I have a 2011 Clubman Cooper D which I picked up last week, it is a used car and as such I wasn't wholly convinced that the spec he was telling me was the spec I actually got (non BMW/MINI dealer). Reasons for my doubt included not knowing if it was alarmed (found it last week it was when I left my sunroof open!) and also for not knowing if the tyres were run flats or not... the chap also didn't know how to start the engine at first either so I knew his Mini knowledge was just as lacking as my own but never the less he helped as much as he could and was very polite in doing so.
Any back to the question - how do you know if your mirrors are actually heated or not?
Difficult - they aren't heated very much so they take a while to clear of condensation, say a minute or so. Once clear they always stay clear, so I think they are continuously heated.
But if you sit there waiting for them to clear, they make take long enough that you think they aren't heated!
There's no other sign that the mirrors are heated, as far as I'm aware.
If the mirrors are heated, I think the washer jets are too (again not a lot) so you could try opening the bonnet and looking for electrical connections to the washer jets - if so, you have heated jets/mirrors.
I had a quick look under the bonnet tonight to check for cabling and there does seem to be an electrical cable of some sort coming from the direction of the washer jets but I cannot fully confirm that as all of the washer jet gubbings are covered up by a heat shield of some sort...
Well this morning is the first time my wing mirrors were misted up and within about 2/3 minutes of driving they were fully cleared but still had a few small droplets of water on so I am guessing that my mirrors are heated...
I suppose you need a frost to be absolutely sure they are working, misting due to overnight dampness will clear pretty fast with the airflow as you drive especially if the mirror glass has any sort of polish / wax remnants on the surface.
You would hope that a car fitted with bluetooth & USB, climate control, cruise control, parking sensors, mood lighting and a DAB radio module would at least have heated mirrors...
I swear even my first car had them (Citroen Saxo) and that's going back a few years now!
My bottom of the range Megane estate 2006 that I just traded in for the Clubbie had them and the best 'gadget' that had was air con
i didnt think mine were heated untill one broke and when i opened it up and it has wires for heating connected to the glass back. you maybe be able to tell by that
i know this is an older thread but its a tip worth mentioning anyway
but what i am not 100% sure of on the mini as i have never felt the need to check or not is if the heated wingmirrors are always heated from engine start or if they are only heated on command ?
( i know my mini has heated wingmirrors as i have seen the steam coming off em in winter )
now for that there tip i mentioned lol - if your heated wingmirrors do not seem to be heating up no matter how long you have been driving then they may need switching on & on my last car this meant switching on the heated rear window ( actually, its the same on my works van & that aint got any rear windows to heat but it still has the switch so you can fire up the wing mirrors if needed lol )
the main reason i have never felt the need to check is because the only times so far i have had foggy/iced wing mirrors i have also had an iced up rear window so on went the heated rear window, one day i may pop my hand out the window & see if the mirror gets toasty without the heated rear window on or not, but its in the same category as knowing if the heated washer jets are working or not, they may well be but the screenwash is still frozen in the pipework for a good long while anyway so not really helpful even if they are on all the time lol
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