Rear wipers

gaiscioch

How on earth did Ford (and other companies) get away with removing the wiper from the back window? In my old Ford there was a very handy wiper, particularly when reversing or when I needed to clean it while driving. In my current Ford (2010) they never put it on. It would be much safer with it. I presume they removed it to save money, but it's still annoying.

/rant over.

Toyotafanboi

depends on the car really.

hatchbacks generally get them, saloons generally don't.

mondeo hatch is almost identical to the mondeo saloon at the rear, but the hatch has the wiper.

ofcork

One of the lads at work had a saloon escort iirc and had a rear wiper fitted,didnt look great tbh.

stimpson

gaiscioch wrote: »

How on earth did Ford (and other companies) get away with removing the wiper from the back window? In my old Ford there was a very handy wiper, particularly when reversing or when I needed to clean it while driving. In my current Ford (2010) they never put it on. It would be much safer with it. I presume they removed it to save money, but it's still annoying.

/rant over.

Put some of this on it. Problem solved.

http://www.cleancar.ie/gtechniq-g1-clearvision-smart-glass-15ml.html

Failing that, rain-x every other month. I recently bought my first saloon so I sympathise. Pain in the arse.

Noccy_Mondy

What kind of Ford is it? Saloons don't have rear wipers generally. If it's a mondeo saloon, there isn't as much need for the wiper seeing as the dust and spray going up the back has less of an impact on the rear window, over a hatch. Hatch is about 6-8 inches shorter at the back over the saloon.

The part I find oddest about all this, is that saloons would generally actually benefit more from a rear wiper than a hatchback, as the rear windows on hatchbacks are generally more vertical, so the rain drips off more easily anyway.


I do think rear wipers can look a little crap alright, but surely a re-edesign for a flatter, less obtrusive, rear wiper, would be the real way forward..?

MuppetCheck

stimpson wrote: »

Put some of this on it. Problem solved.

http://www.cleancar.ie/gtechniq-g1-clearvision-smart-glass-15ml.html

Failing that, rain-x every other month. I recently bought my first saloon so I sympathise. Pain in the arse.

This. Have it on all my windows and it works a treat. Even with a flat back the water just beads away.

JohnBoy26

Deleted User wrote: »

The part I find oddest about all this, is that saloons would generally actually benefit more from a rear wiper than a hatchback, as the rear windows on hatchbacks are generally more vertical, so the rain drips off more easily anyway.


I do think rear wipers can look a little crap alright, but surely a re-edesign for a flatter, less obtrusive, rear wiper, would be the real way forward..?

The rear wiper serves to clean the dirt of the rear window too. A saloons rear window rarely gets caked with dirt but hatchbacks generally do if they are not washed often.

Noccy_Mondy

Deleted User wrote:

The part I find oddest about all this, is that saloons would generally actually benefit more from a rear wiper than a hatchback, as the rear windows on hatchbacks are generally more vertical, so the rain drips off more easily anyway.

But the whole idea of the wiper on hatches to remove all the dust and spray that fires up the back due to the absence of a boot, as opposed to removing water droplets.

HandsomeDan

What those guys said. A saloon does not need rear wiper. HB rear windows' prone to getting caked with ****e, hence rear wiper.

bazz26

Most of the cars I've owned have been saloons and I honestly can say that not having a rear wiper has every been an issue. My current car has a curved coupe type rear windscreen with no wiper and again I have no issue with rear visibility.

Maybe it's just myself (As I do generally aim to keep a clean car in general), but i find that the different in the amount of dust that gets on the rear window between my cars is fairly insignificant.

The 407 saloon (current car) seems to attract it fairly similarly to the Rav4 SUV (previous car) and Focus hatchback (car before that) that I previously owned. The 407 being the only one with no rear wiper.

Personally, I think a rear wiper would do nothing for the aesthetics of the 407, but I do think it'd be practical. Especially as I reverse out of a driveway every morning... the rear window may as well be blacked out on some mornings.

djimi

A rear wiper is handy on any car in fairness; hatchback or saloon.

