Heated Wing Mirrors and Heater washer jets

[moley147]

Sorry for the Newbie thread. This topic has probably been covered already but after reading through 30+ threads I still have questions.

So here goes......

I have a 2008 S3

I have heard members say that their heated wing mirrors dont activate until 12 degrees and some at 5 degrees.........so I waited until today due to the unseasonably warm weather to see if they work. I have tried at other times but it never seemed to do anything.

Anyway today the DIS came up with the frost symbol and it 5 degrees outside. I pushed the switch forward and that was it no light or anything. My mirror wasn't frosted or misted up and I dont know whether its working or not. If it worked then I couldn't tell. I dont want to leave it until I really need it. If somethings wrong then I'd want it fixed before the big freeze.

Is the heated mirror logo supposed to light up when its working and/or switched on?

Is 5 degrees too warm?

Is it just a manual thermal switch that controls whether it turns on or not?

Also how are the heated jet washers activated. I like the idea of them but I dont want to rely on them and find out that the wont defrost a windscreen. Are they any good?

 

[warren_S5]

When its cold enough to put the 5 degree logo on the DIS, put them on, leave them for 3-4 minutes and then open the window and feel the mirror glass. If you have heating it should feel warm to the touch. Does your mirror adjustment joystick on the driver door have a heated mirror logo on it at 12 o'clock position?

 

[mike foster]

Heated washers won't defrost the windscreen ! They're only heated to stop the jets blocking.

You should have the screen demister on to help defrost after scraping thick ice and freeing the wipers.

 

[moley147]

When its cold enough to put the 5 degree logo on the DIS, put them on, leave them for 3-4 minutes and then open the window and feel the mirror glass. If you have heating it should feel warm to the touch. Does your mirror adjustment joystick on the driver door have a heated mirror logo on it at 12 o'clock position?

Yes it has the heated mirror logo at 12 o'clock.

Is it supposed to light up when activated or does it stay unlit and just work off a timer until a set time?

I'll try touching the mirror as well. Thanks

Heated washers won't defrost the windscreen ! They're only heated to stop the jets blocking.

You should have the screen demister on to help defrost after scraping thick ice and freeing the wipers.

Right so its just to keep the jets unblocked. I'm glad I asked the question now before the big freeze.

Cheers

Ian

 

[mike foster]

Before it gets really cold make sure you have at least 50/50 water to washer fluid mix otherwise you can get problems with washer pipes popping off (particularly the rear one) which will cause all sorts of problems not to mention a new wiper motor !!

 

[NHN]

May need to code the door modules to activate it, also check if the glass is heated, for an S3 ****** should be.

 

[Minstadave]

Don't you need the rear windscreen heater activated to heat the mirrors too? You do on my 05 model anyway.

 

[moley147]

Heated mirrors are working but I had heated rear window turned on.

I'll try again tonight without the heated rear window being off to see if they work.

At least these 2 queries have been answered.

So I presume the heated mirrors will not work at all if the left/heated/right mirror switch is NOT on the heated mirror central setting. Is this right?

I'm really enjoying the S3......much better than my CTR

 

[S3 Dave]

Not to sound patronising but it tells u the function of the mirrors in the hand book.
They activate when in the central position for a given length of time.
U shouldn't need the rear screen on.
They are known to feck up check fuses etc.
by the time your cars at 90 degrees they should be clear if they are working.

 

[FranA3]

heated mirrors on mine works with out the rear window switched on , also i thought all A3's has heated washer jets as standard plus heated mirrors as standard mine has them both on a 54 plate

 

[moley147]

Not to sound patronising but it tells u the function of the mirrors in the hand book.
They activate when in the central position for a given length of time.
U shouldn't need the rear screen on.
They are known to feck up check fuses etc.
by the time your cars at 90 degrees they should be clear if they are working.

I have checked the manual.............both the quick guide and the full manual.

My CTR had a switch to turn the heated mirrors and thats where the confusion lay. I wouldn't think a heating element would be continuously on due to potential burn out. The quick quide just states thats its the heated mirror when set to central but as its a switch and I thought heated mirrors shouldn't be on continuously that it must be operated by the switch. The full guide states 'Heated Mirrors' but adds that its dependant on outside temperature but nowhere does it state that its only on for finite length of time so it must be on continuously.

I checked last night on a 40+ mins drive and the heated mirrors were on all the time and didn't need the heated rear screen on either.

So either all A3/S3 have heated mirrors that operate slightly differently from each other or a few people on this thread dont know exactly how their mirrors operate.

So now I know how they operate. Heated mirrors are always on if set to 'Heated Mirror' on switch (and if outside temperature is low enough) and it doesn't matter if the Heated Rear Window is on.

Good tip about the fuses, I'll look out for that if I have any problems.

Thanks for the help. Sorry about this confused newbie thread.