2011/2012 Heated Outside Mirrors

[bentonmj]

I'm close to buying a new (2011 or 2012) Sportage LX. I live in a very cold climate, and am interested in getting the heated exterior mirrors. What's not clear to me (or the guy at the dealership who's searching regional inventories) is whether they are available as a stand-alone option, or available only in the Convenience Package. Does anyone know for sure? My thanks in advance.

[conwelpic]

as you didn't fill out your profile with your location we don't know what country you are located in. If its Canada heated exterior mirrors are standard as well as heated seats, if in US which I suspect as you mention Convenience Package, its part of the package, you can verify it at
Kia Cars, SUVs, Crossovers, Minivans, & Future Vehicles | Kia Motors America, and click on packages, its not a stand alone option. The dealer should know this it would be in his vehicle spec sheets.

[stephenju]

I am in US and my LX doesn't have the convenience package so it's without the heated mirrors.

Is it possible to add the heated feature by replace the mirror glass? My old VW Jetta's mirrors come with wire connector for the heating circuits. I would imagine this works the same way. But I don't know if the mirror assembly already has necessary wires in it.

[cloud9utk]

i have an SX with the body color led side mirrors, dimming mirror, leather, cargo cover and uvo (non-nav), but not the full premium package which is the package required for SX models to have the heated mirrors as an accessory.

i talked with the parts guy at my local dealer. he tells me he can compare my vin to a premium package vin and see what parts i might need. he wouldn't quote me a price, because i could have a different wiring harness, need fuses, might not even be compatible, etc...

any Kia folks want to chime in? Do i need to have heated/cooled seats, sunroof and nav to have the hot mirrors or will having the led equipped be enough? Does everyone have the wiper blade heater that runs when you enable front defrost and is this connected? Those of you with the heated mirrors, do they turn on when you run the defrost? How well do they work?

Right now i have some ice-melt spray that i squirt on them and the side windows in order to defrost my windows and mirrors. The front and rear are taken care of with the seasonal windshield cleaner i use and the built in heating elements.

[DP8]

Hrmm. We got a bunch of snow yesterday and a huge storm is on the way today. I noticed that I thought we were supposed to have the heated mirrors as well, as it's the EX with the convenience package (side mirror signals, UVO, etc). I'm sort of confused.

[conwelpic]

Originally Posted by cloud9utk

any Kia folks want to chime in? Do i need to have heated/cooled seats, sunroof and nav to have the hot mirrors or will having the led equipped be enough? Does everyone have the wiper blade heater that runs when you enable front defrost and is this connected? Those of you with the heated mirrors, do they turn on when you run the defrost? How well do they work?

if you have the rearview mirror defroster then it comes on when you activate the rear window defroster (page 4/77 in your owners manual)

The Wiper deicer is also activated the same way, not sure but I don't think US 2012 Sportage's have this feature, its easy to tell as its a fine heated strand (like your rear window) at the lower part of the windshield behind the wipers.

Canadian 2012 Sportage's come standard with heated mirrors, wiper deicer and heated seats on all models.

I have the heated exterior mirrors on my Soul and they are activated with the rear window defroster switch and they work very fast too.

[GregsKia]

Personally, I feel that non-heated mirrors can be a safety hazard. I don't understand why that isn't a standard feature, just like the heated rear window.

[cloud9utk]

Originally Posted by conwelpic

if you have the rearview mirror defroster then it comes on when you activate the rear window defroster (page 4/77 in your owners manual)

The Wiper deicer is also activated the same way, not sure but I don't think US 2012 Sportage's have this feature, its easy to tell as its a fine heated strand (like your rear window) at the lower part of the windshield behind the wipers.

Canadian 2012 Sportage's come standard with heated mirrors, wiper deicer and heated seats on all models.

I have the heated exterior mirrors on my Soul and they are activated with the rear window defroster switch and they work very fast too.

Not 100% sure, but i think that my wipers rest on the plastic cowl that is at the bottom of the windshield when they are off. i have seen the wire on KGIS, but i haven't verified that the fuse or heater is present on my vehicle.

So you are able to see this heater wire at the bottom of your windshield? Can you post a picture of it, so i can check if i have same thing?

I think it is really odd how the website of KIA has many options as packages that can't really be split instead of the a la carte menu the dealers seem to be using. So instead of getting the expected result of the website, you get whatever stuff your dealer opted in for.

[stephenju]

So...

Back to my question. Can we retrofit the heated mirrors?

[SlovaKIA]

@cloud you should see aprox one inch long line of the same wire thingy as you see on your rear window, near your VIN number,on the windshield. Rest of the "wire" is hidden under the black part of the windshield.