heated windscreen questions

[noahe]

Depends on where you locate the 'pass' and how the pass works. There are all kinds. Is it a barcode, a battery powered transponder, or wireless induction, like an anti-theft tag.

The thin wires on the heated windscreen should not interfere with as many devices as the gold film type.

[Cooper i Do]

I have a heated windscreen in my current Ford Mondeo.
It has not givven me any trouble whatsoever the last 2 years
This is: no trouble with police radar detection.
no trouble in italy with highway payments.
no trouble with phone.

I also wanted it on my mini but it was delayed so i had to order without it.
But as soon as i need to replace the windscreen i will install it.
Its 1 of the best investments i did on my current car.
Imagine an cold morning (minus 15 degrees) and cleaning your windows. Just start ya car wait for 30 seconds and drive away!!!!
Or a moisty day with wett clothes, you will have no fog on the screen inside

Catch Ya Later,

Cooper I Do

[Cape Cod MINI]

Will be interesting to see what the replacement cost of the heated windshield will be. It may drive up insurance costs.
The windshield on my GrandPrix GTP was over $900- to replace! I think part of that was something to do with the heads-up display. Thankful that in Massachusetts windshield are 100% covered by insurance with no deductable.

[Cooper i Do]

Hey Cape God

Here in the Netherlands it wont effect the insurance.
And about the costs; A good friend of my is the Dutch chief of CarGlass....always good to have friends you can use...


Catch Ya Later,

Cooper I Do

[apache]

Does anyone know, or has anyone looked into the possibility of having the heated windscrean retrofitted to a car that otherwise didn't come with that option?

Thanks in advance...

[ELISEBOY]

yeah i asked and was told that its not possible
same with the Xenons
not able to have those retro either

[Cooper i Do]

I will ask about that to
Remember a friend of my is a chief at CarGlass.
Cant be that hard to install a heated window.
Size is the same. Just put it in and connect the wires.
(this option will fill the gap i have).

Keep ya infomed soon.

Catch Ya Later,
Cooper I Do,

Still Counting!

[apache]

Quote:

--Original Message--

First name: Eric
Last name:

question/comment:
Is it true that the heated windshield, rain sensing wipers and auto-dimming mirror won't be available until Sept/Oct '02? If this is so, is it possible to add a heated windshield and rain sensing wipers if I buy my cooper before this date after-the-fact?

Is the reason for this merely for efficiency in production?

Thanks, Eric

Quote:

--Hi Eric, thanks for writing in.

I'm sorry to say that yes, the heated windshield, rain-sensing wipers, and auto-dimming mirrors aren't available yet. We expect these options to be available for the 2003 model year, which corresponds to this coming fall.

This delay is a result of an outside supplier issue, my apologies again for the inconvenience.

It's a very involved process. The best person to speak to about this would be your MINI dealer service manager. They would be able to answer whether it is possible to add these features after the fact.

LET'S MOTOR.
Jen Schuelke
MINI Division
Customer Relations

So I then posed the question to Jacque at Tom Bush MINI, figuring she is selling a lot of cars and must have an answer...

Quote:

...To the response of retro fitting. I wish I could say yes, but unfortunatly unless MINI comes out with these items as accs. it will not be possible. SORRY!!! Call or email if you need anything else.

Jacque

--
Jacqueline Rowland
MINI Client Advisor
Internet Sales Consultant
Tom Bush MINI
Jacksonville, Florida
email: jrowland@tombush.com

Well, still no difinitive answer. So I called the service manager at Tom Bush (didn't recall his name) but he confirmed an answer for me. It went something like this...

"Anything is possible. It all depends on how much money you want to spend."

Well true, but I am expecting to spend about the same as having a window replaced if it were to brake...obviously the upcharge for the heated windscrean, rumoured at ~900.00 (that is a speculative price) and installation. So my real question then to the service manager was..."Does BMW/MINI use a standard wiring harness for all models of the cooper?"

and the answer..."No, BMW does not use a universal wiring harness for each model...if you don't have a heated windshield, you're not going to have the necessary wiring terminations and linkage to 'plug-and-play' (if I can use that term) a heated windscrean into a car that otherwise did not have one."

Ugh...I would buy a MINI right now if I could retro fit this...of course anything is possible, but even the BMW guy told me you'd be spending maybe close to $2,000 to get it done after the fact...! WOW, I think I'll wait till MY2003.

Unfortunately, it looks like the same is going to be true for fog lights, driving lights and as mentioned xenon lights...I was even thinking maybe the wires for the rear fog would be there...but nope...it sounds like BMW prefers to make custom harnesses for every car based on options...

maybe if they standardized the wiring harness, they could get our coopers to us faster...and spare some time to give all the options and colors we want...just a thought...efficiency in production usually starts with modularization...can't complain too much though...the entire dash assembly is actually maid off site and then plunked into car with everything already attached...that was smart...kudos to MINI...

NOW keep thinking in that direction so we all can be MOTORING soon...

[ELISEBOY]

thats one option that i wont be retro fitting then when it finally comes out

[ezrally]

I'm bringing this thread up again for all the new MINI2

members out there and any more "new" info...