Cleaning the rear window today and noticed quite a few gaps/breaks around 6mm wide over parts of the heating elements. I can't remember if I've used it yet but I'm wondering whether it will work or not. Does anyone else have the gaps and if so does it work ok? Anyone had BMW change theirs?

 

Noticed this morning it doesn't work at the top - going to have to get it replaced!

 

go down to the dealers and take a look at a few E60's in their showroom and/or on the approved used lot. i'll take a look at mine later but i cannot imagine the gaps would be a defect if they look deliberate that is...still stranger things have happened as they say

 

I just looked at mine and I have the same thing--small, random gaps, all in the top few rows. Of course, living in the San Francisco bay area, I can't remember the last time I used the rear defroster. Not sure it's worth having them replace the rear window for this.

 

I think you guys are seeing the diversity antenna lines and not the defroster lines. They are applied to the window in the same process so they look the same but they are connected to two different things.

I'm not looking at my car right now but I seem to remember that the window has some antenna lines at the top of the window and some lines that run vertically down the length of the window.

My bet is that there is no problem at all with the heating of the window...

 

Thanks Rudy,

I think you could be right

 

Tried mine this morning, with lots of condensation on the rear window, and it worked fine.

 

I took a few pix of my rear window heating element.

This is the driver's side--you can see the gaps, and 2 pieces of the heating element that aren't connected to anything.


Here's the passenger side--more random gaps, and there are 5 more pieces that aren't connected to anything:

 

Stream,

Top man thanks for that I know its ok now. I was all set to go back to my dealers with all the "I can't believe it on a car that cost this much"

Thanks for keeping my blood pressure at normal.

 

So your gaps and unconnected pieces are the same as mine? I tried looking at the pattern and don't see any logic to the gaps, plus the unconnected pieces baffle me.