Guide: 2014 CX-5 Heated Mirrors - How To Install

[TreyP]

This was done on my 2014 CX-5 Touring with Bose/Moonroof package and blind spot monitoring. I do not have the Tech Package. Your experience may vary if you do not have this exact year, model and options.

EDIT: THE PROCEDURE ALSO WORKED ON MY NEWER 2018 TOURING, AS SHOWN IN THE PROCESS BELOW

The good news is that Mazda has partially run the wires, which saves a ton of time having to install relays, add a fuse kits and running wires through the door and into the car.

The bad news is that it is still quite a process, but not nearly as bad as some other cars that I have done which took 8 hours to complete. This took me 4.5 hours - 3 hours for the first side, part of which was documenting the process, part of which was finding and testing the proper wires, and part of which was making stupid mistakes like realizing I left a piece of inner trim off after I had reinstalled the door panel and having to backtrack to fix it. The second side took 'only' 1.5 hours.

Here comes the Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only, I am NOT responsible for any damage you do to yourself or your car if you attempt to follow this process and mess it up. When in doubt, hire a professional.

Things you will need:

• Heated Mirrors - I got mine from www.OEMMazdaParts.com Part # KE-40691G1B and KE-40691G7B ($126.59 total cost, with shipping)
• Around 6' of wire. I used 16 gauge, but 18 would have been a little easier to work with.
• Some quick splices. You can get by without them, but they speed up the process and make for a more professional job.

• Some of these.

• 2 Ring Terminals, used for grounding, and pictured in the process below.

Begin by removing this piece of trim by popping it off with a screwdriver inserted as shown.

Remove the screw behind the trim.

Take out this rubber piece inside of the door pull handle and the screw behind it.

Pull off this trim piece.

You can now pop the door panel off by starting at the lower rear corner and prying it off with your fingers. Some of the white plastic holders will most likely stay in the metal part of the door when you do this. Don't panic, they can be pulled out and reused even if they look mangled and broken. You could also buy some new ones if you prefer. Once all these are loose, lift the door panel up and out of the window groove.

There are two connectors for the windows/locks to remove and the door handle itself just pushes easily out though the back of the panel. Once this is done the panel is completely unattached and can be set aside in a safe place. I put it in the trunk area while I was working.

CONTINUED BELOW

 

[TreyP]

Pop out this white plastic piece by pushing with a screwdriver on the tabs as shown and prying outward. There is one tab on top and bottom.

Follow the wires coming from the mirror and you will see this white connector. Disconnect it. I used a test light along with the rear defrost switch to make sure I had the right wire.The terminal I am testing is coming from a red with purple wire below the connector.

Here is the wire being tested with a different light.

*********************************************
Because I have seen multiple posts claiming that the 'newer' CX-5s don't have the wires already in place, here are a few pictures in my 2018 Touring showing that the wires are indeed still there.

This shows my test light detecting that the rear defrost button was turned on.

This image shows the exact pin I am testing on the 2018. I did not strip the wires underneath yet to determine the wire color, but you should be able to figure it out from this image.

*********************************************

- and back to the tutorial...

At this point I strongly recommend placing a towel or some other protection as shown. This will protect the paint on the door and the mirror.

Grasp the mirror glass as shown and pop it out. It will take some force, but it will come. Be sure to start on the side shown. At this point you can remove any wires inside the case or leave it for later. I left it for later and was just careful not to damage anything in the next steps.

My CX-5 has blind spot monitoring, and this is the wire for that. Note how it is held in place with clips on the backside of the mirror glass.

This is just a shot of the inside of the mirror housing. The white knobs are the power mirror adjusters.

To remove the mirror housing from the car, take out these three bolts and then carefully support the mirror with one hand while using a small screwdriver or your fingers to release the white clip.

Take careful note of how the wires are routed through the door and then remove the wires/mirror. Take special note that the wires are routed around the window track. This could save you a lot of headache later. I didn't make the mistake, but I could easily see it happening if you rush things.

At this point I took the mirror housing indoors to work on. Make sure you have a soft surface such as a blanket or towel to work on or you will probably end up scratching the paint on the mirror housing.

