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Mirror defrost?

southpawboston

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
The manual states that the heat to the mirrors is higher in the first two minutes after being turned on. It states nothing about leaving them on for too long. What happens if you forget to turn them off after a few minutes? Will the heating elements eventually burn out? Does the central electronics know enough to reduce or stop the power to them?

On all my previous cars, mirror defrost has been linked with rear window defrost, which is on a timer. I never had to think about switching it off. I prefer this to VW's setup which requires you to shut the defrost off manually.
 
Last edited:
A

adam1991

Banned
Location
USA
This. 1000% this. I accidentally left mine on for a couple of days last week. Curious to know the long term effects.

Absolutely, link mirror defrost to rear window defrost function. Not rocket science. It's as if VW has never looked at any of the competition to get common sense ideas.

It even saves them hardware costs if they do this.
 
fretburnr

fretburnr

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago, IL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
My e46's heated mirrors are always on when the car is running, by design. Maybe newer systems are set up differently, but they still work great 15 years later.
 
southpawboston

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
Since the manual states that the power will be higher during the first two minutes, it suggests that it is electronically controlled. Therefore, I wonder if there is a code adaptation that can be applied via OBDeleven, for example, discontinue power after xx minutes.
 
southpawboston

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
Well, I found this after some more searching:

heiney9 said:
Heated mirror's are turned on using the switch for adjustment. Turn it 180* to the setting with the heat wave markings. They should auto turn off after about 10-15 minutes. I believe if you leave the switch in that position the mirror heaters will come on every time you stop and then start again.
Click to expand...

I did not find this bit of info in the owner's manual, so I am perplexed. When my Euro ashpherical mirrors arrive I'll do a voltage test before fastening the new ones to see if this is actually the case.
 
southpawboston

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
Well, I found this after some more searching:

heiney9 said:
Heated mirror's are turned on using the switch for adjustment. Turn it 180* to the setting with the heat wave markings. They should auto turn off after about 10-15 minutes. I believe if you leave the switch in that position the mirror heaters will come on every time you stop and then start again.
Click to expand...

I did not find this bit of info in the owner's manual, so I am perplexed. When my Euro ashpherical mirrors arrive I'll do a voltage test before fastening the new ones to see if this is actually the case.
 
southpawboston

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
These are the only bits of information provided in the manual:

Switch on outside mirror heating. Heats only at outside air temperatures below +68 °F (+20 °C).
Click to expand...

To reduce fuel consumption, use outside mirror heating only when needed.
Click to expand...

When first switched on, outside mirror heating works with maximum heat for about 2 minutes.
Click to expand...

No info about a timer.
 
southpawboston

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
These are the only bits of information provided in the manual:

Switch on outside mirror heating. Heats only at outside air temperatures below +68 °F (+20 °C).
Click to expand...

To reduce fuel consumption, use outside mirror heating only when needed.
Click to expand...

When first switched on, outside mirror heating works with maximum heat for about 2 minutes.
Click to expand...

No info about a timer.
 
Finglonga

Finglonga

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Stafford, UK, Earth, Solar System.
Mine are on most the time as I can't be bothered to turn the switch. They have been fine for 4+ years and they are always warm to the touch so never fully turn off on a timer.
 
nype

nype

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
Finglonga said:
Mine are on most the time as I can't be bothered to turn the switch. They have been fine for 4+ years and they are always warm to the touch so never fully turn off on a timer.
Click to expand...



Lucky. Clearly the sole driver...
 
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