dbrunone Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 So it's been snowy here a lot recently, and I have come to a conclusion...either my wiper heaters are broken, or they are almost worthless. They help a LITTLE, but it seems like it never really un-freezes the entire blade. Usually it un freezes the bottom of the driver blade, and heats the outer part of that blade, but not enough to completely un freeze it. Anyone else have this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bama16 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 i always have to slap them against the windshield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigInALegacy Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Okay... I'll chime in. At first when I heard about these I figured: "great, no more slapping my wipers from the driver's seat on the highway". I quickly realized that's not really what they're for. While most people during a snowstorm will pull their wipers up, we don't have to. All the wiper defrost does is defrost the windshield where the wipers sit, so you're wipers won't freeze onto the windshield. The crappy ice that builds up when you drive, you still gotta deal with that. I find that (if possible) running the wipers on low, the wiper defogger on, and some good defrost going, it can help break down some ice build up on the wipers, but you're not off the hook from banging your wipers after a long drive in the snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlsb Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 The last time I used mine to defrost the wipers while warming up the car, they caused a heat/stress crack in the windshield:mad: "Belief does not make truth. Evidence makes truth. And belief does not make evidence." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondas123 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 So it's been snowy here a lot recently, and I have come to a conclusion...either my wiper heaters are broken, or they are almost worthless. They help a LITTLE, but it seems like it never really un-freezes the entire blade. Usually it un freezes the bottom of the driver blade, and heats the outer part of that blade, but not enough to completely un freeze it. Anyone else have this problem? The wipers themselves are NOT heated. It's simply the bottom of the windsheild where they rest that is. - The Mortgage Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenzo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 The last time I used mine to defrost the wipers while warming up the car, they caused a heat/stress crack in the windshield:mad: That happened twice on my 2005 LGT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 That happened twice on my 2005 LGT. Fixed under warranty? If I'm going faster than you, Move Right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Okay... I'll chime in. At first when I heard about these I figured: "great, no more slapping my wipers from the driver's seat on the highway". I quickly realized that's not really what they're for. While most people during a snowstorm will pull their wipers up, we don't have to. All the wiper defrost does is defrost the windshield where the wipers sit, so you're wipers won't freeze onto the windshield. The crappy ice that builds up when you drive, you still gotta deal with that. I find that (if possible) running the wipers on low, the wiper defogger on, and some good defrost going, it can help break down some ice build up on the wipers, but you're not off the hook from banging your wipers after a long drive in the snow. Yeah... I figured all that out the hard way too If you don't vote Trump, out, you're a bigot who hates america. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapnJack Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Its the way the wipers are constructed is the problem. The bridge mechanism in the wiper blades is what freezes up. Then the blades won't flex correctly when they sweep the windshield, because they are virtually frozen stiff. A few weeks back I picked up a set of Bosch Icons. They use a one piece curved spring steel bridge to support the blade. Since then, I have driven through freezing rain without any problems with the heaters on. I will NEVER go back to the standard blades. The only drawback with the Icons is that they are rather expensive(probably because they say Bosch on them), but I believe other manufacturers are releasing their own version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Dagwood Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 These help, and they're on sale, too: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/valeo/ultimate.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapnJack Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 These help, and they're on sale, too: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/valeo/ultimate.jsp These are simular to the Icons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Dagwood Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 yup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabismo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 It's not meant to melt all the ice from the wipers. Rubber doesn't transmit heat very well. They're just to prevent your wipers from being frozen to the windshield itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 So it's been snowy here a lot recently, and I have come to a conclusion...either my wiper heaters are broken, or they are almost worthless. They help a LITTLE, but it seems like it never really un-freezes the entire blade. Usually it un freezes the bottom of the driver blade, and heats the outer part of that blade, but not enough to completely un freeze it. Anyone else have this problem? Nope. I don't have the problem but that comes with caveats. I've noticed that when driving in snow, the heater element does improve wiper performance or, more accurately, windshield performance. I'll notice the wipers will begin to leave water streaks after the timer clicks off. Turn the element back on and the streaks disappear. That build up of snow at the bottom of the windshield also becomes a non-issue. The performance of the system also depends upon how one makes use of it. One often sees people's wipers working way too hard for conditions. Using an appropriate intermittent setting allows the wiper to remain on the element for as long as possible. When coupled with adroit use of the defrost setting, I must say that the Subie windshield clearing system is the best I've ever had in a car. I was driving in heavy snow for almost two hours one evening rush hour (taking surface street