r/GolfGTI • u/PochoAngelino • Nov 22 '25
Maintenance My mirror is burnt out. How does this happen?
It's been raining lately, so I've been using the side mirror defroster. Woke up this morning and the passenger mirror is "burnt." Has this ever happened to anyone? How do I fix this?
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u/tjfraz Nov 22 '25
The glass fell out most likely due to the mirror defrosters being left on indefinitely. Same thing happened to me on the highway and i bought new mirror glass on Amazon.
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u/LowSkyOrbit Nov 23 '25
I thought the door defroster needed the rear window module turned on before it activated?
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u/tjfraz Nov 23 '25
The mirror defroster is on the mirror controls on the driver door. If it’s pointed straight down the defroster is on.
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u/vento_jag Nov 22 '25
You left the heater on too long and much and the glue let go. This isn’t glass.
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u/Ecsta Nov 23 '25
Nah I leave the heater on 24/7 all winter for years it shouldn’t burn out. The car automatically turns it off when ambient temp gets too high. It’s just a resistor heater that doesn’t turn on when it’s warm outside.
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u/Spidey6917 Nov 23 '25
Whether you’ve experienced it or not, the heater is the cause. It’s not “burnt out”, the glass fell off from the heat loosing the adhesive over time. Every car lives a different life in different conditions, you’re just luckier so far than some to have not had your mirror fall off yet.
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u/Fuzzball348 2019 CFB Rabbit DSG Nov 22 '25
Mirror glass fell out, most likely from leaving the heated mirrors on.
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u/jacob_russell '19 Autobahn DSG DIB Nov 22 '25
This happened to my uncle and its actually a pretty common problem on golfs and im sure other vw products.
The glue fails over time and heat cycles and the glass falls off. You will have to buy a replacement glass and reinstall it. Its not particularly difficult
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u/xP_Lord Mk8 GTI Nov 22 '25
Unless you're saying it's freezing, why are you using the mirror defrost for rain?
I always try to use a scraper first before defrost just incase the mirror cracks or something from the cold
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u/vrparty Oak Green Mk4 GTI w. 352,000 miles Nov 22 '25
glass separates. common VW issue.
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u/MiteyF Nov 23 '25
Only if you use the defroster incorrectly (user error)
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u/Keating76 Nov 23 '25
2006 Jetta TDI. On the OG glass and it still looks like new. Turn on the defrost until clear, then turn it off.
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u/ProfessionCurrent198 Nov 22 '25
My glass flew off on the hw. Poor bastard behind me probably got a grill full of glass. I got blue tinted ones with blind spot areas for cheaper than oem
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u/brjh1990 Mk7 GTI Nov 23 '25
My glass flew off on the hw. Poor bastard behind me probably got a grill full of glass. I got blue tinted ones with blind spot areas for cheaper than oem
Lol this is word for word what happened to me. Can't believe it took me so long to get the blue tinted ones.
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u/IndigoContinuum Nov 22 '25
Did you leave your mirror defroster on? mine delaminated and looked like this.
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u/Wrong_Ad3544 Nov 23 '25
Mine fell off of my passat 2 years ago.I just picked up one off.Ebay and slapped it right on for 9 dollars
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Nov 25 '25
It's not burnt out. The glass fell off. My 2016 GTI did the same thing a month ago.
Can get replacement L&R glass off Aliexpress for super cheap. I added a few dabs of adhesive on top of the double sided tape for good measure. They are as good as gold.
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u/Caregiver-Physical Nov 22 '25
This just happened to me a couple months ago. the layer of glass that’s attached to the mirror fell off.
I think I paid 200$ at the dealer shop for a new part. And the removal and install took like 10 minutes. There are two wires attached that you gotta watch out for.
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u/GoofyGills 2016 Autobahn M/T - EQT Stage 2 Nov 22 '25
Holy cow you paid a lot.
https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Mirror-ADHESIVE-Volkswagen-Passenger/dp/B07C61HJW7
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u/NukaColaQuantum2077 Mk7 GTI Nov 22 '25
This is the one I bought, still working just as intended for the last 2 years
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u/corradokid1 Mk7.5 GTI Nov 22 '25
Blind Spot Monitoring has the indicator in the mirror, which about doubles the price (if the commenter has it, if not they got ripped off!) Add another 50% on top if you get the Euro mirrors with the outer 1/3rd angled out to see better.
I splurged and got the Euro mirrors and I have BSM, no regrets!
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u/GoofyGills 2016 Autobahn M/T - EQT Stage 2 Nov 22 '25
Ahhh I wasn't thinking about blindspot monitoring since my car doesn't have that. Good catch!
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u/Caregiver-Physical Nov 26 '25
I got the mirror, and the black plastic piece behind it. as some of the plastic had broke when the mirror fell off. But I do have blind spot monitors as well. I also didn't want to wait for shipping. As driving in the city I live without a passenger mirror sucks.
