This morning I found smoke belching from the driver's door mirror. According to the service department of Jewson's in Oxford, this is the second example they have seen tis year (!); both face-lifted, both the driver's side. The cause is apparently faulty wiring in the puddle light.

Anyone else come across this?

Haven't heard of anyone having the same problem to be fair. Once had an Audi wiring loom go up in flames on me, central locking in the boot. Funny now, at the time not so much. Travelling at 80mph on the motorway I guess the fumes were being wafted away from the cabin and the first sign of trouble was flames lapping over the parcel shelf. We had some pretty volatile stuff in the boot too.

Have they suggested a fix and/or responsibility?

At least the dealer didn't try and fob you off with some dodgy excuse. Sometimes it's all 'smoke and mirrors' with those guys.

I would have thought the fuse would have blown first?

Sometimes it's all 'smoke and mirrors' with those guys.

Ha ha. See what you did there. Etc.

Actually I'm ****ing myself laughing

This morning I found smoke belching from the driver's door mirror. According to the service department of Jewson's in Oxford, this is the second example they have seen tis year (!); both face-lifted, both the driver's side. The cause is apparently faulty wiring in the puddle light.

Anyone else come across this?

Serious answer now, are you sure this isn't steam? I've noticed some pretty hefty, er, steamage coming off the mirrors when they're being heated...

Apologies for the seemingly obvious post...

So the heated door mirrors, are they switched on when the selector switch is in the centre position? Not sure I've ever even used mine. No idea which setting my selector is on.

Did you get the chance to pop the mirror off and have a look at it? Easier to see where the heat scorched the wiring or element.

i cant believe the mirrors would catch fire........fuse would blow first rendering mirror useless....has to be steam what with the frost earlier in the week ....and with -10 temps any warmth would give off steam

As I said in my first posting, this was smoke - and the dealer has seen this fault before. It was accompanied by a strong acrid, smouldering smell. The dealer is ordering the parts and it should be returned to me next Tuesday, all being well. At least this is all being done under the warranty. But it does make me wonder; I don't remember self-immolation being mentioned in the specification.

Ask for the old parts, take a look at behind the mirror glass and the wiring to see if you can spot where the most scorched areas are, will give a good indication of the source of the problem. Heating element, connections etc etc.

Of course this is all assuming the problem is electrical .... it could be a simple case of air friction. Now if the problem happened on the M1 then it's unlikely; however if it happened as you re-entered the Earth's atmosphere then, et voila, mystery solved! No need to thank me, allllll part of the service I provide.

I had same problem with passenger's door mirror caused by puddle light wiring. Took out interior lights also.

The fault was confirmed as a short circuit in the puddle light. As the entire mirror assembly comes straight out of the VW parts bin I am left wondering how many other cars are affected by this fault.

Distinctly unimpressed by Jewson's service department. They refused to either return the car to my home, a very easy two miles away, or even to keep the car in their premises for me. Instead they said they would leave the car on their forecourt in a so-so area of Oxford, with the keys in the glove box. In fact, when I was able to retrieve the car late last night, they had left the keys for all to see in between the front seats. I suppose that I should be grateful that they had not gone the whole hog and left the keys in the ignition, the doors open and the engine running.

Anyone know what the Skoda dealer in Newbury is like?

So the heated door mirrors, are they switched on when the selector switch is in the centre position? Not sure I've ever even used mine. No idea which setting my selector is on.

Don't know how I missed this when you replied earlier, but yeah... the heated mirrors will only work when the knob is in the middle and the heated rear screen is on.

Rear window does not have to be on, at least in my both Skodas

Just the switch in middle position is enough

In fact, that's why it is not recommended to leave the switch in middle position in Summer - the heating elements overheat and fail. First time you notice is on a foggy morning in autumn...

Rear window does not have to be on, at least in my both Skodas

Just the switch in middle position is enough

In fact, that's why it is not recommended to leave the switch in middle position in Summer - the heating elements overheat and fail. First time you notice is on a foggy morning in autumn...

Hm, strange. I've only noticed these heating when my rear window's on as well...

My switch is on the middle all the time and they still work.

Rear window does not have to be on, at least in my both Skodas

Just the switch in middle position is enough

In fact, that's why it is not recommended to leave the switch in middle position in Summer - the heating elements overheat and fail. First time you notice is on a foggy morning in autumn...

Mine is always in the R position, there is Foldable, Right, Heated of Left - no 'Off' position on mine.

