Does anyone know if the heated side mirrors are always on, or if they only come on when the outside temperature is below a certain level, or something else?

I had heated mirrors in my 1998 Audi A4...the heating elements were prone to burning out because they were always on, I'm just wondering it we'll have that problem with the RX-8.

 

Heated mirrors that I saw so far were turned on together with the rear defroster. It seems logical to do this instead of keeping them on all the time. Are you sure they were not broken in your Audi? :p

 

yes in the manual it says that the mirrors get heated when the rear defroster is turned on. page 3-26.

 

I didn't even know we had that option

 

LOL! Mikeb wants to know if you can post pics...:D Just kiddin Mike....Rock on!

 

good one 8th
I do have a sense of humor

 

Does anyone knows if the mirror heater also present in the AUSTRALIAN models?

 

Another thing about Heated mirrors don't take a scrapper to them you'll be sorry as it damages them. And thats just enough to void replacement with warranty. But yes the R.Defroster switch is how to turn them on/off.

 

You are joking - do you get frost down there? I thought only Tazmania and the top of the snowy mountains would be likely. Certainly anywhere else and you'd want refridgerated mirrors!

It was roasting when I did Melbourne to Sydney and back by road the March before last. Wonderful place, wanted to stay. But all those speed cameras and traffic cops anywhere near population these days, lucky you have the outback to open up on.

Cheers
---Dave

 

I can tell you they work wonderfully!

 

Mine never burned out, but a lot of people had this problem. I agree it is logical for them to be tied to the rear defroster switch; in my opinion it was a design flaw in the 1998 A4 that they were always on. I wonder if they changed it in later model years?

 

Later years of the A4, yes, but the mirrors on the Audi TT have always been on full time since the model introduction; it's cheaper than adding a thermostatic control or the wiring to control the power via the defroster switch.