Side mirror failure....
 

The reflector on the passenger side mirror on my 2008 HHR (8300 mi) simply fell off the car as I was driving in heavy traffic (thus no way to retrieve it). Has anyone had such a problem with side mirrors? There's no serious dings or any other marks on the remaining portion of the mirror assembly, yet my dealer's service department says "it was hit by something." Can anyone tell me how the mirrors on my HHR are attached to the motorized assembly that aligns the mirror using the interior controls? It appears that the mirror just "snaps in" to the orienting motor assembly - is that all there is to it?

It either snaps in or it's glued/taped in (can't remember). If impact damage, they should be able to show you the impact point.

Thanks Solman...
 

... There is a minor abrasion on the leading side of the mirror assembly, but there is no evidence of any adhesive having been used, or at least no adhesive remains attached to the mirror steering mechanism. Can anyone give me a definitive statement relative to the use of adhesives in the mirror assembly??

Here's some EBay options for ya....

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Thanks again solman - I've already picked one up a a local junkyard for $40. I just have to find some time to install it. Interestingly, the car I removed it from had suffered an horrendous front end crash and the passenger side mirror I removed had quite a few dings, etc. It clearly was subject to impact accelerations that were orders of magnitude greater than anything my car's mirror ever experienced, yet it held together as a unit. The front impact had slammed the mirror full forward and actually stressed the plastic at the stop point. I just can't figure why mine fell apart so easily without some inadequate assembly issue. That's why I'm so interested in how the mirror is mounted. If there was supposed to be an adhesive on the mirror back, there clearly was NOT any on mine. After searching the forum here, it seems my problem is unique. I've downloaded the shop manuals from another post here and I'll unzip and search them this evening. If I find out about the adhesive issue, I'll add that to this thread. Thanks again.

The mirrors just snap into the motor assembly, no glue or tape. I removed mine to put on a flat mirror and replaced it incorrectly. Afterwards I was playing(using the controls) with the mirrors and it fell to the ground. A little damage, but I was able to snap it in correctly.

Thanks Sno, that'll save me a lot of searching through the manuals I downloaded. Looks as though mine wasn't snapped in correctly either since it fell out without being prompted by anything more than a pothole. From that viewpoint, I'm surprised it held on for 8k miles. Guess I'll poke around on the other one to see it falls out easily too. Maybe add a little duct tape while I'm at it.

You state that there's a minor abrasion on the mirror housing.Sometimes the bumping of the mirror housing can loosen the glass and case from it's attachment at the motor.A subsequent jarring of the mirror assembly can then dislodge the assembly from the mirror housing.Sounds like that's what happened in this instance.