Issue with Heated side mirrors

[Evnoob]

Just got my 2016 SEL and having issues with the heated side mirrors.

I've been assuming that to turn on the heaters in the mirrors I just need to pull down on the mirror control, toward the heater icon, and release. However, doing so provides no indication that the heaters have been activated and the morning fog on my mirrors is not disappearing as I'd expect it to. In my other car with the same feature the mirror fog clears up very quickly.

Am I doing/expecting something wrong, or should I be going to the dealer to have this looked at?

 

[JoulesThief]

Just got my 2016 SEL and having issues with the heated side mirrors.

I've been assuming that to turn on the heaters in the mirrors I just need to pull down on the mirror control, toward the heater icon, and release. However, doing so provides no indication that the heaters have been activated and the morning fog on my mirrors is not disappearing as I'd expect it to. In my other car with the same feature the mirror fog clears up very quickly.

Am I doing/expecting something wrong, or should I be going to the dealer to have this looked at?

Did you look up operation of side view mirrors in the owners manual, that's in the glove box? You generally spin the knob to a position that provides heat. Take a look at your door panel, and it should be self explanatory.

 

[forbin404]

it's spin the knob until it's pointed downwards, not just pushing the knob down.

That's for moving the mirror, not activating the heated mirrors.

Don't forget to put it back up when the mirrors are clear or you are wasting energy.

 

[Evnoob]

Yep, that worked and I'm an idiot for not thinking to try that on my own before posting.

Anyway, thanks for the help!

 

[GadgetGav]

Just got my 2016 SEL and having issues with the heated side mirrors.

I've been assuming that to turn on the heaters in the mirrors I just need to pull down on the mirror control, toward the heater icon, and release. However, doing so provides no indication that the heaters have been activated and the morning fog on my mirrors is not disappearing as I'd expect it to. In my other car with the same feature the mirror fog clears up very quickly.

Am I doing/expecting something wrong, or should I be going to the dealer to have this looked at?

Did you look up operation of side view mirrors in the owners manual, that's in the glove box? You generally spin the knob to a position that provides heat. Take a look at your door panel, and it should be self explanatory.

*ding*
Didn't we all guess that JoulesThief would be first in here with an RTFM comment..?

You may like to point out that everyone should read the manual at every opportunity, and no doubt it would save a lot of questions being asked, but if you're going to post a reply and you know the answer, would it really kill you to tell the OP the answer too..?

 

[JoulesThief]

Just got my 2016 SEL and having issues with the heated side mirrors.

I've been assuming that to turn on the heaters in the mirrors I just need to pull down on the mirror control, toward the heater icon, and release. However, doing so provides no indication that the heaters have been activated and the morning fog on my mirrors is not disappearing as I'd expect it to. In my other car with the same feature the mirror fog clears up very quickly.

Am I doing/expecting something wrong, or should I be going to the dealer to have this looked at?

Did you look up operation of side view mirrors in the owners manual, that's in the glove box? You generally spin the knob to a position that provides heat. Take a look at your door panel, and it should be self explanatory.

*ding*
Didn't we all guess that JoulesThief would be first in here with an RTFM comment..?

You may like to point out that everyone should read the manual at every opportunity, and no doubt it would save a lot of questions being asked, but if you're going to post a reply and you know the answer, would it really kill you to tell the OP the answer too..?

Throw man a fish, or teach him how to fish, so he can catch his own... which is of more value? Ever heard how the younger generations feels so entitled? I'm not going to change, and you're not going to change either, keep holding your hand out if you think it's worth your time, I'm just adjusting your expectations now... the devil finds work for idle hands.

 

[MLS]

It's odd that the knob has little dots by the 3 other functional selections on its dial, but there is not a dot next to the heated mirror icon. I also initially tried just pushing the selector down instead of twisting it all the way down there. This was after reading that part of the manual - the nuance of turning the knob around to that selection instead of pushing the selector down I must've skimmed over. Thanks to this forum for pointing this out.

 

[JoulesThief]

It's odd that the knob has little dots by the 3 other functional selections on its dial, but there is not a dot next to the heated mirror icon. I also initially tried just pushing the selector down instead of twisting it all the way down there. This was after reading that part of the manual - the nuance of turning the knob around to that selection instead of pushing the selector down I must've skimmed over. Thanks to this forum for pointing this out.

VW's have been this way since at least my 1996 Passat TDI. Spin the knob to turn the heating element on in the mirror. Not that I ever need or use the feature here in Southern California, it rarely freezes, if ever, here.

 

[GadgetGav]

Throw man a fish, or teach him how to fish, so he can catch his own... which is of more value? Ever heard how the younger generations feels so entitled? I'm not going to change, and you're not going to change either, keep holding your hand out if you think it's worth your time, I'm just adjusting your expectations now... the devil finds work for idle hands.

But it's not teaching a man to fish by telling him to go and read a book about fishing is it?

The only reason for a forum like this is to form a community of people who have something in common, in this case our use / ownership of the e-Golf. It's here to provide help and advice to the group. If you're just going to post 'look it up in the manual' to every question, you're wasting the OPs time and your own.