I just got into the habit of sticking on the rear demister, which seems to do a bit at least to keep the window clear.

CJhaughey

Bean counters again, high spec JDM saloons often have wipers.

djimi

That actually looks so strange to see wipers on a saloon like that!

H3llR4iser

CJhaughey wrote: »

Bean counters again, high spec JDM saloons often have wipers.

There's probably a bit of that but I can't imagine it being the main reason, otherwise most European premium brands/models would offer one.

One thing that most are overlooking is the fact that in an hatchback the area of the rear window is an heavy aerodynamic turbulence zone, as the air flows coming from the top, sides and below the car meet abruptly generating vortexes and drag. Anything put in this area will have both low aerodynamic effectiveness and drag - that's why spoilers and wings are put on top of the rear window on racing hatches.

On most saloons, however, the rear window is still a flux area, as the air flow from the top follows the line smoothly until it meets the abrupt edge at the end of the rear boot, where the turbulence happens. Hence, on racing saloons the spoilers/wings are put at the end of the boot.

What does this have to do with wipers? Well, firstly it makes it so that rain, dirt and whatnot ends up on the rear window of an hatchback/SUV much easier than on that of a saloon, where the air flow tends to prevent accumulation; And second, it means that sticking a rear wiper on a saloon car generates much more drag than it does on an hatch, generating turbulence that disrupts the airflow towards the boot and potentially having adverse effects on fuel economy and performance. Since there is no absolute need nor legal requirements for a rear wiper, most manufacturers elect not to install one on saloons.

Indricotherium

Speaking of rear wipers, how often are you sitting in traffic on a boiling hot dry day and the car in front of you has the rear wiper on with the rubber half torn off the balde going back and forth screeching off the glass!!!

Do people think that their car just makes a screeching noise every 5-10 seconds!!!

Carson10

Indricotherium wrote: »

Speaking of rear wipers, how often are you sitting in traffic on a boiling hot dry day and the car in front of you has the rear wiper on with the rubber half torn off the balde going back and forth screeching off the glass!!!

Do people think that their car just makes a screeching noise every 5-10 seconds!!!

Usually a hire car... a nice brand new 142-D fiesta with the back wiper on for the duration of the tourists 2 week holiday around Ireland.

CJhaughey

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Since there is no absolute need nor legal requirements for a rear wiper, most manufacturers elect not to install one on saloons.

Its probably that the Japanese also favour practicality over looks when it makes sense for them, Japan has a fairly high rainfall and also high congestion.
Backing out into traffic with a dirty window makes the job more hazardous then it needs to be.
Its usually only the higher spec versions that have rear wipers not all models in the range, they wouldn't fit them on all models.
I think the omission on most Euro model vehicles is looks not practicality.
Porsche used them very recently.

H3llR4iser

CJhaughey wrote: »

Its probably that the Japanese also favour practicality over looks when it makes sense for them, Japan has a fairly high rainfall and also high congestion.
Backing out into traffic with a dirty window makes the job more hazardous then it needs to be.
Its usually only the higher spec versions that have rear wipers not all models in the range, they wouldn't fit them on all models.
I think the omission on most Euro model vehicles is looks not practicality.
Porsche used them very recently.

As far as I know the rear wiper is a paid extra for Porsche, unless things changed dramatically in recent times. There are exceptions, some coupe' cars will have them more or less because they always had them; Same goes for modern hatchbacks that are streamlined and would not really require the wiper, as they do not have the "vertical back window" style of the '70s/'80s.

It's funny how they desperately tried to keep the whole contraption as out of the way as possible of the airflow, making it mostly useless with a vertical installation that, unless some telescopic malarkey is in the wiper, can't possibly cover the whole area.

Oh and that it looks like stained pants - that's granted!

OldMrBrennan83

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