Power Mirrors In Winter ?

[gillyallan]

Just a horrible thought as winter approaches. Say the Mirrors are caked in ice. Do the motors sense they are stuck and stop trying to move ? Or is it safer to switch the folding off in winter from the dash computer menu ?

I've never had power mirrors before.

[Fusion_Driver72]

Hi there,

I'm not a expert on car mirrors, but if you have the option to "fold them in" I think it would be a good suggestion. Do they automatically fold in ?

My Ford has (like a lot of Fords) heatingwires for the front windscreen, and lately I noticed that if I turned that on the fog/condensation on my mirrors also disappeared. :) windscreen electric heating = great FORD invention :)

I don't know if your car also has this option, and I have not tried it in winter conditions yet as I bought my Fusion last May :)

Instructions from the Ford Manual to heat up the car quickly.

Start engine

Turn on Airco,

Set airflow to "internal airflow only" (hope you understand what I mean by that)

Turn on front and back window heating

This should warm-up and de-ice very quickly.

If that does not work I will use defreezing spray and the "good old plastic Ice scraper"

Hopefully this will help you a little :)

[gillyallan]

Thanks, though my concern comes that as soon as I unlock the doors the Mirrors fold out and when I lock they fold in, so no chance of getting any heat in them.

[Phil 87]

I had the powerfold mirrors on my old Titanium and no issues that I can remember in winter.

My Ford has (like a lot of Fords) heatingwires for the front windscreen, and lately I noticed that if I turned that on the fog/condensation on my mirrors also disappeared. :)

I believe it is the rear heated screen that activates the heated wing mirrors; makes sense as only Zetec and above have the heated windscreen.

Instructions from the Ford Manual to heat up the car quickly.

Start engine

Turn on Airco,

Set airflow to "internal airflow only" (hope you understand what I mean by that)

Turn on front and back window heating

This should warm-up and de-ice very quickly.

I'm not sure about the internal airflow, I assume you're talking about activating recirculating air, which can cause misting up so probably not a good idea except for fast heating up of the car. Or does aircon stop misting up even with recirc? Also this should include setting temperature to max, but I guess that's stating the obvious. There is also the max demisting button which does all this for you (but you might still need to turn on the heated screens), but maybe that's only on cars with EATC?

[chrisroberson99]

On some cars the heated mirrors come on when the temperature is below 5C, or the rear screen is on, or even when the wipers and lights are on!

[Fusion_Driver72]

with the current weather conditions here in the Netherlands, my car is every morning covered in condensation on the outside.

When I start the car, and let it run stationary, I clean my windows externally with a handwiper, and meanwhile the Airco warms up the interior, taken the condensation inside away.

In about 5 minutes my windows are completely clear and free of condensation.

If your mirrors fold out when opening the doors, I would suggest that you turn off that function in a cold freezing winter, as it might damage the servo-engines of the mirror-movement if they are covered in ice.

Another tip: if it freezes really hard, put some vaseline or silicone-spray on the door-rubbers, otherwise you will not be able to open the doors. I have had this problem more than once, and the spray helped me out.........I can tell you its very irritating and frustrating if you can not open your cardoors at minus 15 degrees because they are frozen tight to your car.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Hadn't thought of this but OP is right to ask the question.

Replies so far talk about heated mirrors AFTER car has been started. Question is about what happens to s car with folding mirrors that unfold as you unlock the car in the morning BEFORE the engine is switched on and the fast clear stuff can be used.

Option would be to disable folding mirrors in winter I suppose-anyone do this?

[gillyallan]

Thanks bilbo. Yeah that was my point. I will be disabling them when I suspect bad weather is incoming. I asked in a ford dealer and salesman looked at me like I was stupid, then said he'd just leave them. I thought. ..yeah you would as you'll have a company car and dont care, whereas I do.

[Phil 87]

Thanks bilbo. Yeah that was my point. I will be disabling them when I suspect bad weather is incoming. I asked in a ford dealer and salesman looked at me like I was stupid, then said he'd just leave them. I thought. ..yeah you would as you'll have a company car and dont care, whereas I do.