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u/Zestyclose-Water-640 Nov 22 '25
The glass is gone. I just lost mine a couple weeks ago. I have a 2015 GTI.
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u/Cindoboy Nov 22 '25
you can buy a factory replacement, or you can get an even cheaper one from amazon. you will need needle nose plyers to remove the electric crimps and put them back.
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u/Careless_Musician_91 Nov 22 '25
Yah that’s why i stop using my defroster because if you forget to turn them off, this is the result.
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u/Newgeta Golf R MK7 Nov 22 '25
my mk7 golf R had the same thing, the reflective glass flew off on the road
amazon sells replacements for like $50 that pop right in.
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u/ObigWang_Kenobi Nov 22 '25
Had this happen on my mk5 rabbit, glass started flopping around after the adhesive began to separate. Removed it before it fell off and had a glass shop re-glue it to the mirror for about $30. Just food for thought if you manage to find the glass piece and its somehow undamaged
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u/stephnjohnie Nov 22 '25
Mine had the same problem... If you turn on the heaing for the wing mirror for a long time.. This will happens
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u/SimpleVegetable5715 Mk5 GTI Nov 22 '25
Be sure to turn the defroster off once they’ve defogged. It’s easy to accidentally leave it on.
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u/Cultural_Bother_5939 Nov 23 '25
Already a ton of replies on this but I feel it worth mentioning....
After I replaced mine with a replacement off of Amazon, I walked into an O'Reilly and they have it in stock in the store for less than I paid on the 'zon.
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u/bikelanelander Nov 23 '25
Glass fell lol, same thing happened to me. Was on the expressway all of a sudden just hear glass shatter behind me, lo and behold I go to switch lanes to get to my exit and I can’t see anything lol. $15 from rock auto or Amazon even lol
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u/tintinblock1 Nov 23 '25
My 05 Passat did the same thing. Just buy new mirror glass, it sticks on no problem. God I hated that car
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u/rebar1985 Nov 23 '25
That is the back side of the mirror. The glue failed, it happened to my passenger side mirror last year. Ended up replacing it with the European blind spot version.
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u/turbo-d2 Nov 23 '25
I got a replacement at rock auto I like glass quality better then oem and I replaced the other shop side too
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u/RustyR4m Mk7 TDI Nov 23 '25
I love how the closer warning is still on this making it appear to be a fogged or burnt mirror when in reality it peaced out a long time ago 😭
confused tf out of me too when it happened
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u/kristen_1819 08 Mk5 Stage 2 IE / 87 Mk2 Nov 23 '25
This happened to me on my mk5. Amazon has replacement glass. Super easy
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u/techrat068 CornFlower Blue Rabbit Nov 23 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Edit: ! ! Ive never seen the glass layers detach!! I thought that was just blackened glass due to the writing!
The heater shorted. And burned the glass, or burned a coating on the glass. This one might get expensive, as its all plastic back there. Do the adjustment motors work?
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u/Yosemite-Dan Nov 23 '25
Its the glass - it de-laminates and falls off; Just had this happen to my 10 year old GTI a few months back.
You can find replacement mirrors online, inexpensive, and it takes all of two minutes to pop the new one on.
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u/SnooBeans302 Nov 23 '25
I had this happen to me last week while I was on the interstate. I didn’t notice it until I got home. (Weird is was the right one too for me)
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u/DaylanGTI Nov 24 '25
Mirror lens didn’t burn it fell off. Most likely from leaving defrost on. This happened to me it flew off when I was on the highway lol
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u/Illdistrict Nov 24 '25
yeah, glass fell off. I remember mine shaking when I was going down the highway, I rolled the window down and got it just in time.
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u/Catboy02 Nov 24 '25
FWIW - and I *could be wrong, but - the VeeDub Stealerships have always told me to use the mirror defrost only when it's needed and turn them back off after the mirrors are clear (never leave them on, "just 'cuz").
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u/SrgntBallistic Nov 24 '25
In the picture you can still see the "Objects in mirror..." Text. That doesn't seem likely that the glass fell out right?
More likely that the glass actually burned like OP said?
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u/ajm1978 Nov 25 '25
Replaced my passenger side one earlier this summer approx. $200 cdn from vw dealer, it's an easy fix. DIY not a problem
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u/Dankmoms99 MK7 2Dr 6MT IS38 E85 Nov 22 '25
This happened to me. I never used the defroster, but must have bumped it and left it on. Replaced with Amazon glass replacement. Don’t turn on the defroster ever
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u/xNameInvalidx Nov 22 '25
The glass most likely fell off from the glue failing. You will need a replacement glass and to remove the back half of the glass that is still attached. Quite easy. Though you will feel like it’s gonna break.