Driving down the road about a month back a car got too close and I clipped my mirror on another car and just the mirror itself fell out. I ordered a new one but it doesn't seem very obvious how to install it. It's just the mirror itself and nothing else. Do I need a kit? Should I take it to a shop and have it installed? Any advice? Thanks!

 

this is not your year, but it might give you an idea...

 

I actually need to replace the mirror itself, not the structure holding the mirror.

 

the mirror. some are held in place by double sided tape. others are glued in place. i dont know what mazda uses, but if yours is broken, try to find out. wear eye protection and try to get some pieces out to find out how they are held in place. i will like to know. if the mirror fell out, check if you can see traces of glue. i would use silicon adhesive and masking tape to hold it in place while the glue cures.

 

Mazda uses a ball joint attachment method. It should be the same as the 1st gen so here you go. HOW TO: Heated mirror install, & LED puddle lamps - Mazda3 Forums : The #1 Mazda 3 Forum

Note that the manual and power mirror glass is different as to how it mounts

 

noted. thank you

 

So does your replacement glass not have the plastic backing to it with the ball joint recepticals? If so then just put a little silicone grease in them and pop it onto the motor. Or do you have manual mirrors?

 

What I did wrong: Went with a smaller company who only sent me the glass and not the plastic harness that snaps in. Took them three weeks to ship and then it got lost in the mail, redid the shipping and got here another two weeks later.

What I did right: Frisbee'd the old mirror into the garbage, went to amazon dot com and ordered the same mirror with the harness for 1/3 of the price I paid the smaller company and it was here in two days (yay prime!). Snapped right into the mirror container.

If only I had realized that amazon sold car parts...