Hi everyone,

 

quick question, my new A3 black edition is supposed to have heated wing mirrors as standard equipment.  I have tried to use them a couple of times to clear fogged up wing mirrors and nothing appears to happen ?  I have checked the manual and it says "dependent upon ambient temperature? for operation.

 

Is there a minimum temperature it has to be for them to operate ?

 

thanks

 

I believe so Greg - something like 5 degrees. 
I do understand your frustration if that is so. Our non-Audi does the same, and you do need to clear them of mist. 
The 2006 A3 appears to demise them at any temperature, but latest one - probably not, but I could be wrong. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

thanks Gareth 

I have exactly the same problem. The dealer says they have never heard of this and the mirrors must be faulty. It’s booked in next Thursday but I think I’m going to be told it’s an ambient temperature issue which is stated in the handbook! Very poor visibility in wet weather if that’s the case though! Let’s see. 

Thanks Sam,

Please keep us up to date on the outcome.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Thanks Gareth, I will . 

Car was in Dealer today. They say they cannot fix my problem and have ordered a new controller switch. I asked if this was an older version of the switch in order to bypass the temperature control but they were very deliberate in avoiding that situation only saying that a new switch is on order and that would fix the issue. The technician agreed with me at the start of the process that they were not working this morning in 12degrees and the rain droplets were visible even after a 20 min drive into the dealership. 

Glad you're getting it sorted 🙂

I have a A3 Sport just three weeks old and the mirrors don't clear. I am awaiting the colder weather to see if they operate below the 5 degrees mentioned in an earlier post. On reading the manual I note that you have to have the control knob on the door panel in the correct position for the heating process to work and also it states that the heating is  outside temperature dependent.

Hello Betty, you are experiencing exactly the same issue as I have. My gripe is that in rainy weather the mirrors should clear when switched on . Audi are trying to be too clever here and , in my opinion, this is dangerous as it leads to poor vision . My car actually cleared the mirrors on one day last week when the outside temperature was 1 deg. I am booked in to Stirling Audi in mid November so let’s see if they actually fit an older controller which will negate the temperature setting which looks like being a problem. I will keep you informed when they fit the new controller. They haven’t admitted anything so I’m only guessing that this is the plan to sort me out! 

This is my strategy too.  I am waiting for the colder weather to see if they clear.  They do not clear water droplets caused by condensation overnight.

Fun fact! 
In times gone by, “Wing mirrors” were actually positioned on the wing!  Strange but true 

Edited October 18, 20241 yr by enc

37 minutes ago, enc said:

Fun fact! 
In times gone by, “Wing mirrors” were actually positioned on the wing!  Strange but true 

Indeed they did, I had a Mk1 and a Mk2 Ford Escort back the day and both had wing mirrors on the wings !

Funny, how we (myself included) still refer to them as wing mirrors when its 30 odd years since they were positioned on the wing 

 I have a 74 plate A3 sport which is currently at the dealers been for two days with no heated mirrors. My partners car is the same age and model, I had to take it in to the dealership to show that even at 15 degrees outside her mirrors heated up fine.  This is my fifth of this shape all except this one the mirrors heat up,  mine have not worked since delivery, and it is so dangerous on misty damp mornings. I have to clean when I leave for work and wipe again part way through on a 15 minute journey. I know that my car has also had a technical upgrade to the software to sort a plethora of issues on the mmi. If it is set to 5 degrees I guarantee I will be speaking to customer services pointing out it is dangerous. From what Sam said above it would appear some are fitted with different control modules and mine is one so probably without admitting it Audi have realised they have messed up again trying to be too smart. 

Please keep us updated Julian.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

Well got the car back the dealership say they cannot fix it also tried 2 new cars one works one doesn’t. They did a technical update to sort Mmi which works and booked me in for a week in December with a hire car.  When I got home and put key user in etc mirrors now heat up fine.  Still going in for stalling or just cutting out my partner has the same issue and she is in a long term hire car for that.  

Happy to report that the temperature this morning was 5 deg C. Heated wing mirrors worked as they are supposed to.  So it does look like the Instruction manual is correct and they are dependent upon the ambient temperature.  Minimum of 5 deg C appears to be the start point.

Hi Greg, my car did exactly the same this morning , the temperature here was 2.5 deg. I am booked into Stirling Audi tomorrow to see if there is a fix for this because last month after investigation they said I needed a new controller to be fitted. I am hoping they fit an older version of the controller to allow the mirrors to heat on demand by the driver but I will just have to wait and see what they come up with ! 

 

Please let us know how you get on Sam. 

I have the car back from Stirling Audi. Here is the result of the investigation into the mirrors failing to operate except in low temperatures. 
The drive select mode “efficiency” only allows operation of mirror demist in low temperatures. 
The garage have reset the mode to “auto” and the mirrors now operate on demand by the driver! 
They say all modes except “efficiency” will allow the mirrors to operate as expected by using the switch on the door panel.

I really hope this information is helpful to all owners of 2025 year model cars! 

 

 

Sam.

Does that mean the new controller switch that was fitted a few months ago failed to solve the problem, and hence was a waste of money?

Thanks Sam - that is good to know

They never fitted a new control switch. It was booked in for that purpose but further investigation into the issue came up with this solution. 

That's good to know.