UKC

Mrs J rented a Citroën minibus for the week. It's got those side mirrors that fold in when you turn the ignition off. It was very cold last night with light snow and this morning when starting up, one of the mirrors must have been frozen as it folded half way out where it got stuck. Does anyone know if there's a way to override this feature so they don't fold in?
Thanks.

In reply to jon:

My Volvo has these, and I don't have a garage and live in the Alps so often it gets covered in snow/iced up and one or both will fail to open. I generally just restart the car after de-icing and it sorts it out.

There are some settings in the main computer to change this - either fold in, up, or not at all. I'm sure there's something similar for a Citroen.

In reply to yorkshireman:

Thanks. Solved it by leaving it unlocked...

In reply to jon:

Maybe lock with a key rather than the 'blipper' - not alarmed but at least locked?

Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

I'll get her to try that. She's in Dévoluy...

In reply to jon:

Warm water?

In reply to Timmd:
Hmmm, didn't think of that. We use warm water occasionally on the diesel filter in our pick-up that's really prone to freezing. And you're right, it'd work for the mirror in the short term but I'd guess the water would get inside and freeze even harder the next night! Still, it's only rented for this week.

In reply to jon:

is there a dedicated fuse that can be removed?

In reply to MG:

Probably. I'll tell her.

In reply to jon:
Maybe she could follow up with spraying a water displacement like WD40 or similar into any gaps to possibly help stop as much ice from forming a bond?

I guess there's only so much ice which could form in the gaps, so a decent amount of warm/hot-ish water could still be okay each morning? Not ideal for the next person to hire the van though.

In reply to jon:


A friend of mine in Dévoluy said it was -10C this morning so that would do it! I'm in the next valley and it was -8C - my fingers are still burning from going numb on my XC ski this morning.

In reply to jon:

Fire, and lot's of it.

In reply to jon:

I'll tell you one thing about those automatic folding mirrors, don't ever, ever damage them. Or let her do so.

They are UNBELIEVABLY expensive also pretty fragile, and the cable fittings tend to change each year. So you are invariably forced to buy them from main agents, at really stupid prices, normally after a long delay as the precise component for you is sourced.

Cute features when they work, but compared to a simple mechanical, generic product ....

In reply to Simon4:




Been there, some nob knocked my wife's off and drove away, the price was ridiculous plus we had to have it painted too. I'm sure it was about £450 in total. Effing ridiculous.

In reply to Wsdconst:

Thank goodness for apostrophes!

In reply to jon:

You've lost me ?

In reply to Wsdconst:

"some nob knocked my wife's off"

Possibly meaning "thank heaven for apostrophes and the possessive S", imagine them both removed, along with your very expensive wing mirror. Although in those circumstances, the wing mirror would probably the least of your worries.

"There but for a misplaced consonant is the story of my life".

In reply to Simon4:

Oh haha, sorry, it's been a long day.