Heated wing mirror not working?

[AlisonF]

We had a heavy frost the other night. Used the remote for the heater to defrost the van. Lovely. When I got in and started the engine I turned the knob for the wing mirrors to the heating setting (2 o’clock). A short while later the nearside mirror was steaming, drivers side no change. I got out and felt them both, the nearside mirror was very warm to the touch, the drivers side not at all...
Is there a smart way to check if the heating element is working? I was thinking of spraying some water onto each and time how long it takes to evaporate... is there anything better?
It looks like another warranty issue when the van goes in for service / MOT end of the month.

 

[Loz]

You’ll have to prise off the glass and put a meter on the terminals (assuming one hasn’t become disconnected.

a plastic spatular is good to evenly spread the load on the glass as you lever it off the ring clips.

 

[kurienp]

You’ll have to prise off the glass and put a meter on the terminals (assuming one hasn’t become disconnected.

a plastic spatular is good to evenly spread the load on the glass as you lever it off the ring clips.

Loz, is there a pic available which shows the clips behind the glass and how they are held ? May need to do it myself.

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[Loz]

give me min I have a photo somewhere. This is the Touareg mirror but they use the same clips.
if its cold, use a hair drier or hot air gun to warm the plastic as they can break, but a replacement clip ring is fairly cheap,

 

[kurienp]

give me min I have a photo somewhere. This the Touareg mirror but they use the same clips.
if its cold, use a hair drier or hot air gun to warm the plastic as they can break, but a replacement clip ring is fairly cheap,
View attachment 55134View attachment 55135

Thank you.

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[PeteS]

Hi
A simple way to check is to turn the heaters on and feel each mirror to see if they are heating up at the same rate. As you have a warranty I would not be checking anything more than that for fear of giving the warranty company a reason to reject any claim.

 

[AlisonF]

Hi
A simple way to check is to turn the heaters on and feel each mirror to see if they are heating up at the same rate. As you have a warranty I would not be checking anything more than that for fear of giving the warranty company a reason to reject any claim.

That was my thinking too - testing it non-intrusively. Either by touch, or with a simple spray of water on each and see how they dry...

 

[AlisonF]

Hi, I have the save problem with mine. What was the problem with yours.....how did you fix it? Mine isn't covered under warranty so I would be looking to see if I can sort it myself.
Any hints or tips/what to look for would be greatly appreciated. If not I will Google for a video.

TIA

Kevin

Mine was under warranty. One was almost working and the other not. Garage tested them and discovered neither were in spec so both were replaced. The differences was visible (steaming vapour on a cold morning).
There was a post in the last day or so on Lane Assist (where a driver took someone’s wing mirror) and it mentions how to take it off. I’ll see if I can re-find the post...

 

[AlisonF]

That would be great thank you

I’m trying but not having much success... will keep going...

 

[AlisonF]

Post #2 on this thread has a video which may help with removing the mirror. Not sure it fully answers your problem though. @NorthDevon

Side Assist not available

This warning appeared on my MFD just before I drove home from Snowdonia on Sunday. I think it said something like this, but with VW rather than Audi. Also a picture of two mirrors with radio waves passing between them. It reappeared over the course of the journey on a few occasions. When I...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[kurienp]

Not fully, but it's a good start on how to get it off....and fit a bottle opener
Thank you

Kevin, have you had the van for long and what exactly is the problem? Is it that one mirror is working and the other is not? If you've not had the van for long try one thing - when you start the van, move the mirror dial switch out of the heated setting and then turn it back to the heated mirror setting. This gets the relay working again and if all is well, it should clear up the mirrors quick.

 

[kurienp]

Hi, purchased the van used in December from a private buyer, so no warranty.
The passenger mirror clears any ice or moisture/condensation perfectly, but the drivers does not, it does melt any ice but does not clear any moisture or condensation.
I can only assume that it's not getting hot enough.
I will give this a go tomorrow, thank you.

I suspect that the mirror heating is working OK on both sides. Once the passenger mirror clears, then toggle the mirror heater switch once as advised earlier and see if that helps clear the drivers mirror as well.

The rationale for the above - in the case of my van, the passenger side mirror is away from the sun and therefore it gets more frost/cold weather and it takes longer to thaw. Is your driver side mirror in a relatively colder side when parked?

With the T6, to prevent the heaters from getting burnt/overheated/spolit, a relay kicks in after a while to switch the heating off. The toggle action reactivates this relay to continue to provide power.