Well, it snowed in central Texas [seasons first snow, before it snowed in New York .... dig on my DIL]
Vehicle 2011 RX450H [FWD for the southern states]

Snow turned into ice on both the side mirrors. I noticed that after driving, parking in the elements, and then some driving. The passenger side looked like sweat drops, but the driver side had icicles.

Q: Are those mirrors heated? electrically? How can I check? Do I have to be in front defrost mode?

Salim

 

Rear lift gate defroster and side mirrors' heaters are controlled by the same "Rear defrost" button on the dash.

 

Thanks ,,, I always wondered what the second pictograph was. Duh!

Looking at your Nav screen ... I hope you are safe and far from the inferno.

Salim

 

You also have heater for windshield wipers. Button is well hidden but it's there. From what i remember it's in the same row where the tailgate open button is. Pictograph is small wiper blade in arc.

 

I will look for it, but seems unlikely as I do not see any heating lines on the windscreen. It can be an option for cooler regions .. like headlamp washer.

Salim

 

Ah, yes indeed. Page 282 manual says "If equipped.". And apparently on nav units it's operated from Nav screen. So there may be no button.

 

The wiper deicer grid on all vehicles made by Toyota that have the feature are not visible lines on the windshield - they are behind the dark area at the bottom of the windshield where the wipers rest. A photo of the wiper deicer grid on the new windshield being installed on my 2014 Sienna last week is attached.

If your RX has the wiper deicer grid, you should be able to see its connector from the engine compartment although you may have to remove a trim panel to see it - see second attached photo of my Sienna.

Edit: I should have mentioned that owners of pre-2011 Toyota Sienna without the cold weather package that included the wiper deicer feature found that they could add it by getting a windshield with the deicer grid and adding a relay to a junction block. Don't know if it is that simple on an RX. The wiper deicer has been standard on the Sienna since 2011.

 

I do not believe wiper deicer was an option on the 3RX.

 

Salim, it's easy to tell if your mirror deicer is working - the mirrors will be warm to touch. Of course, you can only tell in the cold.
My '01 IS300 had a neat trick - the mirror deicer was always on when the engine was on. Only in '02 they figured out to wire it to the rear defroster.

 

Thanks for the replies .. I will wait for the next snow to confirm.

Seriously I did see the heater lines in the rear view and found the shared switch.


Salim

 

I think you are correct. According to the parts list I checked, wiper deicer feature does not appear to have been available on U.S. market models but was standard on the RX sold in Canada - same as for the LS sedans I've owned ... wiper deicer not available in the U.S. but standard in Canada.

 

And can be activated in the nav's Climate section.