What is a rearview mirror button?
Reviewed by the Skyview Auto Glass technical team — NWRD-, ASE- and DINITROL-trained technicians · Updated November 2026
Quick answer
A rearview mirror button is the small metal tab bonded to the windshield that the mirror slides onto. The button is glued to the glass, and the mirror attaches to the button, so a failed bond drops the mirror without damaging the pane. A replacement windshield arrives from the maker with its button already bonded in the right spot.
What is the metal tab on my windshield?
Look where the rearview mirror meets the glass and you will find a small metal slug, usually a quarter-sized flat tab, bonded directly to the windshield. That is the mirror button, sometimes called the mirror base or mount. The mirror itself does not touch the glass; its slide or clip mechanism locks onto the button, and the button carries the mirror’s weight.
The two-part arrangement exists for good reasons. It lets the mirror be removed in seconds when the windshield is replaced, without prying at the glass, and it puts the adhesive joint on a small, flat, controlled surface instead of on the mirror’s complicated back. The button is bonded with a dedicated rearview adhesive at exactly the right spot, which is more precise than it looks.
That spot matters. The mirror must sit at the designed height and lateral position, clear of the sensor and camera housings that often share the area, and out of the driver’s sightline. On a new windshield the button is bonded at the factory, in the position the vehicle maker specified, so the mirror goes back on exactly where it came off.
Why did my mirror button come off?
Age, heat, and a weak original bond are the usual causes, and a hard slam or an impact on the mirror finishes the job. The pane is almost always fine; only the adhesive joint let go. Our guide on reattaching a rearview mirror covers the repair properly.
Mirror button myths
The mirror is glued straight to the glass.
The button is glued to the glass and the mirror locks onto the button. Separating the two is what makes mirror removal and windshield replacement clean jobs.
Any strong glue will reattach the button.
The joint needs a dedicated rearview adhesive, correctly cured, on cleaned surfaces. General-purpose glues tend to fail with heat and vibration, and a mirror falling at highway speed is a hazard.
A new windshield needs the old button transferred.
Replacement panes come with a button bonded at the factory, in the specified position. The old button stays with the old glass, and the mirror simply slides onto the new one.
More questions about mirror buttons
Does a new windshield come with a mirror button?
Yes. The pane arrives with its button already bonded in the position the vehicle maker specifies, so the mirror remounts at the correct height without any gluing during the replacement visit.
Can I drive with the mirror hanging by its wire?
Not safely and not legally in most places. A dangling mirror blocks a required view and can drop onto the dash. If the button has let go, the mirror should be reattached before the next drive; the repair itself is a short job.
Why not bond the button somewhere more out of the way?
The position is engineered. It clears the camera and sensor housings that share the mirror area, keeps the mirror in the driver’s designed field of view, and leaves room for the mirror to adjust. Moving it by hand risks blocking a sensor or the sightline.
Related guides
More in Glass types and features
Need auto glass service?
Skyview Auto Glass has 191 shops across Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, each offering in-shop and mobile service. Call us or book a visit — same-day service is often available.