How to replace the side mirror blinker assembly on 2nd Gen Edge

[ChasingStyx]

Hey folks, new guy here. I found this forum while trying to figure out how to remove and replace the side mirror blinker that seems like a lot of us (er, my wife) break when backing up and catching the mirror on something.

 

I found this thread here, but nobody seemed to have figured it out (but super thanks to everyone who posted instructions from shop manuals, etc...they did help). So kudos!

 

So here is the how to do it with some pictures:

 

I will get a couple of things out of the way:
 

1. You don't need to remove the entire side mirror assembly.
2. You do need to pop off the actual mirror to do this. Sorry, no way around that, as you'll see shortly.
3. It should not take you more than 10 minutes to do all of this.

 

I did not do the steps in the same order as I am writing them, but only because I figured out some stuff along the way that would have been easier to do earlier in the process....blah blah, here you go:

 

Tools Needed:

• T-10 Torx screwdriver
• Small flat head screwdriver

 

Step one:  Remove the mirror.

This was the step that freaked me out the most.  I did not want to end up replacing a turn signal blinker AND replacing a mirror too, but it was super easy to remove.

 

• This video helped me out a lot, figuring out how the mirror is held in there (even though it's an old Escape in the video, the process is pretty much the same) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_j65ZOw7Qo

 

In a nutshell, it's just a couple of clips you pry off, and the mirror pops off, yup, that easy (famous last word, right?). 

 

1. Position the mirror so the bottom outer corner is out as far as it will go (so the top inner corner will be as far in as it will go). 
2. Then, use your small flat head screwdriver to first get one clip in the bottom right corner and pop the clip off.
3. Then position the mirror so the gap is at the top outer corner.
4. Pop another clip off in the top outer corner. 
5. Now the mirror should pop off.

 

Here's the back of the mirror so you can see the clips on the back of the mirror surface itself and the circle thingamajig it pops onto.

 

 

Guess what? You just finished the most challenging part. Bask in the glory of your accomplishment for a moment, then move on.

 

Step two:  Remove the mirror assembly cap

Very easy. Follow the instructions in this video (but remove the mirror first, it's easier). Pop the two clips at the top, and it pops right off (even though the video is for a Ford Fusion, it's pretty much the same).   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2q5iAN8rJA

 

Hey, remember when I said I did some things out of order? Well, when I did the job, I actually popped the mirror assembly cap off first (you can just get to the tabs without taking the mirror off), realized the blinker was still not going to come out without removing the mirror, and then removed the mirror. I think you'll find step 2 a lot easier to do by removing the mirror first.

 

Here's a view from behind after I removed the cap. You can see the clips here to get a general idea of how you will access them from the other side (you'll be sticking your flathead screwdriver in those holes from the other side to pop those clips away from the cap.

 

 

 

Step three:  Remove the blinker assembly

 

OK, the rest of this is easy peasy. Once the mirror is off, you have access to this giant hole that contains the T10 screw that holds in the blinker assembly (oh, THAT'S why you had to remove the mirror in the first step). I tried every which way to access this screw without taking the mirror off, and most likely, you'll give it a try. Save yourself some heartache; just take the mirror off in the first step.   

 

 

 

1. Remove the T10 screw from the giant screw hole (that's what she said).
2. Once you have removed that screw, just pull up and out on the blinker, and it should just pop out. You might need to fiddle a little with the tab closest to the car and one at the very end of the blinker assembly, but generally, pulling around a bit, and you'll see how it comes out.

 

Once you pull the blinker out, you'll see a tab with a hole on the bottom of the blinker assembly where the screw went through. 

That same tab on your new blinker will slide back in between the two pieces of plastic circled in my image below (don't worry, you'll quickly see it even though my image below doesn't seem very obvious).

 

 

 

Now undo the electrical clip holding the blinker assembly to the mirror assembly, and you are halfway to a brand new sexy side blinker mirror thingee.

 

Step three:  Install the new blinker assembly

 

1. Repeat above, but in reverse, and you might as well chant something demonic sounding like playing a record backward... (the younger crowd won't get that).

 

Make sure you test the new blinker by plugging in the electrical connector BEFORE you begin putting everything back together.

 

You are done! Drink a cold one, a warm one, or whatever you want. You deserve it!

 

 

 

 

[ChasingStyx]

Bonus carnage of old blinker assembly pic:

 

[ChasingStyx]

Another Bonus:  Wife's old (Lease) 2018 White SEL  next to her new (to her) 2019 Burgundy Velvet Titanium (she enjoyed her lease so much, we bought this one).