The heated windscreen is a brilliant feature and I've had it on both my MINIs. In the UK it's the far left button of the row of four black buttons. It works with heating elements in the windscreen that are visible but seem to be more visible when they are heated. Normally you don't really notice the elements when driving along, only at night when another cars headlight picks them up - not distracting in anyway though.

Brilliant for melting the ice off the windscreen while you neighbours are out in the cold scraping it off

 

The elements don't get nearly hot enough to glow, so, I suspect this phenominon is more psychological than physical. You probably just pay attention to the elements when you know you switched them on. Of horse, the ice/fog will dissipate quicker just over the elements, so that will make them more noticeable when the windscreen isn't fully cleared yet.

 

Just got my new 2010 MCSC, and loving it. Pictures to be posted when we get the next shiny day in DC.

This old thread talks about the front windshield heating option not being available in the US. I know I have the blank dummy button in the left most button on the climate panel. But what I find annoying is that the front windshield and the sides actually have the defroster built in.

Anyone know if you can actually get it wired and installed?

I had the option on my Rover and loved it. It works great when you have those funny days where the window fogs up and you dont necessarily want the heat on. And we do have the days where getting ice off the windshield is necessary.

 

The front windshield defrost is a specific windshield with heating elements in it. I took a crappy picture of it with my phone. You can see the faint wavy lines against the cloudy sky.

 

Wow some people are so quick to say "no" when they don't even know what they're talking about. I have the heated windshield in my r53, no, it does not block my radar detector or garage openers or whatever, yes they stop working when there is a crack in it, yes they're expensive to replace, yes they're awesome, yes they're not available in some markets. Yes it's 190 CAD but you have to buy it with the convenience package, which is 750 CAD on the 2nd gen MINIs. I am pretty sure it was 500 CAD on the R53, someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Wow, ok, I'm afraid to.

 

Lol, afraid to what?

 

To get it installed on a US version you would need the windshield which would have to be purchased out of the country and then shipped to the states. Then you would need the button and probably control modules and wiring harnesses. It would be way more expensive to add it to a US version than it would be to go to Canada and purchase one, lol.

 

Well on the heated windshield option there is no option for heating of the side windows (i.e. door windows) so how do you come up with the statement about the sides actually having defrosters built in.

And how do you know that the windshield has the heater film installed?

The only way to have this happen is for MINI to have screwed up and put the wrong windshield in the car at the factory.

The dealers in the US can not even order the heat windshield as a replacement at my last check about 3 months ago.

 

The package is called Visibility Package S359A

The windshield is part number: 51312753976
The button is part number: 64113442463

I cannot find any other references to that package on RealOEM...Which means either you can get a new window and button, then activate it in the computer.

From the WDS:
WDS Wiring Diagram SystemHeated windscreen

The heated windscreen is switched on by pressing the button in the control unit. The function indicator lamp in the button lights up. The heated windscreen is switched off by pressing the button again or automatically after the heating period has elapsed.
The heated windscreen is divided into 2 heated areas. These 2 heated areas (windscreen on the right and windscreen on the left) are simultaneously activated and heated.

• Thawing phase
  After terminal 15 On, with the first switching on the time span for the heated windscreen is set as follows:
  Outside temperature ≥ -15 °C: heating period 20 minutes
  Outside temperature < -15 °C: heating period 30 minutes
• 1. Heating phase with cycling
  After the defrosting phase, the heating phase starts for 30 minutes with cycling of the heat output (ratio impulse to break: 40 seconds ON, then 80 seconds OFF). During cycling, the function indicator lamp of the button is off.
• 2. Heating phase
  If the button is pressed again after completion of the 1st heating phase, the heated windscreen is switched on for 30 minutes. Completion of the 2nd heating phase is followed by renewed cycling.

Furthermore, the heated windscreen is switched on when the defrost function is activated.