Peel this rubber boot back and you will be able to see where you need to push 2 new wires through. I could have and maybe should have routed the wires inside of the factory wire casing, but there seems to be plenty of room for new wires, so I don't think they will get pinched as long as you are careful. I also added additional electrical tape as a precaution at any points where the wires contact metal.

I took out the 3 screws holding the power mirror motor but did not remove the connector on the back. I only did this to improve light/visibility inside the housing when running the wires. The wires you run will come up through the big opening at the top of this image.

 

[TreyP]

Strip around 1/2" from the end of each wire and attach the female connectors.

Once they are on, pull the wires back out until there is just enough wire inside the housing to allow for full range of mirror adjustment when back on the car. On the other end, cut one of the wires about 6" longer than the factory wire bundle and the other one about 6" shorter than the factory wire bundle.

Route the wires as shown, in the same manner as the factory wires. This is a good place to add additional electrical tape for protection.

Connect all the wires and run the BSM wires back under the retaining clips. NOTE: The heated mirror wires do not matter which is positive/negative. Put them on either way and it will work.

Pop the mirror back in place by pressing firmly first in the center until the main ball pops in, then press the side to pop in the adjuster and repeat for the bottom. This part can be nerve racking, but study the clips, take your time and have faith. It will pop in if you do it right.

Replace the mirror housing and run the wires back the way they were originally through the door. Only run one of the wires around the window track. The other will be explained below. I ran one of the new wires first because it was easiest and then taped the factory bundle to that wire and pulled it though.

For a ground, I suspect there is one in the same bundle as the red/purple power wire, but I prefer to ground it to the door. I cut the shorter of the 2 new wires to be just long enough for this purpose, then used ring terminals and scraped the paint down to bare metal around one of the mirror housing bolts. I then used a little electrical tape to secure the wire out of the way of the windows path. The picture is ugly, but it looked better in person once I got it all secured.

You can now use one of the splices to connect the other new wire to the red/purple wire as shown.

Another angle of the same wire.

You can now test the mirror by powering on the car and pressing the rear defrost button. You should feel it starting to get warm after a minute or two. You can also 'huff' on the mirror and you should see it clearing away the fog quickly. I tried to capture this on camera but it happens too quickly to get a good picture.

Replace all the trim in the reverse order you took it out.

Repeat for the other side and you're done!

 

[nizzy1115]

Wow quite the process but much appreciated documentation. Thanks!

 

[chriss340]

Great write up! Will this work the same way for a 2013 CX-5?

 

[TreyP]

Great write up! Will this work the same way for a 2013 CX-5?

Thanks....as I mentioned in the first post, this was done on a 2014 and I can't say whether it is the same on a 2013 model. I would imagine it is close, but until you (or someone else) take the door panel off there is no way to be sure. The wires might be a different color, or they may not be there at all. If the wires are there, be sure to check with a test light while turning the rear defrost switch on/off to be sure you have the correct wire.

 

[MikeM.]

Great write up Trey. Very detailed and the photos are excellent. Thanks for sharing!

 

[TreyP]

Wow quite the process but much appreciated documentation. Thanks!

Great write up Trey. Very detailed and the photos are excellent. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks guys. I've seen a few requests here and there looking for this info, so hopefully it helps some people.

 

[popeyecahn]

Yes many thanks!

Like nizzy I too have a '13 Sport, and am interested in this mod. Armed with this info I may look further into the possibility, my only issue is that I need to tend to the drivers side mirror vibration. I can at least research the wiring a bit better now me thinks.

 

[puddle.jumper]

thanks for taking the time to document and share the process. i'm glad to hear it works. it sounds very promising to 2013 owners since likely not much would change in that regard from one year to the next for the cx-5.

for those who are anal about factory wiring or like it as close to oem as possible, perhaps the part number for the wiring harness could be found in the wiring diagrams of the workshop manual. i might try this some time down the road when time permits. but that's great news that it has been done and can refer to this when the time comes. good job.

 

[gova]

The good thing is, that mirror glass with heat and no blind sport monitoring is only $21.

Any chance to add blind spot monitoring to Sport version?

