[The_Tok'Ra]

So in the owners handbook, the only reference to the car even having heated exterior mirrors is this:-

" Automatic Heating.... If required, both exterior mirrors are automatically heated when drive-ready state is switched on."

OK, so what are the conditions that trigger automatic mirror heating, other than a "drive-ready state" Which I assume means that the engine must be running.

Where I stay, condensation in the mornings is very, very common. Does the car have a humity sensor that will trigger the heating element in the mirrors when humidity is at a certain level?

[paulockenden]

They are a bit pathetic - they take ages to demist. I think it’s just tied to outside temperature, but I’m not sure how cold it needs to be for them to come on. Older beemers used to have it tied in with the rear window demister, and were much more powerful. My old E60 used to steam within a minute or two. The G21 takes about 10 minutes before you notice anything at all, and much longer to fully clear.

[The_Tok'Ra]

Originally Posted by paulockenden

They are a bit pathetic - they take ages to demist. I think it’s just tied to outside temperature, but I’m not sure how cold it needs to be for them to come on. Older beemers used to have it tied in with the rear window demister, and were much more powerful. My old E60 used to steam within a minute or two. The G21 takes about 10 minutes before you notice anything at all, and much longer to fully clear.

Ah!!, Thanks, but that's terrible! My commute is only 15 mins LOL! The mirrors on my Octavia cleared within 2 to 3 minutes, even when it was freezing. So I might have to ice scrape my mirrors often then since we generally have 3 months of often bellow 4°C up here.

I really hope they are better the colder it gets, or I'll need to start the car and leave it running with the doors locked for a while before I go to work early in the mornings. Wasting fuel, and not exactly saving the planet

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by The_Tok'Ra

Ah!!, Thanks, but that's terrible! My commute is only 15 mins LOL! The mirrors on my Octavia cleared within 2 to 3 minutes, even when it was freezing. So I might have to ice scrape my mirrors often then since we generally have 3 months of often bellow 4°C up here.

I really hope they are better the colder it gets, or I'll need to start the car and leave it running with the doors locked for a while before I go to work early in the mornings. Wasting fuel, and not exactly saving the planet

Just be careful what you do or don't do to the mirror glasses. I can personally vouch for how unbelievably complex they appear to be from the bloody shattered one I have in my garage! They appear to comprise of several composite layers have electrical connections to a circuit board and some sort of microchip embedded in them and the 'auto dimming' bit appears to be a layer within the glass substrate which is a liquid would you believe. Trust me, you really, really don't want to damage the glass in any shape or form because a replacement is an incredible eye-watering price of £344 + VAT !

[The_Tok'Ra]

Originally Posted by bmnut

Just be careful what you do or don't do to the mirror glasses. I can personally vouch for how unbelievably complex they appear to be from the bloody shattered one I have in my garage! They appear to comprise of several composite layers have electrical connections to a circuit board and some sort of microchip embedded in them and the 'auto dimming' bit appears to be a layer within the glass substrate which is a liquid would you believe. Trust me, you really, really don't want to damage the glass in any shape or form because a replacement is an incredible eye-watering price of £344 + VAT !

I can see me buying one of those windscreen covers that have ears that go over the mirrors as well then

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by The_Tok'Ra

I can see me buying one of those windscreen covers that have ears that go over the mirrors as well then

Yup! That would be a good call mate!

Not quite as brutal the winter temperatures down here in the North East and we're fortunate enough to have both cars garaged. So never have much of an issue with needing to defrost our cars unlike most of our neighbours, poor buggers!

[josh101uk]

To be honest I wasn't aware the exterior mirrows had automatic heating?

Still tied to the rear windscreen heating for manual use, but I also find they take a while to heat up.

[Riccardog]

Traditionally BMWs have had heated mirrors and washer nozzles since the early 00's (I think, don't quote me on that!). They activate under a certain ambient temperature, I think its 3 deg C.

One of the many BMW features which they don't really boast about. A bit like the residual heat function or dipping mirror. I suppose these days people care more about CarPlay etc!

[djcowlin]

Mine clear condensation on chilly mornings quite quickly.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by Riccardog

Traditionally BMWs have had heated mirrors and washer nozzles since the early 00's (I think, don't quote me on that!). They activate under a certain ambient temperature, I think its 3 deg C.

