Tree63 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Driving up north through winter conditions yesterday - some bare roads, some centre bare, some covered with fresh snow - I had to use my rear wiper a fair bit to keep a reasonably clear view behind. After a while, the wiper was caked with a good bit of slush and snow and I stopped to clean it. The entire back end was covered in a layer of frozen mess - but at least ol' smokeys wouldn't be able to read my licence plate! A lot of it just dropped off as we drove along but it was interesting how even at low speeds on fresh snow the back would quickly get coated again. Other hatchbacks that I've had havea also had this - just a result of back end design and wind/draft. It was the first time I had to stop and clean the wiper, though. Might be an area of design improvement to consider. Anyone else seen this with snow (north) or sand (south)? BTW Mileage on this trip was 6.2L/100km (38mpgUS) in 15F weather against a head wind going up, and not much tail wind coming back, with eco-cruise on about 80% of time, averaging 55-60 mph. Same trip two months ago, before breaking in the engine, with better weather conditions, was 8.0L/100km (30mpgUS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I have a regular drive on a gravel/dirt road, and always have a nice layer of dust on the rear window when I stop. It's the nature of the aerodynamics of the hatchback, the air spins in a large cylinder behind the vehicle, depositing road stuff on the back of the vehicle. The Subaru wagon I owned a few years ago had a nice spoiler at the top that directed air downwards, kept the window much cleaner, but my later VW wagon and this car don't handle the air the same way. I'd love to see an aftermarket spoiler that could clean up the airflow without reducing mileage (and still look good), but that's a really difficult thing to craft. I do put a good coating of rain-x on both the front and rear windows, it helps keep the glass a bit cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaners Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Maybe running the rear defroster would help. I would have to look at our car, but some cars have an extra heating element where the rear wiper "parks" when not in use to help the ice/snow buildup on the blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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