Heated door mirrors.

[182_blue]

We really shoud clear this up because nobody has a definitive answer lol.

all you need to know is they need to be turned on when you want to defrost your mirrors ( by just flicking the switch on your mirror adjuster to heated mirror), then when your done turn them off again 

[ub7rm]

On mine (05 plate) they are on when the mirror selector switch is in the centre - irrespective of the heated screen.  As said you can see steam when they are on.

This is same arrangement on the fiancee's polo - on in the centre position only.

[Gene Hunt]

On mine (05 plate) they are on when the mirror selector switch is in the centre - irrespective of the heated screen.  As said you can see steam when they are on.

This is same arrangement on the fiancee's polo - on in the centre position only.

............thanks guys.Mine is 05 as well so i'm shure it's the same as above. Car is always garaged so today didn't notice on the drive to work & i can't see any of the pics in the last few post's(works filters).I will see on the way home later.Thanks again.

[rdfcpete]

Mine are excellent and always work efficiently. Within about 3 minutes, whatever was frosting the mirror is gone.

As I understand it you must leave it in that position for the duration you want the mirror heaters to operate and also, the ignition must be on for this to function. The rear de-mister isn't required to be on for it to work.

[JPC]

i never knew you could twist the knob (oo err) around! thanks guys!

[Mako V12V]

We really shoud clear this up because nobody has a definitive answer lol.

all you need to know is they need to be turned on when you want to defrost your mirrors ( by just flicking the switch on your mirror adjuster to heated mirror), then when your done turn them off again 

Yes, whilst this is correct, i think there are some concerns that if the switch is left in the defrost position all the time, will they be on all the time resulting in potential damage or burn out? Or do they self-turn off after time? I know rear window demisters turn themselves off after a period.

[182_blue]

well the answer i have is only from a VW tech so believe what you will LOL, but i was told its best to just turn them on when needed, and off when done, when first turned on they heat at a certain temp, then this falls to a lesser heat after a couple of mins, they also apparantly only work when the ambient temp goes below a certain point, i guess until we know for sure then its really best just to turn them off 

[rdfcpete]

Yeah, I can't see that it's tricky to use or understand.
Flick it round to heated if the mirrors are steamed/frosted/covered in water. Once clear, flick the knob back round to 0. This won't take longer than 5 minutes in the worst of weathers so there's no need to leave it on once it's cleared.

That said, I've left mine on for a couple of short journeys before and I haven't noticed any sideaffects, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[Gene Hunt]

Yeah, I can't see that it's tricky to use or understand.
Flick it round to heated if the mirrors are steamed/frosted/covered in water. Once clear, flick the knob back round to 0. This won't take longer than 5 minutes in the worst of weathers so there's no need to leave it on once it's cleared.

That said, I've left mine on for a couple of short journeys before and I haven't noticed any sideaffects, so I wouldn't worry about it.

.......i'll give it a go on the way home,it's covered in snow now.   

[animal]

A lot of other cars run heated mirrors with the rear demister - My two Focus' worked that way and I know others do as well.

The reason it's good to turn them off is not so much damage but more to do with the high current they draw from the electrics, just like the rear demister. The mirror glass has an element in the back of it the same as the rear window.