Heated, auto-dimming side mirror malfunction (Solution)

Hello,

I have a faulty heating element in the auto-dimming side mirror glass of my Audi A6 4F.
Can anyone tell me what the most common cause is? Is the heating element in the mirror broken or is there a cable break/peeling coating?

Best regards, Rainer.

When I bought my Golf 3, when I was about 6 or 7 years old, both heating elements were broken.
Okay, two new glasses, finished.

Okay, granted, typical cable breakage points have likely changed.

m;

Quote:

Can anyone tell me what the most common cause is? Is the heating element behind the mirror defective, or is there a broken cable/peeling coating?

In the cases I'm familiar with, the problem usually involved the mirror glass/heating element. In rare cases, there may be difficulties in making contact with the cable lugs.

--> Remove the glass and measure it again.

Thanks for the tips, so glass out...

I believe the middle position of the mirror adjustment switch is also partly to blame. Everyone assumes that the middle position is some kind of neutral switch position. In reality, however, the mirror heating runs continuously in that position. In our service vehicles, the switches are usually left in this position, and the percentage of mirror heating systems that are still functioning is estimated to be only about 1/3. This is often the case. R. not repaired.

"...so, in my car, the position of the mirror adjustment switch means that when the heated rear window is turned on, the mirror heating also activates. This is the case even with the Roomster." Can you also observe this very well...or am I doing something wrong?

I also assume that you will need to disassemble the glass and take new measurements. I would definitely do that before removing the door panel.

I'm familiar with this feature from the T5 and Caddy models, where the mirror adjustment switch, when in the center position, activates the mirror heating. Or is that the "Bund special edition"?

In the 3BG system, the central position is also "turn on the mirror heater."
I don't know if it turns off after defrosting, or if it can only be turned on when the temperature is below freezing.
Therefore, I make sure that the knob is set to "left" (=up; both mirrors are adjusted) or "right" (=down; only the right mirror is adjusted).
I am unable to translate "haithamina" because it does not appear to be a word or phrase in the German language. It may be a misspelling, a proper noun, or a term from a specialized field. If you can provide more context or clarify the intended meaning, I would be happy to assist you with the translation.

Hi,

It depends on the car. In the Ibiza 6K, the heating would always be on when the rear window defroster was activated, regardless of the position. In the Octavia 1Z, in addition to the L, R, and center positions, there are separate positions for the heating and for the automatic tilting function. The heating is only activated in the "extra" position, regardless of whether the rear window defroster is turned on.

Best regards,

Jan.

Hello,

"Hutfahrer" was right; the middle position of the adjustment lever leads to continuous heating, which is visible in the corresponding measurement block from the door control unit.

Today I disassembled the rearview mirror.

Quote:

8E0857535AR Mirror glass. 321.12 EUR (including 19% VAT)

Can someone confirm that this is actually just the mirror glass without any of the other parts?
Edit: Yes, unfortunately, because it's a dimmable mirror glass. Since only the heating film is broken at the connection in my case, I'm trying to repair it.

Best regards, Rainer.

You never stop learning. That's what it says in the manual. In the case of golf, it's about the windshield defroster... a habit after 11 years. Over 300 euros for a single glass... wow, if the mirror is completely broken, that's practically a capital offense... that's insane.

Instructions for non-destructive removal of mirror glass.

Hello,

Here's a short feedback: The heating film on the plastic backing and the mirror glass can be separated if you heat them thoroughly with a hairdryer.

The heating film was defective at the connection to the plug. I obtained some silver conductive paint and patched the area, also applying it to both connections where they connect to the film.

Connecting to the heating element track can be a bit tricky. I managed to do it by carefully scraping off the insulating layer with a cutter blade and, in addition, making several perforations with a needle.

After that, everything was treated with insulating spray, and the connectors were glued into the plastic housing using construction adhesive. The mirror and film were wiped verschandeln with acetone and reassembled. They stick well. After that, everything was heated with a hairdryer and further compressed.

Finally, the areas prone to corrosion were treated with acrylic construction adhesive, the connectors/contacts were lubricated with grease to protect them from corrosion, and everything was reassembled.

Go.

Hello,

Unfortunately, my repair using silver conductive paint only lasted about half a year.

Since a dimmable mirror is very expensive compared to a regular mirror, I started another attempt today:
A replacement mirror glass from the accessories (without dimming function, i.e., under 10 EUR) was detached using a hairdryer. The heating film remains attached to the plastic bracket.
It is important to use a hairdryer to make the mirror glass very warm, and then carefully and slowly detach it from the plastic backing with the heating film.

Subsequently, the same procedure was performed on the defective original mirror. With the new plastic backing, it may be necessary to trim it slightly at the connection points for the mirror dimming function, as it is not designed for "dimming." However, the bracket for the connector was there.
Be careful, in my case, the heating film came very close to the edge at the top!

You can use hot air to slightly warm the plastic and bend it over critical areas.

After that, assemble everything and enjoy the functionality, which hopefully will last longer this time.

Best regards, Rainer.

Today, it was my wife's A3 8P's turn, and it also had a defective heating element in the automatically dimming side mirror glass on the left side.

The repair was done in the same way: a regular, heated mirror glass (inexpensive) was obtained, and the plastic backing with the heating film was transplanted onto the very expensive auto-dimming mirror glass.

It worked perfectly; with the hairdryer and a little pulling, everything came apart easily. The new heated mirror film was slightly larger and covered the electrical connections for the anti-fog function of the mirror. Therefore, Tesafilm was applied to this spot as an insulator.

After that, the upper edge of the mirror was sealed with joint sealant. Now everything is working again, the time spent was approximately 1 hour, and the material costs were 12 EUR.