 

[GadgetGav]

Spin the knob to turn the heating element on in the mirror.

Here, have a fish :roll:

 

[JoulesThief]

Throw man a fish, or teach him how to fish, so he can catch his own... which is of more value? Ever heard how the younger generations feels so entitled? I'm not going to change, and you're not going to change either, keep holding your hand out if you think it's worth your time, I'm just adjusting your expectations now... the devil finds work for idle hands.

But it's not teaching a man to fish by telling him to go and read a book about fishing is it?

The only reason for a forum like this is to form a community of people who have something in common, in this case our use / ownership of the e-Golf. It's here to provide help and advice to the group. If you're just going to post 'look it up in the manual' to every question, you're wasting the OPs time and your own.

I guess you've never heard of self taught men being genius, or "doing it by the book". I bought plenty of books in college, and actually read them. Believe it or not, the purpose of the book is so that you can look it up and find all the answers yourself. OP acknowledges they could have done a little bit more. Good on them for learning how to solve problems on their own.

Your expectations of a BB are unreasonable. Complex problems and modifications that aren't in the manual, like repairs, are one thing to discuss on a BB. Stuff that's in the owners manual and relatively easy to find, probably a waste of bandwidth.

 

[igbright]

I beg to differ. There is no one-size-fits-all best approach. Not everyone will read the manual or care to, nor is your opinion that everyone should constructive (though you might think it is).

Many people regard a community such as this as a support forum of people with a shared interest. It should be open to questions, in my opinion, even for things that one could find elsewhere, including the manual.

JoulesThief, how about this: let's all assume that, for any question of that nature, the first response will be an RTFM from you. It adds nothing to the discussion or the forum, nor help the OP. But we'll assume you've posted it, so you don't have to,

The rest of us can choose how to respond, which may or may well not follow the same approach or stance. Deal?

Alternatively - on the Honda Fit forum, one of our best and most informative members took the approach of pointing such posters to the specific page in the manual where the information was found, and also provided an actual, complete, detailed, helpful answer. That was perceived as helpful and constructive for the forum.

 

[GadgetGav]

Your expectations of a BB are unreasonable. Complex problems and modifications that aren't in the manual, like repairs, are one thing to discuss on a BB. Stuff that's in the owners manual and relatively easy to find, probably a waste of bandwidth.

Not as much of a waste of bandwidth as an argument about whether or not posting RTFM as a response to any and all questions is... :roll:
But bravo on reading books in college.

 

[GadgetGav]

I beg to differ. There is no one-size-fits-all best approach. Not everyone will read the manual or care to, nor is your opinion that everyone should constructive (though you might think it is).

Many people regard a community such as this as a support forum of people with a shared interest. It should be open to questions, in my opinion, even for things that one could find elsewhere, including the manual.

JoulesThief, how about this: let's all assume that, for any question of that nature, the first response will be an RTFM from you. It adds nothing to the discussion or the forum, nor help the OP. But we'll assume you've posted it, so you don't have to,

The rest of us can choose how to respond, which may or may well not follow the same approach or stance. Deal?

Alternatively - on the Honda Fit forum, one of our best and most informative members took the approach of pointing such posters to the specific page in the manual where the information was found, and also provided an actual, complete, detailed, helpful answer. That was perceived as helpful and constructive for the forum.

Exactly! If the response you want to give is read the manual, at least point to the appropriate manual page and maybe add some detail if it's not crystal clear from what's printed on the page.

 

[JoulesThief]

I beg to differ. There is no one-size-fits-all best approach. Not everyone will read the manual or care to, nor is your opinion that everyone should constructive (though you might think it is).

Many people regard a community such as this as a support forum of people with a shared interest. It should be open to questions, in my opinion, even for things that one could find elsewhere, including the manual.

JoulesThief, how about this: let's all assume that, for any question of that nature, the first response will be an RTFM from you. It adds nothing to the discussion or the forum, nor help the OP. But we'll assume you've posted it, so you don't have to,

The rest of us can choose how to respond, which may or may well not follow the same approach or stance. Deal?

Alternatively - on the Honda Fit forum, one of our best and most informative members took the approach of pointing such posters to the specific page in the manual where the information was found, and also provided an actual, complete, detailed, helpful answer. That was perceived as helpful and constructive for the forum.

Exactly! If the response you want to give is read the manual, at least point to the appropriate manual page and maybe add some detail if it's not crystal clear from what's printed on the page.

Admit it, you are too lazy to crack the owners manual and find it yourself. So why should I do that for you? Is my time less valuable than yours? That's like me doing your homework.
That is as retarded as going to school in 2nd grade, and being given the assignment of learning how to spell 20 words and their definitions on Monday, that you will be tested for definitions and spelling, on Friday, and I tell you every page in the dictionary that the words and definitions are on. Look it up yourself, and learn.

Reminds me of that John Mayer song and it's lyrics.

