orange and purple wire. I think those are signal wires to the car's security module that tell the car to unlock and lock
• the brown wire has to be spliced to the existing brown wire-that's the ground wire probably
• I didn't need a pickle fork. I just held down the mirror housings on the floor with my feet and pulled up on the mounts with both hands.
  
  my post in 1st gen forum: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...m_content=post

 

My 2019 F57 has a basic mirror - no home link and no auto-dimming - but I’ve purchased a mirror from a 2016 Countryman (same mounting bracket on the windshield), and I’m trying to get it wired up. Anyone willing to post some photos of the wiring in their car? Here’s what I need.

The wires coming out of the mirror go into a female wiring connector. I have purchased the male connector - it’s the blue piece in my fingers in the first photo, and will insert wires into the slots for pins 3, 6, 9 and 10 to match the arrangement coming out of the mirror. The first photo I would like is one that shows this male plug, and the colors of the wires that go into each pin.

Those four wires go into the roof lining and into the switch console between the visors. I’ve opened that console (second photo) and I know from other sources that the wires need to connect into the long wiring harness connector (part E131*2B), shown in the third and fourth photos, but I don’t know which pins to connect to. The second photo I am hoping for would show the colors of the wires going into each pin on that connector.

Then, based on the coloring of the wires, I can figure out which goes where.

 

Bump. Please share photos, I also need them.