The OEM auto-dim/compass mirror in my 03 Outback recently failed. There seems to be a layer of (electrochromic?) liquid behind the front glass, & my failure involved a large air bubble developing in this liquid. Once removed, I could turn the mirror side to side & watch the bubble move around. The lighter irregular strip across the top is my bubble.

I priced a replacement as a Subaru part, but then learned that I could get a newer-design mirror with additional features (ie, Homelink) from many sources for a fraction of the price.

I found that many manufacturers offering factory-equipped auto-dim mirrors just use a mirror from the Gentex company as-is. I think it was 05 that Subaru began offering an auto-dim/compass mirror with Homelink buttons. That was available from Subie dealers as an upgrade kit, but I found the same mirror on ebay, brand new, from a seller specializing in mirrors, for almost half the price.

The original mirror in my car mounted with a "cam lock" type base (where you twist the mirror a quarter turn to free it from the mount), so I needed an adapter in order to install a mirror that uses a "wedge" base. Removing the original mount & gluing on a wedge mount seemed a bad idea (risk of glass breakage, uncertainty whether the replacement base would stay glued to the windshield) so I opted for an adapter from the same seller. Its a little clunky looking but its a commonly available adapter & it does the trick.

The original mirror had 3 wires going to it: 1) switched power, 2) ground, 3) a line that is +12 when you're in reverse to cancel any dimming & give you a clearer view to back up. Its easy enough to remove the overhead pod containing the map lights & sunroof switches, just be careful not to drop the screws as they could end up under the seat or fall into the console through the opening for the parking brake lever.

OnStar on an Outback is relatively uncommon, so I called out the components. It was marketed as standard on H6-equipped models in 03 & 04, although the base H6 wagon (cloth seats & no sunroof) might not have gotten it. To my knowledge it was never a standalone option. I never once used it & I'm pretty sure its analog hardware, making it basically obsolete these days.

The new mirror required an always hot +12 line (probably so the Homelink buttons can work without the key switched on) so I bugged that off the map light connector; that's the yellow wire. Just scope to see which is +12. Since the pod is plastic, the map lights can't ground to the body, so there's a ground wire in that connector, too. The red & black wires from the mirror are switched +12 & ground.

I was happy I didn't start by yanking out the original wiring harness that travels under the headliner & goes to the mirror, because I used it as a fish cord to pull the new harness through. The photo below is the original mirror's harness. I cut off the overhead connector & attached the new harness wires to it. In my car, blue=switched +12, green=+12 when in reverse, & black=ground.

I got my mirror on ebay from Greg who sells under the name "Wembleysells." He carries all manner of Gentex mirrors (in addition to auto-dim, they can include some or all of: compass, temp display, map lights, and OnStar controls), mostly new but some are used from late model vehicles. The included harness lacked a wire for the reverse cancel feature, but since my Outback had that feature originally I wanted to preserve it. I contacted Greg & he provided me with the wiring instructions & even sent me (at no extra charge) the wire with the special socket to be installed into the mirror connector.

If you're thinking of upgrading your own mirror, I wholeheartedly recommend this ebay seller (you should communicate your need for a reverse cancel wire in your harness; this wire is white & not shown in my photos above) I don't know if an Outback originally equipped with the manual mirror would have the wiring & connector present inside the overhead pod, but if you need to replace or upgrade your existing auto-dim mirror, its easy & relatively affordable to do so.

This mirror is Gentex model GENK45A. H501SAG100 is stamped into the mirror's back, & I found this was used as the Subie part # on some dealer part lookups.