xradman

I want to preface this by saying that this is the very first Audi or VW product that I've ever owned or driven. I've so far seen 2 design peculiarities on my A8 that I find to be little odd or puzzling. I've posted on another thread about the "OFF" button for the memory seats. I found out about the other design oddity today. This was the first morning that I had to use the front defogger and rear windshield defroster. On all the other cars (German, Asian, and American), in one of these 2 functions, the side mirrors would also defog/defrost. However on my A8, side mirrors remained frosted/fogged. I thought I had uncovered my first defect, and contemplated having to take my car in for premature service. Then I discovered that the side mirror defroster only works if the mirror switch is in the 6 o'clock position. I normally keep my mirror switch at 3 o'clock position to make use of reverse mirror tilt function for the passenger mirror. I'm sure that this made sense to some engineer in Ingolstadt when they designed their mirror defroster function this way, but WHY??? What advantage is there in making us flip an additional switch to perform a common function that can be and should be performed automatically? I still love this car, but as a new Audi owner, I find these design choices puzzling to say the least.

derfA8L

The previous gen D3 A8s had the side mirror heaters functioning automatically when you turned on the rear window defogger. Looks like they changed that so you can now control these functions separately.

Audi has always had an "OFF" button to deactivate the seat memory controls---In addition to keeping the seat from automatically changing it's position if someone else unlocks the car, it's also a safety feature that should be (but is rarely) used when the car is being driven. I had a dangerous event occur years ago in my 1985 Audi 5000S--I was doing about 50 mph on NYC's FDR Drive and pressed one of the seat memory buttons (I wanted to get into my designated highway driving position) and the seat and seatback quickly moved/tilted backward with me barely able to hold onto the steering wheel. Someone in my garage must have diddled with the seat memory, and nearly got me killed. According to the warning on page 64 of the owner's manual:

"Do not adjust the driver's or front passenger's seat while the vehicle is moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly, causing sudden loss of vehicle control and personal injury..."

I think that goes too far, and I sometimes do manually adjust my seat with the car moving; I just refrain from pushing the memory button with the car in motion.

uberwgn

The heating elements in the mirror will have a much longer lifespan when switched on only when needed. Probably not the answer you seek, but it's a reality.

We've had heated mirrors on cars for years - - I can't recall ever needing to switch them on.