Rear window does not have to be on, at least in my both Skodas

Just the switch in middle position is enough

In fact, that's why it is not recommended to leave the switch in middle position in Summer - the heating elements overheat and fail. First time you notice is on a foggy morning in autumn...

I've left the heated mirrors on a few times on a long journey and forgotten them. I realise at my destination when I go to park them that they are still switched on and the glass is hot!

I like that they are seperately controlled from the heated rear window, but they should have a warning light or a timer that turns them off after a few minutes, as they clear very quickly. I've found the Superb mirror heaters much better than the Octavia (Mk1). The Superb gets hot and will clear moisture as well as frost quickly, but the Octavia mirrors would only be warm, which would clear frost but would take ages to clear damp off them.

Hm, strange. I've only noticed these heating when my rear window's on as well...

My switch is on the middle all the time and they still work.

I'd agree with that - pretty sure my mirrors only heat up if the rear window is also turned on. I otherwise leave the mirrors selected on L though - then the nearside mirror dips down a bit when selecting reverse.

This morning I found smoke belching from the driver's door mirror. According to the service department of Jewson's in Oxford, this is the second example they have seen tis year (!); both face-lifted, both the driver's side. The cause is apparently faulty wiring in the puddle light.

Anyone else come across this?

Yes - ME! This happend at the dealer on Wednesday after the convenience unit blew-up two weeks ago. Replaced today and it's all fixed...well, the cruise control no longer works and the car is rancid inside! Moaned at SCS and trying to get it booked into Allams in Epsom tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Hm, strange. I've only noticed these heating when my rear window's on as well...

My switch is on the middle all the time and they still work.

I'd agree with that - pretty sure my mirrors only heat up if the rear window is also turned on. I otherwise leave the mirrors selected on L though - then the nearside mirror dips down a bit when selecting reverse.

OK - after a long and exhaustive series of road tests under laboratory conditions I am forced to announce that my previously published comment is not just inaccurate and a bit wide of the mark, but incorrect

Backed off the drive this morning and did not switch on the rear window, but did turn on the heated mirrors (had to wipe them first cos reversing completely blind didn't seem like a good idea). Five minutes later I stopped at the first red light of the day, lowered the window and copped a feel (oo-er missus!) and was surprised the find the mirror glass was warm.

So:

1) conclusive result - mirrors heat up without the rear window being on.

2) next test - determine whether they automatically switch off after a period, like the rear window, or stay on until manually switched off.

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Hm, strange. I've only noticed these heating when my rear window's on as well...

My switch is on the middle all the time and they still work.

OK - after a long and exhaustive series of road tests under laboratory conditions I am forced to announce that my previously published comment is not just inaccurate and a bit wide of the mark, but incorrect

Backed off the drive this morning and did not switch on the rear window, but did turn on the heated mirrors (had to wipe them first cos reversing completely blind didn't seem like a good idea). Five minutes later I stopped at the first red light of the day, lowered the window and copped a feel (oo-er missus!) and was surprised the find the mirror glass was warm.

So:

1) conclusive result - mirrors heat up without the rear window being on.

2) next test - determine whether they automatically switch off after a period, like the rear window, or stay on until manually switched off.

Hmm... how did your lab tests go?

The mirror heaters are controlled by the switch on the door - that's it. If you leave them on, they burn out.

I suppose we have to be grateful that at least the Wolfsburg morons wired the things through the ignition, otherwise they would burn out and flatten the battery as well. Wonderful piece of design...

rotodiesel.

Edited 4 February, 200917 yr by rotodiesel

That's enough proof for me, two lemmings can't be wrong, right?

*switches his mirrors off the middle*

BTW, how much is the n/s (LHD) supposed to move?

BTW, how much is the n/s (LHD) supposed to move?

If you mean when selecting reverse, then it's up to you. I guess mine dips down about 5 degrees - hmm... just thought, not sure if it only applies to Elegance models...?

Mine is set so that when opening the car with the remote, the driver's seat (that's the Elegance bit) and both door mirrors will move to their preset positions if they had been moved by the last driver (SWMBO). When you originally set these up for your ideal positioning, there is also the ability to set the extent to which the n/s mirror will automatically move when reverse is selected.

I guess this will also apply to all models - apart from the seat movement of course.

cheers

Only on an Elegance (& Edition 100, i would of thought) they don't move on a Comfort.

Only on an Elegance (& Edition 100, i would of thought) they don't move on a Comfort.

I can confirm that too, as my old Comfort didn't either.