Official 4runner side mirror swap and write up!

Disclaimer- I am in no way responsible for damage to your vehicle, yourself, or of any kind while you are following my write up. I am not a professional mechanic or electrician. You are following this at your own risk.

First off a HUGE thank you goes to @Up2NoGood(Jaimes). He is the man and has helped me on so many different facets of this modification. So I wanted heated mirrors. Originally I was going to get Jaimes' kit, but then I came across the 2010 4runner mirror mod. Don't worry though, Jaimes still plays a MAJOR part in this mod. The threads that helped me out can be found here and here. This gives you heated mirrors with puddle lights. There are many ways to complete this mod. You could buy OEM 4runner mirrors and swap them that way. You could also buy aftermarket 4runner mirrors, but you're definitely sacrificing quality, trust me. To be cheap I decided to try aftermarket. While swapping parts I actually broke the adjustment motor on the aftermarket mirror. This is where I came up with the way of modification that is now my end product. This will be the cheapest way to get OEM quality. Remember, if you do not use the same products as me this write up may not answer all your questions. I'll also be using a factory Highlander mirror adjustment switch to control the heaters in the mirrors.

Products used
Drivers 4runner mirror
Passengers 4runner mirror
Drivers heated glass
Passengers heated glass
LED bulb upgrade
Mirror switch
Wiring harness from Up2NoGood (Jaimes no longer offers the custom heated mirror harness and I don't know enough about it to help. So for the electrical portion you will need to do some homework and figure it out. Sorry)

1. Switch modification

The switch as received from Toyota are latching design (stays in when button is pushed) and ideally what you want is to convert it to a momentary push button. Below shows the button latched down.



To convert it you need to pull the switch apart and the pic below shows a mini steel rod that needs to be snipped out. That rod allows the switch to latch.



After cutting it below. Switch can no longer latch and is now a momentary push button.



When putting it back together see the rubber pad with round metal circles below. It is important that does not get jostled out of position when putting the switch back together. If it does all of your mirror adjustments may not work properly and you will need to pull the switch apart and reseat it.



2. Mirror removal

You need to remove your factory Tacoma mirrors. You will need to remove the door panels to do this. Here is good door panel removal video. Once the door panel is removed unplug the mirror and remove the three 10mm bolts where that triangle piece was. Hold the mirror while removing these as it is all holding it to the door.



Once they all are removed gently pull the mirror away from the vehicle and that's it. Repeat on the other side.

3. Mirror parts swapping

Find a nice workbench or kitchen table to work at for about an hour for the next step. Grab the 4runner mirror first.

First we'll be pretty much gutting the aftermarket mirror. All we're after is the mirror housing itself and a few electrical connectors. Start by cutting the plug off the end of the 4runner mirror close to the plug.



Then pry off this cover on the underside of the mirror.



Then you'll see these three screws. Remove all of them. The arm should then separate from the mirror.



Remove this screw also.



Next gently pull off the 4runner mirror glass. In all honesty you don't need it anyway so if it brakes no worries. Just don't break the main "shell" of the mirror.

Unplug the heating element connectors from the back of the glass. Be careful here because we'll be reusing those connectors.

Next remove these two screws holding the motor mount in place. Then wiggle the entire assembly out of the housing.



Unplug the blinker and remove the puddle lamp bulb by pulling up. Just take the bulb out of the housing.

Remove the tape a the top of the 4runner harness. We need the yellow and black wires from this. Do not cut the yellow or black wires to remove them.



Now if you have and want to swap the painted mirror cover on the front, now is the time to do it. I have a 2015 Tacoma TRD sport and my mirror covers were a perfect swap. This avoids a costly trip to the paint shop. If you are going to swap covers gently pry all the tabs to free the cover. There is 8 of them. After this be careful while working on it as not to scratch the paint on the cover you're going to use.



Once the cover is removed set everything aftermarket aside and grab your factory mirror. Start by prying off the same cover on the bottom of the mirror.

Then remove these three screws.



Also remove this red tape and this screw holding in the rubber seal.



Then push on the top of the mirror until it doesn't push anymore. You can then see underneath the mirror and put a flat head underneath it to pry it from the motor.



Then tilt the mirror back down without locking it back in place. The mirror will rotate up and out of the housing.



Remove the two screws holding in the motor housing.



Remove this screw and slide the casing off of the connector. Do this by prying where the arrows are. You should be able to see how it latches to it.



Slide the plug out of the rubber seal and arm.



Then gently pull the motor and motor mount out of the shell.

Now if you have a painted cover remove it and put that on the 4runner shell.

Be sure to start on this side by sliding the painted cover under the blinker.



