Volkswagen: Sometimes its the little things

Posted By on March 26, 2007

Volkswagens are often considered a ‘driver’s car,’ a vehicle that most car buyers can afford, unlike many European cars imported to the U.S. The engineering built into these vehicles is exceptional although they are not without their small quirks. Many go unnoticed until well into ownership or only when a problem occurs.

2003 TDI Defog switch

One such quirk, or maybe its was just a pet-peeve of mine, is the outside mirror defog/defrost heat switch, which is often left in the ‘on’ position in VWs. By leaving the switch at the ‘in-between’ setting, the heaters for each door mirror continues to operate even when they are not needed. I’ve met many an owner that leaves the defog/defrost mirror heaters are on. The downside besides the continual electrical drain, is that their lifespan may be shortened if not turned off. (OFF being turned to either the “L” or “R” setting.

Thankfully this problem has been noted by VW engineers and the switch has been change. The new switch offers an ‘off’ position as well as the L (left) and R (right) adjustment … AND a dedicated Defog/Defrost setting. This may only be a ‘small’ improvement but Volkswagens attention to details is appreciated.

2007 GTI Defog Switch

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Categories: Automotive, Volkswagen
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Comments

  • http://cincitdi.com Tim

    Agreed, I love my little VW but some extra thought by the engineers like this is very helpful. I don’t know how many people I have mentioned this little quirk to since someone first mentioned it to me. My car was even handed to me with the mirror defrosters in the “on” position. I only found out about it because I have a friend with a TDI who had to get his replaced.

  • http://cincitdi.com Tim

    Agreed, I love my little VW but some extra thought by the engineers like this is very helpful. I don’t know how many people I have mentioned this little quirk to since someone first mentioned it to me. My car was even handed to me with the mirror defrosters in the “on” position. I only found out about it because I have a friend with a TDI who had to get his replaced.

  • http://bilikfamily.com/ Scott

    I don’t know exactly when they did this changeover. My 2006 Jetta TDI has the newer middle “off” position on it. I had the opposite experience. With the defrost position near the top, I’d forgotten I had heated mirrors for half the winter season. It’s a bit out of sight there. It was one particularly cold day when I remembered, “hey, didn’t my winter package include heated side mirrors?” I looked around and saw the symbol and it worked like a charm.

    Even with the new positioning, it can be easy to forget to put the switch back to a L/0/R position later…

  • http://bilikfamily.com/ Scott

    I don’t know exactly when they did this changeover. My 2006 Jetta TDI has the newer middle “off” position on it. I had the opposite experience. With the defrost position near the top, I’d forgotten I had heated mirrors for half the winter season. It’s a bit out of sight there. It was one particularly cold day when I remembered, “hey, didn’t my winter package include heated side mirrors?” I looked around and saw the symbol and it worked like a charm.

    Even with the new positioning, it can be easy to forget to put the switch back to a L/0/R position later…

  • http://www.myarchive.us RichC

    You make a great point Scott … its easy to leave this thing on. Frankly I’ve not used mine when I should and have left it on when I shouldn’t.

  • http://www.myarchive.us RichC

    You make a great point Scott … its easy to leave this thing on. Frankly I’ve not used mine when I should and have left it on when I shouldn’t.

  • http://the5kgarden.blogspot.com/ Paul

    My ’04 passat TDI has this Rich. It was the standout ‘bad’ feature when the dealer walked us through the controls. I have a list of others that have piled up. But nothing compares to growling thru the Rockies only making 37mpg (and that’s because of all the up hill climbs). As far as use? I’ve used mine maybe the five times I’ve parked outside during snow, and find it’s a convenience.

  • http://the5kgarden.blogspot.com/ Paul

    My ’04 passat TDI has this Rich. It was the standout ‘bad’ feature when the dealer walked us through the controls. I have a list of others that have piled up. But nothing compares to growling thru the Rockies only making 37mpg (and that’s because of all the up hill climbs). As far as use? I’ve used mine maybe the five times I’ve parked outside during snow, and find it’s a convenience.

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Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.