[Xi-Xi]

A couple of days ago I noticed that my side mirrors were no longer removing condensation after driving a few miles in the morning. Last night I started the car, turned on the rear defroster for comparison, and waited 10 minutes then checked the rear window and the side mirrors with an infrared thermometer. Rear window read at 100F and the side mirrors were at air temperature, i.e., not heating. I'd check the fuse but I don't know which one it is and I cant find anywhere a fuse diagram for the F22. Can anyone help? Do you know which fuse it I should be looking at for the heated mirrors, or at least where I can find a fuse diagram?

[Xi-Xi]

C'mon...has no blown a fuse yet? Nobody's seen a fuse diagram? Bump!

[EuroDude]

I don't have heated mirrors, but if I did I'd bring it in for warranty

[Elvisfan]

Originally Posted by Xi-Xi

C'mon...has no blown a fuse yet? Nobody's seen a fuse diagram? Bump!

Have you tried looking at the owner's manual? That tells you everything you need to know. Including where to look for locations.

[Xi-Xi]

Yeah, I will take it in for warranty if I replace a fuse, and that blows again. And actually, the owner's manual doesn't tell you everything you need to know because there's no fuse diagram in the there. Really, like I wouldn't look there. For what it's worth, I believe there's supposed to be a fuse diagram in the front fuse compartment, in a flap underneath, but unfortunately mine is empty. In any case, thanks anyway. later fellas.

[Elvisfan]

It tells you where to look. In theory that is all you need to know. There must be a reason they chose not to print one in the manual. Probably too many option packages. Sorry that yours appears to be missing.

[bozman9]

The fuse panel you seek is in the cargo area (trunk), under the deck lid in the back right corner. There should be a printed panel of fuse types and locations.

Hope that helps.

Bozman

[redontheline]

Rear defroster in the '11 328i is one of the first things to get sacrificed when the battery is low. Have you drained your battery at all lately? Maybe the side mirrors in the 2er take this spot in priority order.

[ThreeToTwo]

This from my 2016 M235i (RHD in UK but I doubt that makes a difference):

The sheet of fuse allocations is clipped to the back (nearest the cabin) of the fuse box in the boot (trunk). See the photos that suggest you want fuse #22 in the box under the bonnet (hood).

Best of luck

[Xi-Xi]

Originally Posted by ThreeToTwo

This from my 2016 M235i (RHD in UK but I doubt that makes a difference):

The sheet of fuse allocations is clipped to the back (nearest the cabin) of the fuse box in the boot (trunk). See the photos that suggest you want fuse #22 in the box under the bonnet (hood).

Best of luck

Ahhh...thank you, sir. I shall give it a look.

[Sindarin]

Originally Posted by Xi-Xi

A couple of days ago I noticed that my side mirrors were no longer removing condensation after driving a few miles in the morning. Last night I started the car, turned on the rear defroster for comparison, and waited 10 minutes then checked the rear window and the side mirrors with an infrared thermometer. Rear window read at 100F and the side mirrors were at air temperature, i.e., not heating. I'd check the fuse but I don't know which one it is and I cant find anywhere a fuse diagram for the F22. Can anyone help? Do you know which fuse it I should be looking at for the heated mirrors, or at least where I can find a fuse diagram?

Couple things, first, as redontheline noted, mirror heating can be affected by electrical consumer shutdown depending on battery state of charge. Second, mirror heating is dependent on ambient air temperature. The warmer it is outside the less the mirrors will heat, if at all. Third, while fuse 22 does power the mirror heating it also provides power for the rest of the mirror functionality. Mirror adjustment, electrical folding, and electrochromatic. If this fuse was blown the mirrors wouldn't work at all.

[Xi-Xi]

Originally Posted by Sindarin

Couple things, first, as redontheline noted, mirror heating can be affected by electrical consumer shutdown depending on battery state of charge. Second, mirror heating is dependent on ambient air temperature. The warmer it is outside the less the mirrors will heat, if at all. Third, while fuse 22 does power the mirror heating it also provides power for the rest of the mirror functionality. Mirror adjustment, electrical folding, and electrochromatic. If this fuse was blown the mirrors wouldn't work at all.