So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers
They read all the books but they can't find the answers

Secondly, Don't assume.

These entitled kids nowadays. Sad. Can't find the answers.

 

[igbright]

I'm not going to waste any more bandwidth continuing this thread, he says doing just that.

You totally missed the point I was making, but clearly you are not interested in promoting a constructive forum if it doesn't match your opinion of what it should be, he says doing exactly the same thing.

I for one am not impressed that you have read the manual, nor am I going to take your bait any longer... There I go, contradicting myself again.

Ok, last post from me on this. Got better things to do.

 

[GadgetGav]

Admit it, you are too lazy to crack the owners manual and find it yourself. So why should I do that for you? Is my time less valuable than yours?

You're wasting your own time posting 'look it up in the manual'. If that's all you've got to offer to any question, we can take it as read without you having to post it in every thread. That's the point igbright was trying to make.

Secondly, Don't assume.

These entitled kids nowadays. Sad. Can't find the answers.

You're the one assuming that everyone asking for help and advice on here is younger than you. Maybe you are the oldest person on the forum, who knows, but just because someone posts a question on here doesn't mean they're an "entitled kid".

You're also the one assuming that people who haven't read the manual and remembered every detail or don't go back to it every time they have a question are just lazy. Maybe they are, maybe the manual is in the car and they live on the 40th floor of a tower block and it's a hassle to go down and get it. Maybe they're tucked up in bed in their PJs. Maybe they just want to interact with other fellow car owners and not just bury their nose in a book. Maybe they're just trying to be an active, useful member of an online community...

 

[RonDawg]

You're also the one assuming that people who haven't read the manual and remembered every detail or don't go back to it every time they have a question are just lazy. Maybe they are, maybe the manual is in the car and they live on the 40th floor of a tower block and it's a hassle to go down and get it. Maybe they're tucked up in bed in their PJs. Maybe they just want to interact with other fellow car owners and not just bury their nose in a book. Maybe they're just trying to be an active, useful member of an online community...

Or maybe they did read the manual and like me found it to be largely useless, either because it makes no sense (the audio system supplement mentions "Foam Control" rather than "Phone Control"), or talks about features that the car either doesn't have (like a sunroof and spare tire) or isn't explained well (like how to make the trip odometer show up in the multifunction display).

FWIW not a Millenial here, entitled or otherwise. I'm old enough to have voted for Ronald Reagan for President.

 

[JoulesThief]

You're also the one assuming that people who haven't read the manual and remembered every detail or don't go back to it every time they have a question are just lazy. Maybe they are, maybe the manual is in the car and they live on the 40th floor of a tower block and it's a hassle to go down and get it. Maybe they're tucked up in bed in their PJs. Maybe they just want to interact with other fellow car owners and not just bury their nose in a book. Maybe they're just trying to be an active, useful member of an online community...

Or maybe they did read the manual and like me found it to be largely useless, either because it makes no sense (the audio system supplement mentions "Foam Control" rather than "Phone Control"), or talks about features that the car either doesn't have (like a sunroof and spare tire) or isn't explained well (like how to make the trip odometer show up in the multifunction display).

FWIW not a Millenial here, entitled or otherwise. I'm old enough to have voted for Ronald Reagan for President.

It's pretty common, Ron, that not all features apply to all cars in the same model, as covered in the Owners Manual. Perhaps it seems intuitive to me, only because I've owned VW and Audi product for so long. If it's not in the Owners Manual, I'd be more inclined to take it down to the dealership and ask someone in service or sales to explain how something works after buying, perhaps even before you sign the paperwork and drive it off the lot as a new owner. There are certain virtues to being brand loyal in cars, I suppose.

As I live in Southern California, as do you, I have never had the occasion to even need to use the heated mirror function, yet I know how to operate it on a VW.

I might add that anything that needs changing in the dash, like the odometer reading, or trip meter, requires pressing and holding the button in for 1 to 3 seconds before anything changes or happens. This is to avoid it being touched by accident, much like an on off switch on your smart phone, so it doesn't turn on or off accidentally when in your pocket. The change, with a 1 to 3 second hold, must be deliberate.

The OP has acknowledged early in this thread, before it turned into a bitchfest, of their mistake. I don't consider the title of this thread accurate in any way, shape or form, there is no issue with the heated side mirror, only with the operator not being able to take the time to figure it out.

I didn't see a single other person pull their owners manual out to direct the OP to the page in the owners manual that addresses this operation function. Maybe, the OP was really just trolling, since it really is a simple solution if you just take a look at it while stationary, instead of attempting to adjust or turn on the mirror heat while driving, which is what I suspect happened. If you open your door and take a look at the mirror switch, it really is self explanatory and intuitive... if you take the time to look at the indexing of the switch.

 

[miimura]

The main issue I have with the 2015 e-Golf manual is that it depicts features that are not available ANY 2015 e-Golf.

This is a prime example.

The fact that this version of the turn signal stalk exists and they put it in the manual yet they didn't bother to put it on the LE and SE that don't have the fancy steering wheel is crazy.