Rear Defroster WTF!
 

What a POS, worst I've ever had/seen!

Koz

what do you mean? mine works perfecly fine!

Yeah mine too... at least tell us what happened.

I agree with KOZ, our rear defroster is pretty weak...:thumbdn:

yeah mines is pretty weak. but then again i have tint so i dont know if that would make a difference

I have yet to use mine this winter season :p

I have no tint. Forget about snow, it won't even clear a slight foggy window. It clears about a 16th of an inch. The fog will only clear after the interior heat reaches the rear. This is ridiculous!

Koz

wow that sucks i havent used my rear yet.

Mine works quite well, but then again, I've never had actual frost on the car.

I think it sucks, like he said, the worst!!!!

! ur so lucky, i have to use it all the time, man i get some meannnnn fog when the temps hit as low as 71 on my part of the island. lmao :D:D:D

Mine worked fine yesterday when it was fogged up.

we've had it all so far in chicago, ice, sleet, snow, no problems with the rear defroster!

Yea the chicago area is getting pretty crappy this year but I on the other hand like the rear defroster just fine. I just wipe all the snow off and the defroster takes care of the ice in like 2 mins.

nvm..... dumb question

I had a tad bit of frost once and fog a few a times it worked fine. Fog started to clear up about 15-20 sec after I turned it on. The frost took about a min or so.

+3. Chi has had crappy weather. Obviously it won't melt an inch of snow quickly, but it melts the ice just fine. Get it checked out.

Koz is absolutely right, the defroster on the IS is pretty weak. I live in the D.C. Metro area, so it gets pretty cold. When I go to start my car in the mornings, the rear window will be completely foggy, turning the defroster on will have zero to little impact on fog/frost. It takes on average of about 10-15 minutes for the defroster to do its job. thats just WEAK, I mean the side mirrors heat up real quick but for some reason the rear windshield does not get heated up.:thumbdn:

I don't know if there is unit-to-unit variation in defroster performance, or just in expectations. With a thin coating of frost on my rear window, the car takes no more than a minute or two to start forming a zebra-stripe pattern - with clear areas near the wires - giving enough visibility to see what is going on behind me. It takes about 10 minutes to finish the job. Not as powerful as the rear defroster in some other cars I've owned previously, but not terrible either. Compared with my seat coolers which truly are so weak as to be useless, my rear defroster is superman :).

Works great for me with ice in CT

Mine has been fine up here in snowy icy Toronto. You guys getting the same huge snow storm that we're getting now?

To help prevent a "foged up" rear window, do the following:

1) Always use "outside air" when running your heat or a/c

2) Clean it with glass cleaner once a month..

:D

Mine works fine, although it doesn't see any ice or snow in sunny southern California ;)

it works fine for me sometimes in the winter, but I am in south florida lol.

Did you have the dealer look at it?

Next time I go in I will have them check it. I drove (25 min ride) to work this morning with the rear all fogged. It did absolutely nothing!

Koz

i agree the rear defroster is soo slow

I used mine for a few days and it had absolutely no problems.

same here, just started using mine, no problems SO far......

I'm glad to hear some work OK. Now lets see if the Stealer can fix it.

Koz

Side questions?? when was the last time you windexed it??
and when running your heater, where you using inside air? or outside air??

Joe Z

I only use a damp microfiber cloth (yellow-Costco) with only water on it. I tried both w/wo the A/C.

Koz

Thats the problem... Water and cloth isn't enough to break down the oils and condensation inside your car (oils accumilate from your leather conditioning and/or dash treatment). You need something with ammonia to clean the windows. I also read that vinegar can break down the oils in preparation for the ammonia based cleaners. I use eagle one 20/20 and microfiber. Oh BTW i never had a fog problem even while street parking in NJ's sub freezing weather.

mines fine. only had to use it once though. I remember my Envoy's was horrible.

Mine also works perfectly fine.

Try cleaning all your glass windows with windex or automotive equivalent glass cleaner..
I use the FOAM stuff... forgot the name, but Costco carries it...

I didn't understand your response... are you using outside fresh air when running the heat??
the A/C is mainly used when needing to defrost the front windshield quickly...


Joe Z

the rear defroster is slow and takes about 15 mins to clearly defrost. i park my car on the outside and even in socal i wake up to window dew every morning due to the cold beach weather. so yah i get in my car and drive 15 mins to work and by the time i get to work itll defrost. the side mirrors on the other hand are quick.

I've been cleaning rear window defrosters for 35 years and never had a problem. If I'm not mistaken, Toyota recommends NOT using any chemical on the defroster. The rear window defroster does NOT need any assistance from the heater to clear the rear window if it is working properly. Also it should be able to melt snow/ice after 10/15 min of use.

To clarify, I tried every combination of inside/outside supply air with/without A/C. Clearly there is something wrong with the defroster. The window doesn't clear until the interior heat reaches the window (30+ minutes).

Koz

perhaps u should talk to your dealer xD

either that or your windows are open.

I use this and pick them up at Costco..
I spray into the micro fiber.

http://content.costco.com/Images/Con...811482_vpb.jpg
Glass Cleaner
Ammonia free
Streak free
Contains no ozone depleting chemicals
Safe for use on glass surfaces, windows, mirrors, windshields, acrylics, polycarbonates, tile, porcelain and chrome
Foam spray
Clean, fresh scent


The reason I ask about the inside / outside air is the following:

During my morning commute in the 50 degree range.. if I have no heat or air on and the button is set to re-circulated air, my windows will tend to fog up slowly from the back towards the front... especially if they haven't been cleaned in a while..
If I have the button set to outside air with everything off, my windows will not fog up.

Sounds like its not getting warm quick enough.. which is weird. :uh: