heated mirrors

It's getting colder here and I am not sure if my heater mirrors are working. How can I tell? Are these easy to replace?

If you turn it on and give it a minute or so it should become warm to the touch. They could be burned out if you've left them on all the time.

How do I turn them on/off?

Putting the switch in the center position where the 'hot mirror' icon is located turns on the elements. Either of the other two positions turns them off. There is no thermistat, so don't forget to turn them off after a while.

Thanks. I never noticed that icon before. It was off

In System 46 - Convenience System, DTC:00943 and DTC:00944 (P 035) notify faults in heated exterior mirror - driver side-Z4/front passenger side-Z5

It would seem that I have a different set-up than most others. My mirror switch has L-O-R, and with the switch in any position, the only way that the mirrors heat is when the rear defrost is on.

I don't have that switch at all. I was told that if I wanted to turn on the heated mirrors that I just have to turn on the rear defroster.

That's what my manual says. Use the rear defroster switch. But I have a nice little defrost symbol between L and R. I'm sure that I had left it on defrost all last winter and into the summer until my daughter readjusted the mirror, with no ill effects. It did dry the water off when it was raining though!

I've used them without the window defroster on.

I was under the impression that you had to put the knob in the center position and move it toward the rear of the car to turn the heaters on.

But maybe not