The WDS shows there is a relay for the front windshield, I am not sure if the car has it pre-installed or not. You can cross reference the connectors and their locations to see if you can find the plugs for the windshield heaters (there is a right and left side). If you can find those open connectors, see if the relay exists, get the button, reprogram the computer with the minitech.info site and computer tool. Then you could hook a dummy load up to them to see if the system works before you replace your windshield.

 

Heated wind"screens" are for wimps. Real men scrape, and always have. It's like installing your iPod in the "secret compartment". That's wimpy too, like that battery heated ski boot inserts. Spoken like a man from Arizona lol.

 

I agree totally.

well why stop at an iPod lets go for a full blown computer in the secret compartment.


hey wait a minute that is getting personal. I use those keep my feet warm when skiing. Cold feet make fr a bad day on the slopes.


Yes

 

Highly evolved real men embrace technology I'm so glad that the days of scraping my windshield are over and done with...

 

LOL, I remember my first ice scraping experience in Tucson when I was a UofAz student using my student ID card and cracking it to pieces. Didn't know there was such a thing as an ice scraper and always wondered that that slider control for "defrost" was on my Mustang. We had about 8 inches of snow where I live last week dang it. Flagstaff got 5 feet.

 

@ thebignewt, sounds like a simple case of "you despise what you cannot have" lol

 

No actually power defrost works pretty well. What I don't get is why is the electric powered defroster windshield banned in the US? btw I don't even have the hotseat option (but my wife wishes I did sometimes). I had 'em in my prior 2 cars and they always broke and cost a lot to fix.

 

And from what I have been able to find out it is not available in the USA. It is available in Canada though.

US dealers are not allowed to order this part. I just checked with three different dealerships. All of the parts departments stated it is a valid part number but can not be ordered or shipped to the USA. This baffles my mind as to why.

This may all be correct but if the parts are as hard to come by as I am finding then it is really an expensive endeavor.

What Really boggles my mind is why it is not available as an option in the US. There are many parts of the US that would benefit from heat windshields.

 

never mind....i got excited for nothing....seems this heater wiper nozzle thing is buttonless...it just "happens"

 

Yeah, they are expensive parts for sure! I have never seen a heated windshield in the US so maybe there are some laws against it (probably written by insurance company lobby groups to save money on glass coverage).

For the cold weather package, From another post I found on here,

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...885-post5.html

According to the manual from that post the heated nozzles are always on. And the heated exterior mirrors turn on below some unspecified temperature.


But I found in the WDS it shows this:
The washer jets are heated electrically. This prevents the washer jets freezing in cold weather. The washer-jet heating system consists of heating resistors. The washer jets are electrically activated via the JBE at an outside temperature below 3 °C.


And for the heated mirrors:

The outdoor temperature sensor picks up the ambient temperature. The outdoor temperature sensor sends this information directly to the additional instrument.The additional instrument processes the information from the outdoor temperature sensor. As of an ambient temperature less than 3 °C, the additional instrument sends a message across the K-CAN to the junction box electronics (JBE). The JBE activates the mirror heating electrically.

 

Heated windshields are legal in the US. GM sold quite a few models with a resistive element sandwiched into the glass. No clue why the MINI one isn't offered.

 

If you have heated side mirrors and heated nozzle jets, yes, they just happen.

 

It's a MINIUSA decision what to bring in. For whatever reason, they don't bring in some things that are offered elsewhere. During the 1st gen, we couldn't get black cloth sports seats (only Space Gray) or power fold mirrors that were available in Europe. They brought in power fold mirrors for the 2nd gen, partly due to campaigning by MotoringFile.

 

Lots of cars in Europe have power folding mirrors, they have space issues, lol. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't get them!

 

Many other brands also have heated windshields, in some models, Subaru, Toyota, Range Rover, VW and Ford just to name a few.

With all of those and more I would say there is no legal precedence to not have them so it is something we should all write to MINI USA about.

 

Seriously. I've never heard of a car having that but I believe they exist, and I'd want one if I lived in Chicago and parked on the street like my daughter does .