Here are instructions for removing the mirror trim and the glass.

 

Update on the 0987 code:

I found a different ground point today that I failed to notice or clean last time, so I went to clean it today. I had my ratchet on loosen, and I went to remove the bolt and with barely any force at all the whole stud snapped right off. Needless to say I panicked for a minute, as it was the stud on the fender on the (US) driver’s side that’s welded directly to the metal. The only real fix would be to sand away the paint somewhere else on the fender and weld a new stud, which would obviously be ugly.

I also had to leave for work so after confirming the ground wasn’t for the SRS system to avoid an airbag blowing up in my face, I looked around the garage and found some locknuts and a spare screw laying around that matched the thread of my snapped off stud.

I had maybe 1.5 threads left on the remainder of the stud attached to the fender, so I threaded a locknut on there, slipped the ground to the top of a screw with a washer for a nice flat contact point, stuck another locknut below that to help constrict the two together without over torquing and stripping the tiny bit of factory thread I had left, and tightened it very slowly and carefully and hoped for the best.

I used all galvanized steel hardware, and shockingly I have since driven the car 50 miles with absolutely no issues, and no code has been stored since for the engine either!

I’m not 100% sure it’s fixed as of yet, but by far it’s the longest I’ve gone without getting that code stored so I’m fairly optimistic.

I know I’ll probably get some hate for fixing my issue this way, but as long as it works I’ll run it this way. If I can avoid sanding off my perfectly fine paint then I will.

If this ever happens to anybody else somehow, I’m going to attach a photo of how mine looks. Also, I did verify the major point of this ground was for the driver’s side SAM, so if I ever get a plethora of codes from that module, I’ll know that my rigged little homemade stud is probably not working as intended anymore.

As for the last code I have left for the mirror heater open circuit, I plan on investigating that in a few days. I ordered some stronger electrical contact cleaner called Deoxit D5S-6 as it’s supposedly a lot better than the CRC stuff I’ve always used, but it’s expensive and I had to order it online as no one carries it near me. Whenever I get that figured out, I will update on here too for anyone in the future who has this problem.

 

You could also drill and tap a hole of the correct size in place of or right next to the stud on the fender.

 

I could be wrong but I don’t think the fender is thick enough to hold any threads. It’s essentially just two pieces of sheet metal overlapped

 

Something like this. You're not cranking down on it; just enough so the bolt doesn't back out.

 

Noted. This will probably be what I do in the future for a more permanent repair. For now that will do.

I would still need to strip away the paint however though, right?

 

You could, but there is no paint on the threads. Continuity is through the bolt screwed into the unpainted threads and the bolt head. If you still think the metal is too thin, you can always screw a nut on the back side from within the wheel well.