Exactly, the dealers are probably confused when people talk about caring for their car as it's so uncommon. I don't think the UK winters ever get cold enough to cause us these kind of problems. I've noticed the doors stick a bit before but never to the point where they won't open. Same for the folding mirrors. Considering it's under warranty I wouldn't worry about them (except for cars not under warranty of course).

[potter18]

All manufacturers test their cars in extreme conditions ( inc ford ) death valley is a favourite plus well above the Arctic circle so all parts will be thoroughly tested so I wouldn't worry about the powerfold mirrors

[Dave-2912]

I don't think the UK winters ever get cold enough to cause us these kind of problems. I've noticed the doors stick a bit before but never to the point where they won't open. Same for the folding mirrors. Considering it's under warranty I wouldn't worry about them (except for cars not under warranty of course).

Maybe it doesn't get cold enough in Yorkshire but up here in Scotland I've had doors frozen shut on my last 3 cars. Doesnt happen often enough to make me take preventative measures but during the colder days of winter it does happen. I've always got into the car though as either the passenger door or boot hatch has still opened...

As for folding mirrors, I think you would struggle to put in a warranty claim for operating the folding mirrors when they are frozen solid. It would be like using wipers when they are frozen to the screen then complaining that the rubber being ripped off or the motor burning out was a design/manufacturing fault. OP should definitely turn off the auto-mirrors (and make sure the stalk isnt set to auto-wipers [if fitted]) if concerned about very cold temps and especially heavy snow.

[alexp999]

I turned the option off on my Fiesta so I could fold them in when I wanted, but my Focus has no such option.

Only had them get stuck once on the Focus, but once things warm up a bit, you can just hit the button on the door and it tries again.

[Paramanic]

My old car (mk6.5 zetec blue LE)

Had mirrors that powerfold in they froze in the winter used to drive me crazy and you couldn't turn them off but what a did is I had a couple camping stove set which had a bag with pullstring and inside the bag was a foil a used this at night and this worked!

[Phil 87]

Maybe it doesn't get cold enough in Yorkshire but up here in Scotland I've had doors frozen shut on my last 3 cars. Doesnt happen often enough to make me take preventative measures but during the colder days of winter it does happen. I've always got into the car though as either the passenger door or boot hatch has still opened...

As for folding mirrors, I think you would struggle to put in a warranty claim for operating the folding mirrors when they are frozen solid. It would be like using wipers when they are frozen to the screen then complaining that the rubber being ripped off or the motor burning out was a design/manufacturing fault. OP should definitely turn off the auto-mirrors (and make sure the stalk isnt set to auto-wipers [if fitted]) if concerned about very cold temps and especially heavy snow.

Of course, I don't know how I forgot about Scotland, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole car would be frozen solid at some point. As for the warranty, I don't think Ford would know that ice caused the problem, and if they suspect it you could just lie and say it's kept in a garage overnight haha. Anyway the mirrors should be designed so that the motor doesn't break if the mirror is stuck, I mean it's not only ice that could cause it, something could get stuck in between the mirror and the door.

[gillyallan]

Yeah. I'm definitely turning it off if a hard winter comes. Though the latest 2 winters have been mild.

[Phil 87]

It's probably a good idea to be fair, even if they don't break while under warranty they could further down the line.

[MartynS]

I've wondered in the past what would happen if someone parked very close to your car when the mirrors are folded in, you wouldn't be able to unlock it without them folding out and getting damaged!

[Phil 87]

I've wondered in the past what would happen if someone parked very close to your car when the mirrors are folded in, you wouldn't be able to unlock it without them folding out and getting damaged!

Exactly, this is what Ford should have considered (and probably did) when designing the mirrors. I would think the folding mechanism has some kind of clutch that will slip if the mirror is stuck, if that makes sense. I'm thinking of an old remote controlled car my brother had when he was about 3, if it got stuck it would start making a loud clicking noise which was the clutch stopping the motor from burning out ;). Although I don't feel like trying this with the expensive powerfold mirror lol.