Rear view mirror

[IanMac]

Hi and good morning all.

Ive had my S2 111R for 6 months now and cant get my head around why lotus installed such a huge rear view mirror for such a tiny view? 
I gave 2 questions, 1 how do I remove the old one? I can slide it down on the screen mount by about 5mm but then it stops and I can’t see the next steps to getting it off. 2, can anyone recommend a smaller aftermarket one that would be suitable?

many thanks and have a good day!

[Guido]

My mirror fell off (Exige) and I can't work out how to fix it back on so I haven't!!  It's surprising how much extra view out the front screen you get without one.

[Andy wright]

It’s a tight fit on the screen mount . It’s meant to slide off. However, which comes off first, the mirror or the mirror and the glued on mount is very much in the balance . The  little mount is simply glued to the screen ( or course it is, it’s an Elise, everything is glued ) . As for a smaller one, I did look at ones on eBay which might bean option,and at the prices the sellers are asking, making a purchase to experiment is worth it . 

[IanMac]

Thanks for that Andy.

i can see through the screen that the small glued mounting is preventing the mirror from completely sliding down. It goes a good 5 to 8 mm then hits the shoulder of the glued mounting. I wiggled and waggled but just can’t get anywhere. I don’t mind if the glued mount does come off and any Info on how to safely remove it without shattering my screen would also be welcome. 
I guess gently heating the mount will soften the glue and with maybe a few twists might pop off.

 

[Guido]

I taken some pictures of the windscreen mount and the back of the mirror for you. I still can’t work out how it fits together!  I’ve tried everything to reattach the mirror to the windscreen with no success. 
 

I’m not 100% sure something hasn’t broken off as I’d have thought there would have been some kind of clip to hold everything in place. 
Lotus fitted a new mirror when I bought the car. The back of the mirror is heavily greased so it may simply be a tight fit. 
You definitely need to slide the mirror up to remove it  

I hope this helps. 
 

 

Edited October 4, 2025 by Guido

[Jonathan E]

Smart 4-2 rear view mirror works well and uses the original ball mount, just carefully pull the Elise mirror off the stalk and press the smart mirror on. You need a rear view mirror from the 451 model(2007-2014), the 450 mirror wont fit. I paid a fiver off ebay, best done with the stalk removed from the screen as Elise screens can be a little fragile. You can do the same with a Mercedes SLK(R140) but doesn't look as good as the smart imo. On my 111r there was a small metal spring that had to be depressed so as to allow removal of the mirror, this wasn't the case on my S3. 111r is basically a Fed Elise so Michael's page here shows how to do it:

 http://sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/experience/modifications/mirror/mirror.html

Edited October 4, 2025 by Jonathan E

[IanMac]

8 hours ago, Guido said:

I taken some pictures of the windscreen mount and the back of the mirror for you. I still can’t work out how it fits together!  I’ve tried everything to reattach the mirror to the windscreen with no success. 
 

I’m not 100% sure something hasn’t broken off as I’d have thought there would have been some kind of clip to hold everything in place. 
Lotus fitted a new mirror when I bought the car. The back of the mirror is heavily greased so it may simply be a tight fit. 
You definitely need to slide the mirror up to remove it  

I hope this helps. 
 

 

Thanks for that input Guido that's great info. When i look at my mount from the outside of the screen i can see a small metal bit that looks like a clip. As I slide the mirror down I can see the clip close slightly almost like i need to push on it to release the rest of the mirror. Picture below is from the outside looking in. you can see the metal clip. I cant see how i would push on the clip as there is almost zero gap between the screen and the back of the mount.

[IanMac]

5 hours ago, Jonathan E said:

Smart 4-2 rear view mirror works well and uses the original ball mount, just carefully pull the Elise mirror off the stalk and press the smart mirror on. You need a rear view mirror from the 451 model(2007-2014), the 450 mirror wont fit. I paid a fiver off ebay, best done with the stalk removed from the screen as Elise screens can be a little fragile. You can do the same with a Mercedes SLK(R140) but doesn't look as good as the smart imo. On my 111r there was a small metal spring that had to be depressed so as to allow removal of the mirror, this wasn't the case on my S3. 111r is basically a Fed Elise so Michael's page here shows how to do it:

 http://sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/experience/modifications/mirror/mirror.html

Perfect Jonathan this is exactly what I needed. So I do need to press the metal 'finger' to release the shoe. I'll have another look tomorrow. Thank you so much. 

[Jonathan E]

You need to prize the cover up and then you can get access to the clip👍