 

[thisman]

Excellent write-up! I need to remove one of the the mirror covers to have it repainted so this thread is actually quite useful for me as well. One thing I'm wondering about though: Is there a reason why you start by removing the glass from the outer side (farther away from the car) rather than the one close to the car? The other write-ups I've seen (none written specifically for CX-5 though) always emphasize the need to start from the opposite side than you recommend - one example being: http://forum.***************/exterior-modifications/247550-how-remove-mirrors-covers.html

Thank in advance!

 

[TreyP]

Excellent write-up! I need to remove one of the the mirror covers to have it repainted so this thread is actually quite useful for me as well. One thing I'm wondering about though: Is there a reason why you start by removing the glass from the outer side (farther away from the car) rather than the one close to the car? The other write-ups I've seen (none written specifically for CX-5 though) always emphasize the need to start from the opposite side than you recommend - one example being: http://forum.***************/exterior-modifications/247550-how-remove-mirrors-covers.html

Thank in advance!

The way the mirror comes out will vary from vehicle to vehicle based on where the internal retaining clips are. The CX-5 does need to come out the way I showed.

 

[thisman]

The way the mirror comes out will vary from vehicle to vehicle based on where the internal retaining clips are. The CX-5 does need to come out the way I showed.

Yeah, makes perfect sense actually - thanks for the quick reply!

 

[howlin4you]

Great job with the write up, I love these forums and the fact that people are willing to contribute something like this for a bunch of strangers. This is going on my list of mods.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

I just wanted to thank you. I found no other instruction online to help me remove my broken mirror housing and replace it. This fit the bill perfectly.

Thanks again.

 

[TreyP]

You're welcome. Thanks for the comment and glad that it helped!

 

[nechtenkamp]

You're welcome. Thanks for the comment and glad that it helped!

Where did you get the door trim panel clips??

 

[nechtenkamp]

This was done on my 2014 CX-5 Touring with Bose/Moonroof package and blind spot monitoring. I do not have the Tech Package. Your experience may vary if you do not have this exact year, model and options.

The good news is that Mazda has partially run the wires, which saves a ton of time having to install relays, add a fuse kits and running wires through the door and into the car.

The bad news is that it is still quite a process, but not nearly as bad as some other cars that I have done which took 8 hours to complete. This took me 4.5 hours - 3 hours for the first side, part of which was documenting the process, part of which was finding and testing the proper wires, and part of which was making stupid mistakes like realizing I left a piece of inner trim off after I had reinstalled the door panel and having to backtrack to fix it. The second side took 'only' 1.5 hours.

Here comes the Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only, I am NOT responsible for any damage you do to yourself or your car if you attempt to follow this process and mess it up. When in doubt, hire a professional.

Things you will need:

• Heated Mirrors - I got mine from www.OEMMazdaParts.com Part # KE-40691G1B and KE-40691G7B ($126.59 total cost, with shipping)
• Around 6' of wire. I used 16 gauge, but 18 would have been a little easier to work with.
• Some quick splices. You can get by without them, but they speed up the process and make for a more professional job.

• Some of these.

• 2 Ring Terminals, used for grounding, and pictured in the process below.

Begin by removing this piece of trim by popping it off with a screwdriver inserted as shown.



Remove the screw behind the trim.


Take out this rubber piece inside of the door pull handle and the screw behind it.


Pull off this trim piece.


You can now pop the door panel off by starting at the lower rear corner and prying it off with your fingers. Some of the white plastic holders will most likely stay in the metal part of the door when you do this. Don't panic, they can be pulled out and reused even if they look mangled and broken. You could also buy some new ones if you prefer. Once all these are loose, lift the door panel up and out of the window groove.

There are two connectors for the windows/locks to remove and the door handle itself just pushes easily out though the back of the panel. Once this is done the panel is completely unattached and can be set aside in a safe place. I put it in the trunk area while I was working.

CONTINUED BELOW

Where did you get the little "white plastic holders"? I know the dealership has them but I'm trying to find them cheaper online. Are these generic kinds that also work?

 

[TreyP]

I only used the parts shown, plus wire, all of which I bought at Advance Auto Parts. I reused the factory panel clips.