Is there documentation for this? According the owner's manual and the "Genius" I spoke to, mirror heating is activated when the engine is on--no mention of ambient air temperature. I checked fuse 22, and it appears fine. I didn't try adjusting the mirror, but I'll do that next. FWIW, there's no reason for the mirrors not to heat no matter what the outside air temp, especially for the purpose of removing moisture from the mirror glass, which it did fine until a few days ago.

If the mirrors won't move, then I'll replace #22, otherwise I'll be making an appointment for service.

[redontheline]

Try throwing a trickle on overnight

[ThreeToTwo]

Originally Posted by Xi-Xi

Is there documentation for this? According the owner's manual and the "Genius" I spoke to, mirror heating is activated when the engine is on--no mention of ambient air temperature.

I was pondering different regional settings, whether the mirror heating was linked to the rear screen heater or anything like that. However, I have the generic US M235i handbook and the "personalised" (UK) handbook for my 235 here. They use slightly different words but both agree with your Genius: the mirror heaters should operate when the engine is running, no other conditions are mentioned (though the low battery charge one might not make it into the handbook).

Someone else made the point that the single fuse appears to serve all of the mirror functions so just trying to adjust them is a useful test. I presume that you're sure you have mirror heaters? In UK, the heat/dim/fold functions come together as an option.

[crabu2]

What was the outcome? This morning, I had a lot of condensation on my drivers side mirror and no matter what button I pressed it was like the mirror never got hot to remove the condensation..

Could it be that my car's not equipped with heated side mirrors? I looked up what was included in the Premium package and cold weather package and neither showed heated side mirrors..... Unless the option is standard.. I guess I better look at the build sheet.

[crabu2]

Update... There's got to be more to this... I just found in the owners manual that both exterior mirrors are automatically heated when the engine is running... WTH? If they were automatically on, how come it didn't remove the condensation?

I guess I need to take it in to see what the problem might be.. Because it seems these always heated mirrors aren't heated.

[3rdcoast228i]

The first thing that popped into my head was the battery maybe low/weak and the system is preventing the heaters from coming on.

Good luck!

[crabu2]

Originally Posted by 3rdcoast228i

The first thing that popped into my head was the battery maybe low/weak and the system is preventing the heaters from coming on.

Good luck!

Battery is fine.. Just load tested it.

So either my automatic heated side mirrors are broken or there's some other catch to that I'm not aware of... I'm gonna have to find my temp gun to see how hot, if at all it gets.

[3rdcoast228i]

I believe they only come on automatically if the temp is below a certain point.

At least that's the way it was on my e90 335i

[crabu2]

Originally Posted by 3rdcoast228i

I believe they only come on automatically if the temp is below a certain point.

At least that's the way it was on my e90 335i

What kind of non-sense is that? Are you saying I have to wait for a cold night to test this? All the manual said was that it was on automatically. There are many mornings in the 60's.. even in the 70's where I have condensation on my car.

Thanks for the head up on this...

[Xi-Xi]

An update: I did indeed take the car to the dealer last year when I first wrote about the issue. Their answer: exterior mirror heating only activates at temperatures of 37F and lower. I think this is silly, but indeed it is true. This past winter the mirror heating worked fine. My old BMW had the mirror heating working constantly, which was--as mentioned--very effective at removing morning dew during the spring and summer.

[crabu2]

Originally Posted by Xi-Xi

An update: I did indeed take the car to the dealer last year when I first wrote about the issue. Their answer: exterior mirror heating only activates at temperatures of 37F and lower. I think this is silly, but indeed it is true. This past winter the mirror heating worked fine. My old BMW had the mirror heating working constantly, which was--as mentioned--very effective at removing morning dew during the spring and summer.

Dang it!! 37F is way to low of a temp... I wonder if it can be coded to work at higher outside temps.