One of the many BMW features which they don't really boast about. A bit like the residual heat function or dipping mirror. I suppose these days people care more about CarPlay etc!

Further back than the 00's though, more like the 90's as far as the 3 series is concerned, used to be an option!
What's 'CarPlay'?....is that going for an enjoyable country road blast!!!

[The_Tok'Ra]

Now that it's bit colder up here, I am finding that the mirrors clear faster, and that the demisters work better too.

Spoke to the detailer today about getting my stone chips finally sorted and I mentioned to him that large water dropplets just seem to hang onto both the paintwork and the windscreen and side windows and he thinks that the dealer has probably applied some sort of spray on wax and that's what's causing the water dropplets to just stick to the surfaces rather than just beading away. He'll deal with that on Friday after he's fixed the stone chips.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by The_Tok'Ra

Now that it's bit colder up here, I am finding that the mirrors clear faster, and that the demisters work better too.

Spoke to the detailer today about getting my stone chips finally sorted and I mentioned to him that large water dropplets just seem to hang onto both the paintwork and the windscreen and side windows and he thinks that the dealer has probably applied some sort of spray on wax and that's what's causing the water dropplets to just stick to the surfaces rather than just beading away. He'll deal with that on Friday after he's fixed the stone chips.

Sounds like all is moving forward then?

[The_Tok'Ra]

Originally Posted by bmnut

Sounds like all is moving forward then?

Yes, hopefully the detailer will be able to make those chips a whole lot less noticeable. He will be removing some of the paint I touched in as it's just not curing properly due to the wet weather we have now.

If he does a good job I'll ask him to gtechniqu ceramic coat the wheels for me too, and a few other little jobs.

Seems a nice helpful, friendly guy, and at least the dealer is covering the cost of getting the stone chip work done as they said they would.

I have no idea what the dealer actually applied to my cars bodywork and glass, but is seems more Hydrophilic than hydrophobic.

Even when I'm driving at 35 - 40 mpg the water dropplets just hang onto the bodywork. I can see the larger dropplets wobbling round on the bonnet as I drive. It's weird!

This is partly when I'm seeing so much condensation on the windscreen in the mornings too.

[Riccardog]

Originally Posted by bmnut

Further back than the 00's though, more like the 90's as far as the 3 series is concerned, used to be an option!
What's 'CarPlay'?....is that going for an enjoyable country road blast!!!

As a teenager in the 90's waiting to get my license, my dream was to buy a brand new E36 coupe. This dream could only have attained by "Parental Bank" funding. I'd therefore spend endless hours poring over the brochure, deliberating on each single option and whether it would be necessary or not in a bid to keep costs reasonable therefore making the dream attainable.

Those were the days when you'd have like 3 levels just for the on-board computer! Heated washer nozzles were also an option.

I think many options became standard on the next generation E46, which is what I was alluding to above. Many E36s from the 90's may not have been specced with those "fancy" options, so I thought I play it safe and say from the '00s

Alas, the E36 was never to be and a second hand Fiat Punto - for which I was extremely grateful - took its place. It was only with the G21 that I finally managed to buy a brand new 3 series, but by then options had become 5x "packs" only. At least the "Parental Bank" purchased a new E91 a few years earlier, which enabled me to eventually play the options game (you could still chose several dozen options in the mid '00s).

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by Riccardog

As a teenager in the 90's waiting to get my license, my dream was to buy a brand new E36 coupe. This dream could only have attained by "Parental Bank" funding. I'd therefore spend endless hours poring over the brochure, deliberating on each single option and whether it would be necessary or not in a bid to keep costs reasonable therefore making the dream attainable.

Those were the days when you'd have like 3 levels just for the on-board computer! Heated washer nozzles were also an option.

I think many options became standard on the next generation E46, which is what I was alluding to above. Many E36s from the 90's may not have been specced with those "fancy" options, so I thought I play it safe and say from the '00s

Alas, the E36 was never to be and a second hand Fiat Punto - for which I was extremely grateful - took its place. It was only with the G21 that I finally managed to buy a brand new 3 series, but by then options had become 5x "packs" only. At least the "Parental Bank" purchased a new E91 a few years earlier, which enabled me to eventually play the options game (you could still chose several dozen options in the mid '00s).

...the same as I went through only 10 years earlier in the 80's !!!!