Just when I thought I'd understood this...it seems I hadn't after all.

I have a 62-plate MY12 GS. It has black plastic mirrors which I don't like very much so I thought I'd investigate some mirror covers. I know they're not to everyone's taste but I quite like the "bright finish" replacement covers that LR offer as accessories - part no VPLMB0041.

Investigations indicated that the design of the mirror changed in 2010 to enable the top half to be removed and replaced with these covers. So far so good.

Powerful UK even have a handy video on their website showing how to fit them and illustrating the differences between the old mirror design (without the removeable top part) and the new design. I didn't take much notice of the difference because they were, apparently, modified in 2010 - 2 whole years before my car was built.

Imagine my surprise when I've now gone outside and looked at my mirrors to find they are not the new style after all, but the old type which have a very definite single piece back to them.

WTF is going on? Has anyone else got the same? I'm much less keen on the stick-on type of mirror covers but, for some reason which I can't understand, it may be the only option.

Was my car made from spare parts that they found down the back of the sofa or what?

Oh dear I doubt they will change them for you probably surplus stock or someone had an accident and replaced them with those ? When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car

Talk to your dealer a.s.a.p. You are under the original warranty and are therefore holding all the cards, not to mention that there is technically a breach of S.13 of SOGA. I'm off again  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Is your car definitely a MY12 car?

And not a MY10 car that was sat on a runway for 2 years before it was registered and sold as a 62 plate car?

TOPix will tell you the build date if you register and feed in your VIN.

I have been bitten before - in my "yoof" I bought a '98 Fiesta that had delivery mileage, only to discover that it had been built two years previously as surplus stock, and had been sitting in a compound for two years. It was then bought, registered by the dealer and sold to me as a '98 car.

I looked into this, and it seems that even new MY13 cars have the old style mirrors (Pre-MY11). Looks like colour coded SD4s and new MY13 XS, Dynamic and HSE all have the new shape mirrors with colour coded covers. But cars with TD4 engines (not fully colour coded) have the old style mirrors.

Why would LR bother buying to different styled mirrors? Unless there is some stock lying around somewhere?

Definitely a MY12 car - TOPIx build date is 19th Sept 2012.

This does seem a ridiculous situation if LR are, even now, fitting two different types of mirror. Even more so as all the indications I've seen so far from suppliers suggest that all cars changed in 2010. This eBay listing for the 'old style' stick on shiny bits (from an actual LR dealer) illustrates the point perfectly - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Freel...510wt_1091 - clearly says Freelander 2 up to 2010. And vice versa this for the later style mirror - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Range...275wt_1091

Really irritating this. Grrr.

Is the visor on the top as you look down, straight or a definite arc , the straight visor is the later type, arc is the older p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Definitely arced. And looking closely at the edge of the mirror housing where the horizontal groove is you can clearly see that it's a one-piece moulding.

Grrr (again).

I say this as the the ones who tow, found that certain mirrors did not clamp so well to the earlier type but the later shape with the straight visor was much better, they later type was also slightly larger.
They are still the original mirrors on it  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Just looking at my mirrors this afternoon (MY 2013 GS) and mine seem to be the old style (like my old MY 2007) with a curved front edge profile and one piece shell.

Anyone managed to fit any chrome top half covers to a MY 2013 Freelander and if so where did you get them from?  Gone:
2002 FL1 TD4 GS Zambezi Silver
2007 FL2 TD4 GS Izmir Blue

Been there! Did my head in when trying to sort out a new mirror assembly after a truck going the other way removed my mirror. In the end I gave up and took it to the dealer. 2013 RR Evoque Pure Tech
2012 TD4 GS Auto Orkney Grey - gone

All this talk about 'old stock' is purely a myth. If people understood the modern ways of car manufacture, car companies don't buy a stock of parts and then use them up, parts are bought in to the factory on a 'just in time' basis.

For example, if a Freelander has just gone into build, the car will be painted and assembly started before the interior has even been delivered to the factory.

There may be many reasons why newer cars will have the older mirrors. Specs change all the time and the new and old mirrors may come from different suppliers. If the supplier of the newer mirror type is working at full capacity, LR will turn to another supplier for plan in a spec change for lower models to get the old type mirror.

It won't be a case of the next few cars will have the older mirror.

The other alternative here is that someone may have damaged the mirrors and fitted older versions, but I would say this is unlikely. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........