Raising Rear View Mirror

[Reboot7]

I’m about 6-ft tall and always have to duck down to see past the rear view mirror to check for merging traffic on the interstate. I don’t know if there’s a reason why rear view mirrors aren’t installed closer to the windshield roofline, but I’m thinking about moving mine as high as I can so it doesn’t obstruct my view so much.
Does anyone know of any reasons why I shouldn’t move the mirror? Has anyone here already moved their mirror? If you have, was it easy, or did you run into any problems?
Thanks…

[Stravos]

I'm wondering about this as well. The rear-view mirror feels like it was placed for optimal sigh obstruction as it is. The first time I noticed it I actually started laughing because I don't think they could have put it in a worse place for me.

[Virtual]

I too have thought about moving the mirror up. I wonder if it would change the angle for viewing the road behind (angled more downward) and reducing the longer distance view?

[Reboot7]

I purchased a Gentex GENK5A (auto dimming with compass) mirror and held it up all the way next to the ceiling and it didn't appear to affect my view to the rear at all.

[Red 05]

If I ever have to get the windshield replaced for any reason, I'll ask the guy if he can mount the thing higher. Being 6'1", I know what you mean.

[Reboot7]

Well, I decided to go ahead and attempt to move my rear view mirror up higher on the glass so it will be less of an obstruction when I'm trying to see through the right side of my windshield. I ran into the first obstacle. A big chunk of glass stuck to the mirror button when I popped it off of the windshield. The hole doesn't go completely through the glass and there aren't any cracks, so I'm hoping the glass shop can repair it by filling it with resin. I'll post again after I talk to the glass shop on Tuesday.

[awptickes]

OMG. wow, that sucks about the chunk of glass gone...

I assume everyone has done what I do, moving the mirror as far up as possible utilizing the two ball-socket joints already on the mirror?

[Retrofit09]

wow thats not good. the only time I've seen a mirror removed was when my friend turned his system up all the way... damn thing wouldn't stay on. granted that wasn't a Honda.

[Reboot7]

I couldn't raise the mirror with just the ball joints on the mirror itself. Believe me, if that would have worked, I wouldn't have bothered trying to remove it from the glass.

[interestingstuff]

Originally Posted by Reboot7

Well, I decided to go ahead and attempt to move my rear view mirror up higher on the glass so it will be less of an obstruction when I'm trying to see through the right side of my windshield. I ran into the first obstacle. A big chunk of glass stuck to the mirror button when I popped it off of the windshield. The hole doesn't go completely through the glass and there aren't any cracks, so I'm hoping the glass shop can repair it by filling it with resin. I'll post again after I talk to the glass shop on Tuesday.

That's screwed up. A big chunk of glass should not come off just because you remove the mirror. I mean what if the mirror had simply fallen off.

Is your automobile under warranty? I mean, normally a chipped or broken windshield wouldn't be covered but the mirror coming off and taking a huge chunk of the windshield with it says to me that this is a manufacturing defect.

[awptickes]

Originally Posted by interestingstuff

That's screwed up. A big chunk of glass should not come off just because you remove the mirror. I mean what if the mirror had simply fallen off.

Is your automobile under warranty? I mean, normally a chipped or broken windshield wouldn't be covered but the mirror coming off and taking a huge chunk of the windshield with it says to me that this is a manufacturing defect.

I think he removed the metal part that is epoxied to the windshield. Unfortunately a nice hunk of glass came with it.

[Reboot7]

Yes, I removed the metal bracket from the windshield, so it isn't something that would be covered under warranty. Surely a glass shop can fix it realatively easily. I hope so anyway.

[cardinal]

Originally Posted by awptickes

OMG. wow, that sucks about the chunk of glass gone...

I assume everyone has done what I do, moving the mirror as far up as possible utilizing the two ball-socket joints already on the mirror?

Duh.
Well that worked for me. Thank's. All I needed was a few inches higher. I didn't notice the socket joints before.

[SteveInNC]

Too late for the OP, but you should be able to buy the required mirror mount button and epoxy (somewhere). I'd just leave the existing button in place. It's only a minor obstruction.

If you really have to get it off of there, most discussions I've seen say to heat the button (one guy used a grill lighter, flame applied for a few seconds) and the adhesive will soften enough to pull it off with pliers. Use a razor blade to clean the area.

The official GM method is supposedly to surround the mount with damp asbestos(!) cloth, then hit the mount button with a heatgun.

Keep in mind that modern glass may have plastic laminations, so you probably don't want to heat large areas of the glass, nor to a high temperature.

[Reboot7]

I agree. That thought occurred to me too, but not until after I chipped the windshield. If I had to do it again, I would have left the original button and purchased another at the local auto store. Rather than try to get all of the glass and adhesive off of the button that came off of the glass, I purchased a new one for less than $5. I think the original button would be blocked from view within the car by the mirror in its new position.

[Reboot7]

Here are my before and after pictures of my rear view mirror. As you can see, you do lose some depth in your rear view, but I'm very pleased with the outcome.



Before


After

[Virtual]

Thanks for posting those pictures!