Why no rear wipers on some coupes/all sedans?

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Now, I keep noticing that SUVs, station wagons and hatchbacks almost always have REAR wipers...and Minivans.

Why is this not a standard item, or even an option on most other sedans and coupes? I mean mid 90-s Integra coupes and Preludes (I think?) have wipers on the back. How are those back windows different from my 330Ci window or my wife's Mazda6's ?

And sedans NEVER have a wiper arm in the back...why not?

does this have to do with the angle of the rear window? If that's the case, it still doesn't make sense, when you think of the examples above...

Any thoughts?
 
Aerodynamics.

The rear windows on sedans and non-hatchback coupes just don't get all that dirty, and you can't see much out of them anyway.

On SUVs, hatchbacks and minivans the rear windows get filthy due to the aerodynamics, and have much better visibility when clean.
 
Huge difference in the amount of stuff that sticks to a rear window of a wagon or SUV, compared to a sedan or coupe. Drive on a gravel road for a few miles and then look how much stuff is on your rear bumper, that's how much covers the back window of a wagon/suv.
I used to see rear deflectors on the top of suv's to direct clean air off the roof down over the window to help keep the dirt off, but I can imagine it had negative effects on mileage.
Also with the window farther away from you, the effect of dust is greater on your vision, so a clean rear window is nice.
 
I'm usually a function-over-form kinda guy, but I don't think I'd care to have a wiper on the back of my sedan. Not unless if it was completely hidden. *cue jokes about Studebakers not knowing if they are coming or going*

[*I think I got the vehicle correct for that joke...]
 
Ok...Thanks, so it IS the angle. (resulting in the differences in the aerodynamics)

Then I really don't get why an Integra coupe needs one, because that rear window is pretty much just like any other coupe/sedan (AND the distance of the rear window from the driver is LESS than SUVs/Vans etc)...OR a Prelude...or a Probe..

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But then curiously, the Evo, although a normal sedan DOES have rear wipers...This is the only sedan I know of that has them...

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Well, the next reason for a rear wiper is shallow angle of the glass on those hatchbacks, any dirt would be harder to look through. The Evo and prelude don't really need one IMHO, but maybe its a rally poser thing with the Evo? The little fins on top are supposed keep the airflow attached to the rear window anyways.
We had a 85 Corolla hatch back with a wiper and I don't really remember using it much. The glass stayed mostly clean even on gravel roads.
 
Been a while, but I recall my sedan keeping the rear glass free (or sorta) of water as long as I was moving. The wagon though kicks the water spray up onto the rear window when I'm moving, but doesn't get any while stopped.
 
Its less about water than it is about dirt. I thought rear wipers on anything were ridiculous until the first time I spent a few days with a hatchback. Typical notchback sedans, and even fastbacks really don't suck much road dirt onto the rear window... a Cherokee puts everything it runs over up on the back window!
 
Heh, I remember when I first brought my wagon home. I lived on a dirt road, must have been a half mile long. Maybe it was only a quarter. Anyhow, I was flat-amazed at how dirty the back of my car could get.

The downside is of course that you can tell right away my car is old, gauging by the marks on the rear window. Most of that wear came after I moved too, as I didn't live there for very long after getting the car.
 
my coupe has a rear wiper, and I've owned the car for 8 years since new. I've NEVER used the rear wiper. Well,actually once I used it on accident when I pressed the lever incorrectly lol I've never had a need for it.
 
I think wiper implies hatchback, and hatchback implies nerd in the US.

I don't agree with it, but figure that's how it works.
 
According to my father, who worked at Bosch's wiper division for about 25 years, it depends largely on the car's aerodynamics and rear window shape/angle. Some windows tend to shed the water on their own (think very vertical ones) and don't need a wiper, and in some cases the car's aero drag helps pull the water off.

Sometimes, unfortunately, it comes down to a cost/complexity thing: they want to pinch pennies and don't include it. It also saves a bit of weight. The Japanese Integras didn't have rear wipers, for example, but the US ones did.
 
Back in the 1970s,a rear wiper was occasionally applied to the rear of Volkswagen Beetles over in Europe.If you ever watched the "SuperBug" series of Herbie knockoff movies,numerous "Du Du" cars were fitted with them.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Ok...Thanks, so it IS the angle. (resulting in the differences in the aerodynamics)

Then I really don't get why an Integra coupe needs one, because that rear window is pretty much just like any other coupe/sedan (AND the distance of the rear window from the driver is LESS than SUVs/Vans etc)...OR a Prelude...or a Probe..


My guess is in those cases, it was kind of a gimmick feature. Something that looks like "oohh, they thought about everything," but really isn't all that useful. Now it's done with touchscreens and syncing things, but in the 1990s it was done with features like this. Remember headlight wipers?
 
I have a wagon, CUV, and a hatchback with a rear wiper. But any car that has the wiper designed to be parked in the "up" position looks dumb (none of mine do).
 
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Originally Posted By: user52165
I have a wagon, CUV, and a hatchback with a rear wiper. But any car that has the wiper designed to be parked in the "up" position looks dumb (none of mine do).


As I understand it, it's for aerodynamic purposes.
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It doesn't matter on a truncated back end like a CUV, wagon, or VW Golf style hatchback. If not completely vertical the back window is within a few degrees of vertical.

On more sloped rear glass like 626/Mazda6 hatchbacks, Integra coupes, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius...etc...It puts less of the wiper in the airflow. Instead of having the whole wiper perpendicular to the airflow, it puts just the side section of the wiper in the airflow.

Yeah, it is kinda' dumb on cars that have rear spoilers. A zero degree factory spoiler is going to create far more drag than any wiper, but it makes sense on the Prius and Insight at least.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Ok...Thanks, so it IS the angle. (resulting in the differences in the aerodynamics)

Then I really don't get why an Integra coupe needs one, because that rear window is pretty much just like any other coupe/sedan (AND the distance of the rear window from the driver is LESS than SUVs/Vans etc)...OR a Prelude...or a Probe..


My guess is in those cases, it was kind of a gimmick feature. Something that looks like "oohh, they thought about everything," but really isn't all that useful. Now it's done with touchscreens and syncing things, but in the 1990s it was done with features like this. Remember headlight wipers?

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It's for flinging water at the car on your right at a stoplight or pedestrians on the sidewalk.
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