The Lemon Fool

Facing my first winter with folding door mirrors (on a used Focus), I'm worried they may freeze solid overnight and then either burn out, strip a gear, or blow a fuse when I unlock the car.

I really don't want to have to defrost the mirrors every time, so can anyone reassure me that my fears won't come true? Would I - and anyone else who drives the car - have to notice and clear any snow before unlocking?

I've googled and unlike some other models, it doesn't appear possible to disable this feature. And if I take the fuse out I would no longer have the electical adjustment to the mirrors, or the electric demisting.

Must admit that I've never heard of mirror mechanisms freezing up, and I guess they must test them for all climates up to and including eastern Germany (where it can hit minus 25C, don't ask me how I know) or northern Scandinavia.

Now, door handles are a different matter! The grab handle broke right off my two year old Rover 200, one frosty morning in 1994. And I've had petrol filler caps freezing up solid. (One forecourt attendant helpfully produced a cigarette lighter to thaw it out, which I hastily declined.)

I'd imagine that the gearing on a door mirror would be quite hefty, so it would take a lot of ice to bust a nylon gear. I expect you could dismantle the mirror and grease everything, but frankly I probably wouldn't bother.

BJ

The driver side mirror on my MY2011 Volvo V50 "froze" folded back in the frost a couple of weeks back. It only took a minute or two of heated rear window (and mirror) to defrost it though.