Driver side mirror

you should be able to get a grip on the outside edge of the mirror. from there it is a matter of carefully prying it until the clips release. It may also have the center ball and socket which can be quite stubborn at times. good luck!

Dismantle the mirror bracket. You probably wont be able to get this back in without doing this.

OK what I put here is for the E class Mercedes of the same era. Generally Mercedes shares build concepts and ideas across different classes of car. The mirror assembly consists of a mirror frame socket fitted to ball on the end of a mount arm. If the mount on the SL is the same then the idea is to stop the mirror from moving freely on the ball. It should be possible to slip the end of a clothing pin(s) between the ball, which is steel, and the socket, which is plastic. Force it gently in and check for the degree of play in the mirror. Once the mirror is stiff clip the protruding remaining length of pin(s) away to keep things looking tidy. Crude, effective but, above all, much cheaper than $900

When putting the mirror and backing plate back onto the car you want to first set the positioners correctly. You want to make sure the positioners are attached to the motor first, do not try to have them attached to the backing plate and push them into the motor, they move around too much and you might damage one.

The positioners have rounded heads on them but they have little plastic ridges on two sides of the ball that have to be lined up with notches in the backing plate. The top one should have the ridges straight up and down and the left should be going left/right.

Put the backing plate against the center pivot and push it back onto the pivot ball until it snaps into place. You will need to put almost all the pressure on the center. If you push too much on either end you could flex the glass too much and crack it.

Once the center pivot is in place you work on snapping the positioners into their sockets. Push the mirror all the way to the left. It will push the positioner all the way down into the motor until it hits bottom then you can press on the area of glass directly over the positioner until it pops into it's socket. Then push the mirror back to center and then all the way up to pop the top positioner into place.

Either it's a cheap replacement mirror that can't be tightened. Or, the original (oe) has been hit hard enough to displace on of the plastic attachments behind the mirror. Adjust the mirror to the extreme right so you can peek behind the mirror to look for an displaced attachment. Line the 2 points up and firmly with a gloved hand, push into place until you hear it "click" into place. Good luck

if nothings broken, there is four plastic tabs that clip it on to the center of the pivot. grab a balled up towel and line up mirror in frame,use towel to push evenly mirror back into bracket,youll hear-feel it go back on. be gentle!

is it an aero mirror with no arms?
Or a trailer tow mirror with arms?
The glass is repalceable. It is mounted on a center post with a ball on it. The mirror has a socket on the back center.
It also has 2 jack srews (plastic) that go into the tiny motors that move the mirror. You can push and pull on the glass and they will retchet, it won't hurt them.

You have to pop the mirror off the ball.

It helps to heat the socket with a hair dryer to put the new one on.
Please rate as fixya if this solves your problem.

Glass — Outside Rear View Mirror
Removal

1. Remove the mirror glass.
   1. Position the mirror glass to obtain a gap at the outside edge of the mirror.
   1. Carefully pry the outside edge of the glass away from the mirror housing.

Disconnect the electrical connector


Connect the electrical connector


NOTE: Engage the center pivot before the four inserts.
Install the mirror glass.

• Engage the center pivot and the four inserts

It is a stuck motor. Water gives rust inside housing. Remove mirror and clean motor and components. This is a well known error for H2 mirrors.

On most car and trucks u can buy just the mirror element, some just pop in and out, others re-use the mirror backing and have to be glued on with epoxy. Check with the dealer, the part was $50 on my car when the mirror got broken by a jealous ex-husband.

here's 2003, don't have 2008

Removal
NOTE: Left-hand dual arm mirror with heat shown, non-heated and aero mirrors similar.
All exterior mirrors

1. Position the exterior mirror glass in the full down position.

1. Grasp the top and carefully pull the exterior mirror glass away from the mirror housing.

1. Disconnect the electrical terminals (if equipped) and remove the exterior mirror glass.

Power exterior mirrors

1. Remove the jack pins from the exterior mirror glass backing plate.
   • Use pliers to grasp the jack pins at the base to remove.

Installation
Power exterior mirrors

1. Remove the sealing boots from the exterior mirror motor.

1. Install the jack pins in the sealing boots.

1. Install the jack pins and sealing boots.
   1. Hold the legs of the jack pins and push the jack pins back into the exterior mirror housing.
   1. Install the sealing boots so the boot shoulder is under the mirror collar and turn each jack pin until the head of the jack pin is aligned with the slots in the sockets on the backing glass plate.

All exterior mirrors

1. Place the new exterior mirror glass assembly down on a smooth firm surface.

1. Align the friction pins vertically to the exterior mirror glass backing plate socket and push down to snap the pivot ball into the socket.

1. CAUTION: Do not over heat the exterior mirror glass backing plate. Heat only until backing plate is warm to the touch.
   Using the special tool, warm the main pivot sockets in exterior mirror glass backing plate.

1. Loosely install the glass.
   1. Connect the electrical wiring to the electrical terminals (if equipped).
   1. Position the friction pins in the mirror housing.
   1. Align the jack pin locating tabs to match with the mirror glass back.

1. Using a flat hand, press on the center of the mirror glass until seated on the center pivot of the mirror housing.
   • Press the mirror glass toward one of the jack pins until snapped in place.
   • Repeat for second jack pin.

Power exterior mirrors
NOTE: If the jack pins do not engage, they may not be aligned correctly. Remove the exterior mirror glass, align the jack pins to the slots in the sockets and repeat the installation procedure.

1. NOTE: The jack pin should click while manually adjusting the exterior mirror glass.
   Tilt the exterior mirror glass to the full outboard position and then press on the outer side of the class until the in/out jack pin snaps into the socket on the exterior mirror backing plate.

1. NOTE: The jack pin should click while manually adjusting the exterior mirror glass.
   Tilt the exterior mirror glass to the full down position and then press on the outer side of the class until the up/down jack pin snaps into the socket on the exterior mirror backing plate.