Upgraded OEM HomeLink mirror installed

[VL3X]

I installed an OEM Homelink rearview mirror in my '17 GTI SE yesterday. It's a really nice upgrade over the base flip mirror. It's frameless, auto dimming, and features an integrated compass and 3 programmable garage door buttons. It classes up the interior nicely IMO.

The install was pretty straight forward since the OEM kit comes with a harness to plug into the headlight switch. The only tricky parts were dealing with the A pillar clips and trying to avoid stabbing the curtain airbag with my screwdriver. And at the end I was almost positive I needed different trim pieces for the new mirror, but I finally managed to get everything snapped back together and in place without breaking anything.

For those interested.. The correct part number for those with a MK7 GTI w/rain sensor is 000072548F.

 

[2018gti]

Nice work! I wish my 2018 came with this.

 

[EricsVdub]

My 2019 did. I didn't know what the standard mirror looked like until now. I love the compass and Homelink upgrades.

 

[KevinD]

I installed an OEM Homelink rearview mirror in my '17 GTI SE yesterday. It's a really nice upgrade over the base flip mirror. It's frameless, auto dimming, and features an integrated compass and 3 programmable garage door buttons. It classes up the interior nicely IMO.

The install was pretty straight forward since the OEM kit comes with a harness to plug into the headlight switch. The only tricky parts were dealing with the A pillar clips and trying to avoid stabbing the curtain airbag with my screwdriver. And at the end I was almost positive I needed different trim pieces for the new mirror, but I finally managed to get everything snapped back together and in place without breaking anything.

For those interested.. The correct part number for those with a MK7 GTI w/rain sensor is 000072548F.

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Did you need to do any updates to the VW software to accommodate the compass in the new mirror?

 

[parapraxis24]

I'm glad mine came this way when I bought it, definitely worth it just for the frameless aspect.

 

[Hubs]

I did this recently. No changes to software were necessary. Other than needing power, functions of the mirror (compass, homelink, and auto-dim) are all internal to the mirror as far as I can tell.

My experience seems similar to the OP in that the biggest PITA of the job was getting the A-pillar back in place.

 

[bobloblawGTI]

I did this recently. No changes to software were necessary. Other than needing power, functions of the mirror (compass, homelink, and auto-dim) are all internal to the mirror as far as I can tell.

My experience seems similar to the OP in that the biggest PITA of the job was getting the A-pillar back in place.

I chickened out and just stuffed the cabling in from the side. Yes I know airbags wires tape it up yada yada I just couldn't bring myself to rip it off.

 

[KevinD]

I did this recently. No changes to software were necessary. Other than needing power, functions of the mirror (compass, homelink, and auto-dim) are all internal to the mirror as far as I can tell.

My experience seems similar to the OP in that the biggest PITA of the job was getting the A-pillar back in place.

Thanks for the advice. Finding the right kit has been the interesting part of the journey. My Golf has the rain sensing feature for the front wipers. Different question, how do you and your wife enjoy the 2021 Jetta R-Line? Did you look at a GLI as well? One last question, did you get a manual or an automatic?

 

[Hubs]

Thanks for the advice. Finding the right kit has been the interesting part of the journey. My Golf has the rain sensing feature for the front wipers. Different question, how do you and your wife enjoy the 2021 Jetta R-Line? Did you look at a GLI as well? One last question, did you get a manual or an automatic?

I think this will be a long answer . . .

How do we like the R-line?
The R-line seems to hit the sweet spot as a daily driver for my wife, Susan. I did the shopping, because if I left it to her, nothing would happen for a long time. Susan is not a car enthusiast, so I did not even consider a GLI. The extra dollars for the GLI would have been a waste. On the other hand, I did not want to get a base model. I don't like cloth seats (though I do like the Tartan in my GTI); Susan works with horses and gets messy, so cloth seats would get trashed. There are some other upgrades I like on the R-line over an S as well, such as leather-wrapped steering wheel, alloy wheels, etc. We have taken it on one trip so far (600 miles round trip from Maryland to the Outer Banks), I did all the driving, and I was very pleased with it. I am 6'4" and it was very comfortable. Nothing super special, but it was a nice ride!

The car is Habenero Orange, and I love the color! My wife and I are both rather bored with black/grey/silver/white.

So far, I have just two minor complaints about the R-line:
1. No satellite radio. I like my Sirius/XM! I do have the app on my phone, and it is reasonably easy to play Sirius/XM via the app running on CarPlay. But I much prefer the satellite radio on my GTI.
2. The "dual exhaust tips" at the rear of the car are not really exhaust tips. They look nice, but I don't care much for fake stuff on a car.

Anyway, I really like the car, and my wife seems plenty happy with it.

Manual or Automatic
I am quite disappointed to say that it has an automatic transmission. I am quite the manual transmission snob. I think people who buy automatics are inferior human beings Just kidding on that (sort of). I am 54 years old, and over those years I have bought fourteen cars other than the R-line (not counting pickup trucks). Every one has had three pedals and a stick shift! Susan is plenty proficient driving a manual, but remember, not an enthusiast. She would have been OK with a manual, and maybe even preferred one, but it is not a big deal for her. She drinks coffee a lot, and fiddles with her phone, so an automatic has some advantages.

All that being said, I would have bought a car with a manual tranny, and wanted to, but I could not find one with other features I wanted. It has been a few months now, but as I recall, my only options in a new car with a manual were some S models, and I think all were some shade of black/gray/white. There may have been a gray R-line with a manual. My wife has five silver Toyota Tacomas for her business, and I just wasn't buying a gray car. This past fall was a shitty time to be car shopping.

Bottom line, I wish it had a stick, but I went with the automatic, and I still like the car.

 

[Euro_Geek]

I installed an OEM Homelink rearview mirror in my '17 GTI SE yesterday. It's a really nice upgrade over the base flip mirror. It's frameless, auto dimming, and features an integrated compass and 3 programmable garage door buttons. It classes up the interior nicely IMO.

The install was pretty straight forward since the OEM kit comes with a harness to plug into the headlight switch. The only tricky parts were dealing with the A pillar clips and trying to avoid stabbing the curtain airbag with my screwdriver. And at the end I was almost positive I needed different trim pieces for the new mirror, but I finally managed to get everything snapped back together and in place without breaking anything.

For those interested.. The correct part number for those with a MK7 GTI w/rain sensor is 000072548F.

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Reviving this thread.

Do you still have the car? If Yes - Can you please share the part number of both cover caps on your car.

For reference:

Long Story, short. I have a '16 and was able to get a 000072548F it fits perfectly, but the issue I have is, the cover caps are slightly different. I'm trying to find the part number of both cover caps to order them and fit them on the car. Since I do not intend to go and re-buy the mirror to get a 000072548C model.

Thanks in advance!