Windshield Washer Fluid Heater...

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GM and Cadillac have had them for a few years, although certain models did have shorts and fires started under the hood. They have been around for a while from what I can tell. Makes a big difference in really cold climates but not sure how your windsheild doesn't crack when the heated fluid hits it.
 
Originally Posted By: 97prizm

GM and Cadillac have had them for a few years, although certain models did have shorts and fires started under the hood. They have been around for a while from what I can tell. Makes a big difference in really cold climates but not sure how your windsheild doesn't crack when the heated fluid hits it.


growing up in England, on frosty mornings, I would boil the kettle on the stove, walk outside just before leaving for work and empty the whole kettle on the windscreen, side windows, mirrors etc, never a problem!....crazy I know but i used to think the same thing!
 
Many times when thick ice is present, it would be great to have a heated washer fluid reservoir. Ski resorts come to mind when it is just warm enough that you get a mix of snow, sleet etc, then it freezes to the windshield like a rock. Scraping is not fun.
 
Spraying hot water all over a frozen piece of glass...I can figure out why this isn't done, glass tends to shatter from those types of extreme thermal changes, especially if its chipped.
 
I have the heated washer fluid option on my CTS. LOVE IT. While others are scraping their glass, I am inside my car, press the button for heated washer and after about 30-40 seconds - warm water sprays and wipers clear the glass. It sometimes may take an additional cycle, but I'm driving off within 5 minutes while others scrape away. Never heard of any windshields cracking. GM does want to disable mine as it falls under the recall for possible fire but I declined...they only offer you $100 cash for the disable when the option package to get it was MUCH more!

(The issue with GM's system was the original supplier who invented it went out of business and the system could not be redesigned as a result of the potential fire issue..thus the option has since vanished.)
 
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I park mine in the garage, but honestly it's not a problem to scrape the windshield on occasion. I'll leave the heated wiper fluid for the ladies who are too lazy to get out and use a scraper.


Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser

growing up in England, on frosty mornings, I would boil the kettle on the stove, walk outside just before leaving for work and empty the whole kettle on the windscreen, side windows, mirrors etc, never a problem!....crazy I know but i used to think the same thing!


I saw a friend do that once when I was in college. It was a -20 morning, and he heated up a big pan of water and tossed it on his windshield to remove the frost.

The windshield on his early 60's Falcon shattered instantly.
 
Alpha Therm was started by former employees of the company that produced the original units for GM. They have redesigned the unit with a tighter temperature control. They claim to have the overheating problem fixed. In addition to the universal unit posted above, they sell a drop-in replacement for the GM cars that originally had them. I bought one for my recently purchased DTS that had been through the recall. Works great!!!!
 
Originally Posted By: tightwad
Alpha Therm was started by former employees of the company that produced the original units for GM. They have redesigned the unit with a tighter temperature control. They claim to have the overheating problem fixed. In addition to the universal unit posted above, they sell a drop-in replacement for the GM cars that originally had them. I bought one for my recently purchased DTS that had been through the recall. Works great!!!!


Good to know!! I will be looking for them since I refused the recall on my CTS, I am interested in replacing the current unit with the improved unit. Last I heard they were out of business, but apparantly not. Thank you!
 
Besides cost and complexity, another downside is that with time all the related parts turn brittle from the heat.

The upside is the fact that you don't have to defrost the windshield before using it. Not for me, I like things simple. Winter washer fluid works fine for me. No complaints after 38 years driving in Michigan winters.
 
I've used windshield washer fluid to deice the windshield while moving; no good. Freezes right back up. Plus, about half the time I need to scrape the other windows anyhow. So it's a novelty feature as far as I'm concerned.

I'm sure it's a nice thing to avoid frozen nozzles, though.
 
I would love one of these up here. Especially on extremely frigid days like yesterday, so I didn't have to scrape ice off in 5 degree weather with wind.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
I've used windshield washer fluid to deice the windshield while moving; no good. Freezes right back up.

If you read your owner's manual, you'll learn that you shouldn't use washer fluid until the windshield warms up.
 
I have the heated washer system in my 07 Silverado. Not only does it do a great job with ice and frost, it works great in the summer to remove baked on bugs. Before the recall, they would just install an inline fuse to protect against the fire hazard. It wasn`t much of a hazard anyway, IIRC there were about 10 fires out of a couple of million devices installed, something to do with a short in a circuit board.
 
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