short cuts thanks to the nav because the expressways were parking lots ). When stopped at lights, I saw almost every driver trying to get ice off their wipers. Mine were completely clear and, except for minor ice build up along the vertical pillar, the windshield almost snow free especially at the bottom where other drivers had masses of packed snow and ice. That packed snow and ice will freeze the wipers and further compromise their performance. This brings up another point. Depending upon the interplay between snow and ambient temperature including the wind chill effect created by moving through air, sometimes it is more efficient not to use the heating elements or even the defrost system. If the glass can be kept below the freezing point, snow will not melt on it and will simply blow off the windshield. This method usually works best when the temperature is at the lower extreme of when snow falls especially if you can maintain steady cooling air flow over the windshield exterior. I didn't mean to go on at length about this because this stuff has become very intuitive to me after many years of dealing with some really extreme winter conditions on the prairies of the Great White North. Putting intuitive thoughts into words takes a lot of words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underpowerd Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Okay... I'll chime in. At first when I heard about these I figured: "great, no more slapping my wipers from the driver's seat on the highway". I quickly realized that's not really what they're for. While most people during a snowstorm will pull their wipers up, we don't have to. All the wiper defrost does is defrost the windshield where the wipers sit, so you're wipers won't freeze onto the windshield. The crappy ice that builds up when you drive, you still gotta deal with that. I find that (if possible) running the wipers on low, the wiper defogger on, and some good defrost going, it can help break down some ice build up on the wipers, but you're not off the hook from banging your wipers after a long drive in the snow. i'll always listen to a new englander when it comes to precip... +1, it always gives me a chuckle seeing everyone else's "luxury" car in the neighborhood doing the wiper 'field goal!' the night before a storm, as vimy mentioned, the buildup parallel to the d/s a-pillar on this car is what annoys me most in the white. also agree re: the blade wipers, they help even more than the heaters, best winter move one can make, after snow tires imo. a bird ate my icons (pecked em into a million bits, lol), using michelins variety for about a year now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobY Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Bosch Icons, Valeo Ultimates, Rain-X Latitude... They are all frameless and very difficult to freeze. In conjunction with the window heater element they are the best type of blades to use. I personally have the Valeo Ultimates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenzo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Fixed under warranty? The first one was. With the second, I had the choice of out-of-pocket or glass coverage from my auto insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Dagwood Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 speaking of rain-x (the stuff, not the wipers)...any good? i'll do a better search later, just looking for a quick response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longislander1 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 +1, it always gives me a chuckle seeing everyone else's "luxury" car in the neighborhood doing the wiper 'field goal!' I'm happy to have this feature, especially since I've owned far more costly "luxury" cars without it. I've only had a chance to use it once, but it worked great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrata Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I tell people regularly that Rain-X is the best product I use. It's all about the beading action! Get the spray though - it's much more effective over the wipes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigInALegacy Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 that the wiper frame structure is really where you get the ice build up. A new set of blades combined with a little thoughtful use of wiper speed, defroster temp/level, and the wiper defroster, and the Subie actually does hold up pretty well. Friday, we got about 8 inches here in Mass with some pretty fluffly snow combined with some sleet/freezing rain and I made it about 2 hours of driving down I-190 before I had to stop and slap my wipers off because it was starting to inhibit my vision. That was with the stock wipers, so I probably could have made it home if I had some good wipers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasaraki Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 The heating element is working well for me so far. I have a 08. i also use the Rainx washer fluid. Very nice stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejoy1220 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 These help, and they're on sale, too: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/valeo/ultimate.jsp My brother just put these on his Pathfinder and won't stop raving about them, I'm going to have to get some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Dagwood Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 yup, they're pretty decent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppettit2005 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 so get this, I got in my car this morning while it was 28 degrees outside, got it started, got it warmed up, got the windshield de-frosted, got the rear window de-frosted, got the seat heaters warmed up, and got the mirrors and windsheild wipers warmed up. I got halfway to the first highway that I take to work, and noticed my windshield was filthy, so I sprayed some cleaner on it... which immediately froze to the windshield... while I was driving... at this point I wondered "what is the point of all this heated stuff if the wind passing over my car negates the effect by cooling it off!?!??!?!?"... anyway, after de-frosting my windshield while driving, I noticed that not only did the fluid on the windshield freeze, but the fluid in the lines froze too... what are the odds that I have broken my windshield wiper fluid lines now that the freeze-thaw effect is in place? seriously, cause if I gotta buy new lines I'm gonna be pissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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