Not sure how accurate this list is, but it’s definitely not most. Perhaps most high end vehicles have the heater elements, but normal cars don’t.
Why do you put your wipers up before it snows?
- Thread starter TiGeo
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Some vehicles such as our previous 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT had heated area where wipers parked. It worked well
Might have to fenagle and flip up so you can scrape the ice. '21 Tucson running about 5 minutes with defroster on. Rest of windshield quick scrap to break up and brush off. Wipers sit below the defrost area.Didn't flip the wipers up last night. Snowed 2" last night, nice fluffy stuff. Had to flip the wipers up and clean off that spot on the windshield--is it ok to flip up after it snows, or is it only verboten to flip up before?
I think the wipers are in the defrost area, but it was too cold for ice, nice easy to push fluffy stuff. Luckily the car cooled off long before it snowed.
I slipped and slid all over the driveway shoveling, but I'll take fluffy snow over the wet heavy stuff--or ice on the car.
And that is with a very recent application of Rain-X to help stuff not stick as bad and water roll off.
That's a list for the entire windshield being heated, not just elements for the wipers.
My 2008 Highlander had heat elements for the wipers, but that was the only one I've ever owned with that. Neither my 2005 Lexus RX nor my current 2014 Acura have heated wiper parking and those are premium vehicles.
Either way it’s not a common option. I know Grand Caravans used to have it because one of my dad’s tenants used to have one years ago and it’s one of the things I noticed on it since it had a huge windshield. I always thought it was a very neat feature and wondered why more vehicles don’t have it.
Sadly Chrysler ditched this feature on the newer minivans and my Grand Caravans doesn’t have it.
My 2012 Subaru Impreza and my 2020 RAV4 both have heated parking areas for the wipers. I wouldn’t consider either to be premium vehicles.
That's just the NA market. In northern central Europe every third or so Golf has a heated windshield (despite as an option), every second Ford. In the Scandinavian countries ever more. Not just luxury or electric vehicles like in America.
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I read on the internet that said it just stretches the spring out that keeps them against the windshield when in use if you keep them up all the time. Mine were buried in snow and frozen to the windshield. It was more of a hassle getting the pile of snow off the hood cowling than to just unstick them by pulling them up momentarily. Keep in mind that in 18 years of owning this truck the wipers have only been stuck to the windshield maybe 3 times. I could have parked it in the garage, but didn't want to lose all the remaining heat from the previous warmer days since the boat wasn't winterized. It did get down to 14 degrees for one night. Luckily nothing got lower than 40 degrees inside the garage.
Some people change their oil every 4k, some every 5k, and some every 15k. They all believe it's the right way to do it. Heck, some folks believe their cars are sentient and communicate to them just how happy they are that Master uses a special blend of Motul, MMO, Castrol, and camel hump fat and change it every 4237 miles. Precisely.
Some leaves them up, and some leaves them down. Some folks thinks it's right, some says it be an urban legend like the woman in white.
All's I know is that personally, if it's light fluffy stuff and we are getting an inch as usual, I don't bother worrying one way or another. Most of ours is preceded by nice sloppy rain that transitions to freezing rain which transitions to sleet then turns into wet sloppy snow that REALLY solidifies at about 6am when it finally gets down to about 25f.
Some leaves them up, and some leaves them down. Some folks thinks it's right, some says it be an urban legend like the woman in white.
All's I know is that personally, if it's light fluffy stuff and we are getting an inch as usual, I don't bother worrying one way or another. Most of ours is preceded by nice sloppy rain that transitions to freezing rain which transitions to sleet then turns into wet sloppy snow that REALLY solidifies at about 6am when it finally gets down to about 25f.
It's one of my pet peeves. A little washer fluid and they shouldn't stick. Unless the vehicle is coated in a thick layer of ice
I would really like to see how keeping wiper blades up stretches the springs lol. Maybe I’ll start jacking my car up every time I get home, so the springs don’t compress.
Subaru has had a heater at the base of the windshield (where the wipers are) called the “Front Wiper De-Icer” available since the mid 1990’s.
Almost all their cars have it. Usually only the Base models did not.
If it does weaken the spring, which it might I never had a problem, and I've been doing it for decades now.
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The truck had to run a good 20 minutes to thaw out the windows before I could see out of them to even go anywhere, so by that time they should be unstuck anyways. Should have just went back inside instead of freezing my hands off trying to get the snow off. It was funny watching the cop cars drive around with a slab of snow on the roof. Up north they'd give you a ticket for that. Couldnt go fast enough for it to fly off and hit another vehicle anyways.
I idle when it's cold enough to make sense. My car works for me. My oil works for my car and myself.
I leave my car at a park & ride at times. There's no place to plug in a block heater. It idles until I get the snow cleared.
I was jealous when I learned for the first time, there was such a thing. My friend's 06 STi had them; it wasn't even a thing for Evos.
My CX5 has them but they're useless in melting the snow off and we haven't had much icy days to test out.
JHZR2
Staff member
Point was keeping the rubber squeegees out of a chunk of ice, and running a car to melt said block of ice.
Idling a car is wasteful and polluting, regardless of how you look at it. If you believe there’s a climate crisis, you’re contributing to it.
But it may be a necessary evil.
All that said, the topic was about putting up wipers. Point is that it’s better to not have them frozen in a chunk of ice at the bottom of the windshield, regardless of your ice melt approach.
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