Hi guys,
I recently prised my own door mirrors off and found both mirrors to be wired for heat, so to speak. This surprised me somewhat, as only one of them (driver's side RHD 2001 (X) A2 Petrol SE) had what I took to be an element visible in the mirror. So I took the mirrors off hoping for some neatly bundled wires to be clipped onto new heated mirrors. But no! Instead I got to see that both mirrors were already of the heated variety. I pushed one of the (2) sockets back onto the contact on the mirror body. The passenger side mirror had a goldish heating element (I think) visible on the back of the mirror, but as I said, nothing visible on the mirror side itself.
In summary, I did the following:
1. Used the power mirror toggle to get both mirrors pointing as far in to the vehicle as was possibe, so creating a finger size gap (if you aren't from Norfolk![7]).
2. Prised off mirrors by sliding my hand behind and waiting for them to 'pop' off the mounts, which contain the motors.
3. Checked that all four connecters (2 per side) were present (they were!) and made sure that they were all firmly seated in the sockets.
4. Pressed mirrors back onto mounting. This bit is a little tricky as you might think they're on, but push a little more in all corners to make sure.
4. Test the mirrors for movement/adjustability.
5. Not Complete: Wait for the temp to fall below 5c and see if I can tell any discernable difference.
I thought I should post the above to show I'd used the forum to track down info. With my responsible hat on, I'd still say the more long-winded method of removing the bottom part of the front cowling would be a more methodical way of checking whether your car is wired or not for heated mirrors.
That they've got 'em installed is yet another example of a thoughful, grownup feature for a wonderful little car.
Final Footnote: Weird thing is, I'm sure we had some frosts last winter and I don't remember the wing mirrors being clear of frost at any time prior to engine start up. But then I was religiously using de-icer before commencing any journey like a good little citizen. I'll be leaving the mirrors icy this year. Before the warranty runs out, ye understand!
Kind regards to all.
James
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2001 X Ebony Black 1.4 Petrol SE. Avec Grey Leather, Climate, Leccy Windows, First Aid kit + triangle, BOSE kick ass stezza upgrade and NO bl**dy spare wheel!