Side mirror variants & terminology explained

Exterior mirrors are quoted in many ways — full assembly, cover only, glass only — and carry a stack of options that change the part number. Here is the vocabulary importers and distributors need to quote and order precisely.

The physical parts

Mirror assembly (complete unit)

The whole exterior mirror — base, arm, housing, actuator, glass and wiring. A drop-in replacement.

Housing / shell

The outer body that holds the glass and actuator.

Cover / cap

The outermost painted or textured skin. Sold separately because it is the part most often damaged and most market-specific (colour vs textured black). A cover is a distinct SKU, not just an assembly option.

Arm / bracket / base

The mount that fixes the mirror to the door and sets the fitment geometry.

Glass (mirror plate)

The reflective element on its backing plate, often with a heating element behind it.

Fold & actuation options

• Manual fold — folds by hand only.
• Power fold — motor-driven fold from a cabin switch.
• Auto fold — power fold that also folds on lock/unlock.
• Power adjust — electric glass positioning (up/down/left/right), standard on most modern mirrors.
• Memory — stores mirror position to a driver profile; adds a position sensor.

Glass options

• Flat, convex, aspheric — different curvatures; markets and regulations differ on what is allowed on each side.
• Heated — demist element; essential for cold climates.
• Auto-dimming (electrochromic) — darkens to cut glare from headlights behind.
• Blind-spot (BSM/BLIS) lens — indicator built into the glass for blind-spot warning.

Lighting & sensing add-ons

• Signal / turn indicator — LED repeater in the cover or glass.
• Puddle light — downward courtesy light under the mirror.
• Camera / e-mirror — surround-view or digital exterior mirror modules on newer platforms.

Finish

• PTM (paint-to-match / primed) — supplied primed for body-colour painting.
• Textured black — moulded matte finish, no painting.
• Colour-coded — pre-finished to a body colour.