I have a 2002 ls430UL millenium silver.
The other day I hit an extra tall pylon which knocked the passenger mirror to the folded position. I popped it back to the outward position but the glass portion was dangling by the wires. It looks like the plastic stalk that came out of the motor and attached to the glass snapped.
What is the cheapest way to fix this? Can the motor assembly be removed from the housing and replaced, or do I need a whole new mirror assembly? I'm selling the car soon to upgrade to an LS460 so I don't want to pour a lot of money into it.

 

Can you post some pictures of the damage?

 

Yes, the glass can be bought separately from the mirror shell. But it is still very expensive! You could try to find a used one from the junkyard.

But before you do, see if you can put the glass assembly back on. There are tabs on the bottom of the glass that snap on to secure it. They may have just come loose. I bought my car with the passenger side mirror glass dangling about. When trying to adjust the mirror by hand, the glass snapped back into position, and was able to adjust it electronically. But once in a while it pops out. One of the tabs is broken.

 

Everything is intact and fine except for the area I circled seems to have snapped off

 

Whoa!
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You might need to find a used mirror.

 

Used LS 430 mirror assembly and transfer the guts over to yours.

 

Not just ANY mirror, mind you. You need to find one that can be heated.

They are very expensive - better to find the mirror assembly used somewhere.

 

the mirror will still sit in the housing via the 2 threaded screws, but the motor can't move the mirror because of the broken plastic shaft. Thus it sits in there at an angle totally unusable to me. Weird thing is there is no damage to the housing, no scratch or dent

 

Is it possible to put plastic epoxy on the broken end of the shaft and snap the unit back together and let it set up?

 

I thought of that, but initially it looks like a small piece might be missing in the shaft. But I will definitely try to dismantle it all and see if that is an option.

 

I thought about that but since he plans to get rid of the car that would be leaving the problem for the next owner who might come in here trying to figure out what's wrong with their mirror.

 

My suggestion was intended to fix the problem, not just hid it cosmetically.