Now run the yellow and black wires through the same harness as the factory Tacoma wires. Make sure the bulb and connectors for the heated mirror are with the blinker plug end.

Once the wires are through replace the tape at the top.

Next put the Tacoma motor and mount in the 4runner shell, plug in the blinker, and run the harness through the bottom.

Clip the mount in place and screw it in using the two previously removed screws.

Run the harness through the mounting arm and the rubber panel. Also put this screw back in said rubber panel.

Then you can put the plug casing back on the Tacoma plug.

Put the screws back in that hold the mirror to the arm and replace the cover.



Next plug in the heated mirror and install backwards from how you removed it (top first then lock in the bottom). The wires can be plugged in either way.



If you buy a harness from Jaimes, which you definitely should, you'll have a plug specifically for the heater and puddle light wires. So solder that onto the leftover four wires from the mirror.



Repeat on other mirror.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You're mirrors are now complete. Now for installation.

4. Installation and wiring.

Install the mirrors just as you removed them.

I have decided not to do a write up on the wiring inside the truck. I decided this because my wiring differed greatly from a "normal" install due to my remote starter. If you would like help with the wiring order a harness from Jaimes and with that comes his great support in just about anything electrical. He will definitely be able to dumb it down for you, like he had to with me. If you do end up doing this mod throw some pictures onto this thread to let me know it actually worked for someone else!

 

Subd

 

Just waiting on the harness and passenger mirror that are in the mail.

 

Is the Highlander switch is direct fit? Ive been wanting to do heated mirrors but cant decide on which switch I want to do.

 

Yes it is a direct fit. No change is required for the plug either. You just add a terminal to the back to trigger the mirror heater relay.

 

Subbed and looking forward to seeing it all come together! You have probably given me more credit then deserved though, but happy to have helped on the electrical end

 

Well that only makes one of us good sir. I most likely didn't give you enough credit!

 

Do you have a part number for the switch?

 

Sub'd

I am also in the process of doing this.. I initially bought aftermarket mirrors but found that the metal bracket would not fit.
Ended up grabbing a set from a junkyard.

I've swapped the mirrors, wired everything up..
For my 2011 dclb the pins for the signals are in the same place on the connector but the wire colours are different. Not a big deal as I just tested with a meter. They work perfect.
I tested the Rav4 heater button (wired up with relay following the guide - tapped into the foglight button for the dimmer wires) but unfortunately it doesn't light up. I'm not sure what I did wrong here.. I don't know if it functions. I used a fuse tap to tap into the "gauges" fuse.. maybe it's not oriented correctly?

I've yet to test the puddle light function (not really high on my priority)
I'll go over everything again this Thursday when I am back home from work :/

Looking forward to your guide!! maybe it'll help.

Give me a shout if you are missing any photos that I could snap since I have everything apart still.

 

Yea I'm not familiar whatsoever with a 2011 setup. All my parts should be here within the week and a full write up soon there after!

 

If you don't have any luck getting the heated mirrors going when you get back feel free to shoot me a message and I'm sure between some pics and tests with a multimeter we can get them running

 

THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF THAT MAKES THIS GUY AWESOME!!! I'll be the first to say it. @Up2NoGood for member of the year!

 

Write up is done with the exception of the wiring in the truck. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions!

 

Other then the heat and the puddle light, how do the mirrors look physically different? Having a issue finding before-after photos.

Any luck on tracking down where to order painted mirror covers from?

 

I'll post a picture in just a minute. I don't think I'll have a good before picture though. The mirror is physically the same exact size. That's what makes this mod so easy. I didn't need painted covers because my Tacoma came with them from the factory. So since you have a 13 your mirror covers should be a direct swap. If you don't have painted covers the aftermarket 4runner mirrors that I used come with ready to paint covers. From what I've seen it should only be about $70 to get them matched.

 

Here's a good after picture.

Edit: here's a good comparison shot.

 

OK, I am confused so please correct me where necessary. I believe you:

Started with mirrors on your truck that had the blinker and puddle light already but did not have heat.

So you bought the aftermarket 4Runner mirrors to switch out to the heated mirrors.

Is that correct?

 

No my mirrors only had the blinkers. This mod added the heated mirrors and the puddle lights.

 

Got it. I have bought a set of aftermarket 4Runner mirrors and plan on switching them out with the mirrors that are on my truck now, which were the stock mirrors with no blinker, heat, or puddle lights. If I am reading what you have done it should be possible to switch the mirror portion of the 4Runner mirrors to the arm portion of the stock mirrors.

And if I am understanding what you did in the write-up above, you basically used the housing for the 4Runner mirror and attached it to the arm of the Tacoma mirror, adding the wires for the puddle and blinkers, then used your stock Tacoma motor and innards to complete the installation?