Well; Lots of w's possibilities on this one.This is a tough one to quote over the phone.Have not seen car yet,Since i have not replaced one of these before,i could use a little help in distinguishing the right w/s for this car.They do have rain sensor.We are not sure on any of the other features.There is a little red light attached to the bottom of the rear-view mirror(anti-theft)?How do you know if it's infra-red?Customer sure does'nt know.Too many times i call the dealer with vin#,it shows one thing and the car is something completely different(have had past arguments over this too).I would also like to know if there are any secrets to the replacement.

Karl

Sounds an Electrachromatic Mirror.

I always get the Vin# and call the dealer. They can look it up and give you the part#. Then you can cross refrence it to see if it's available aftermarket. Otherwise your pretty much guessing.

We learned the hard way first one we did w/rain sensor. Did exactly what previous post said, got OE part number from dealer, cross-referenced to NAGS number and ordered from PPG. OE w/s has a blue-ish glass-like attachment for the rain sensor that (unsurprisingly) is not attached to aftermarket w/s's. Why PPG and Pilk make these w/o that is a mystery. My advice is save yourself a bunch of time and just get the OE part, once you see it you'll know what I mean. The w/s also slides underneath the cowl and fenders/hood and may take two to set, the left wiper post is a huge fight to get off unless you have that Snap-on Wiper puller talked about in previous posts.

Must get thru dealer as aftermarkets are no good. See if dealer part number is written on glass. I have found this before. Call another dealer and see what part number they come up with to cross reference it with the dealership you are purchasing it thru.
Good luck!

Thanks to all.Looks like I'm getting a dealer part.

Ditto on the dealer part. Give them the VIN to decode. The first one we did, the dealer even got the part wrong. No problems since.

I have been buying from a BMW dealer for years. They always treated me well. There was a change in parts people. I called for a price from them and got a price $100.00 higher than the dealer list in GlassMate. I called another dealer and bought it from them as they didn't try to gouge me. This happens with all dealers especially Ford and MOP. Call 3 dealers and get 3 different prices. Watch them all.

Excellent point Lee! Not all dealers are created equal!!

I just read your question and these might help you.
1) the red button on the bottom of the mirror is an adjustment knob not a sensor.
2) Most 5 series & 3 series do not come through with infrared unless it is special ordered. Infrared is a polerized charged screen that helps keep the sun light at a minimum. 90% of all 7 series have infrared & heated glass.
3) You must keep the windshield set the same way the factory set it, another words don't re-engineer the car. If the factory sets the windshield on 3/16" setting blocks then set it back on these blocks, there is a reason they use these things.