Heated 4Runner Mirrors?

They say these exist, but I cannot find any assemblies with the heat part built in - only separate glass inserts.

Has anyone managed to find these models? (more than 3-wire)

 

My understanding is all 99-02 4Runners had heated mirrors that were switched through the defrost button. I haven’t found any that are aftermarket, so used is only real option, and then all 4Runner mirrors were painted to match, so there’s difficulty finding ones that are in good shape without the clear coat peeling or a bunch of rock chips. I have a green 99 that I found decent matched mirrors but plan to do a body swap with another burgundy/red 00, so I’m again on the lookout for those.

The difficulty is that some eBay sellers list mirrors inaccurately by year, the older have more of the housing protruding past the mirror toward the inside and a 90° top corner, the newer style has a clipped top inside corner, the shape is more similar to late first gen Tacoma mirrors. I believe some older mirrors may have had it, you’d have to verify, probably easily identified is you can count the wires in harness, believe power mirrors just have 3 and heated mirror versions have 5 or 6

This write up is for 2nd gen Tacomas with 4th gen 4Runner mirrors, but I can’t see why it couldn’t be adapted to earlier gen’s.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oem-heated-mirrors-diy-mod.193528/

 

I looked at a couple used on ebay and even those seemed to be missing it, but maybe they were just poor pics.
That write up looks like the same situation - where you buy the heated glass separately and adapt to it. I guess I'll keep that in mind for later since it seems to be around $50/side, same as the entire assembly otherwise

 

Yeah, I’m back down the rabbit hole- if the 4Runner mirrors glass fits the late gen Tacoma mirrors, you can just buy heated glass.

I believe if you were to wire it yourself it needs to be on a relay

This kit was mentioned in the thread I posted, they even have a wiring kit, might be an easy option- I may have to try this

2712-HRVM ThermaSync™Defroster Control and Switch (Powers 2 Mirrors)

https://frostfighter.com/2712-hrvm-thermasync-control-and-switch

 

99 T4R definitely had them.

 

All the way up to 2005. 2006 its not in the same place in the service docs. That's not to say its non-existent in 2006, I just didn't dig around for it.

 

I also have the issue my current mirrors are aftermarket for late first gen Tacomas and they’re trashed, so I need new mirror housings as well.

Looking on EBay, used 99-02 4Runner mirrors in decent shape with the correct harness are cheaper than used 3rd gen Tacoma mirrors, and I’m not cheeping out on aftermarket again because they’re crap, so I’ll save just by not having to buy used Tacoma mirrors and then the heated glass.

Worth it to just buy the glass if you already have power 1st gen mirrors.

 

I did this to my 2002. Got mirrors from a junked 4Runner, painted them to color match, and used the Muth H-Mod circuit - reason I went with Muth is due to their switch design. They use a simple 3 pin switch with a light which can simply be replaced with your own toggle style switch - I used one from a 1st gen Rav4 since the switch fits in the lower dash bezel next to the 12v outlets and the icon lights up when your headlights are on. I did have to change the incandescent indicator light to an LED since the circuit wasn't giving enough amperage to the light (uses a T3 neowedge). You need to use some sort of relay (like the Muth or that ThermaSync) otherwise you can potentially let the mirrors run too long and melt them.

I will say that swapping out just the heated glass from the 4Runner to the Tacoma will work (there's two designs of 4Runner mirror like mentioned above: boxy and the newer aero ones which I've found on '00-'02 models. Not sure if the glass is the same between them though), however actually running the wires through the housing and out the hole where the existing wires come out is quite difficult. You'd probably want to disassemble them completely. They run down through a tube which has the spring-loaded folding mechanism, then through a small hole. I still have my old ones disassembled in a box and if necessary I can pull them out and grab some photos to show what I mean. Good luck if you go the disassembly route - the three phillips head screws on the bottom of the mirror arm WILL strip out due to the soft metal + thread locker. I had to use a blowtorch to heat the screw and then remove it. Not fun.

 

Very nice,HoneyBadger, I’m jealous! The matching paint really adds the finishing touch. I’m thinking of using some motorcycle heated hand grip elements. I love the RAV4 switch, looks factory. Unfortunately, being a champion procrastinator, means I’m only a few weeks away from this being a next year project.

 

Badass, great info, great finish work

 

FYI some of the lower end 4Runners in 99 did not get the heated mirrors. These would be the bottom of the barrel ones that came with the basic features. All others should have the heated glass.

 

Strange, I've not seen the aero ones you speak of. Can you find an example? The smaller style is what I would be replacing

 

These ones. The "boxy" one is the first picture, "aero" is the second one marked "newer" - green one. That's the terminology other people used in past threads on the topic IDK if it's correct or not.

 

Oh ok. The left one is for a 2nd gen 4runner, the right is for a 3rd. I didn't even know 2nd gen mirrors could mate up.

 

Ah, they're both 3rd gen. 99-2002 they just changed the look is all.
There's a metal tab that sticks out on the mirror that you'd have to cut off with a Dremel but other than that they meet up. It's just for a retention screw that isn't there on the Tacoma.

 

Oh ya, you're right, my bad

 

Hey @Area51Runner, could you by chance post pics of the wiring harness pin orientation for the rest of the 4Runner power mirrors like you did in post 5 for testing the heat? If possible, also the pin orientation of the power mirror switch itself in the door handle for the same year 4Runners?

I have wiring diagrams, but that’s a lot easier for me to understand.

 

Absolutely. Easier just to grab by year. Specific year your looking at?

 

2000 4Runner, thank you! I can make sense of wiring diagrams, but the pin locations in the clips would simplify things considerably

 

Here ya go.