2009 Nissan 370Z: Where is My Rear Wiper?

I had an RSX-S and it had a wiper which was nice when I came to a full stop and rain could get to the back window. However, due to the car moving forward most of the time, most of the rain would hit the front parts of the car where, thankfully both the Acura and the Nissan carry wipers! I like the aesthetics of the Z without the wiper despite its slight disadvantage when backing up in the rain.
Kevin

Rear wiper = win

.....but they always looked strange on the 350 anyways.

Drive fast enough and the water just runs off =D

It's what I do on my Mustang

The rear window looks really small in that picture. Though, nobody claimed the Z had great visibility, so maybe it it small.

It's already hard to see out of the back of that thing, put a wiper on it for pete's sake.

Nissan cut corners on a few things, such as windshield wipers, so they could focus more money onto more important things like developing a proper sports car engine. oh wait..

+1 for wiper. I've found on vehicles without wipers, good cleaning + proper application of something like rainx works well enough.

Use rear defrost.

the defroster works just as well for visibility, just not as fast initially. the defroster gives you a larger view area too.
my car has a rear wiper, so what do i care.

"Nissan cut corners on a few things, such as windshield wipers, so they could focus more money onto more important things like developing a proper sports car engine. oh wait.."

They...they only eek 330hp out of a V6 and its a bit harsh near redline. I'm sure sherief has a lot of experience with a 370Z.

FAIL.

Get a can of Rain-X & spray on back window. Clear rear window during rainstorms & won't look goofy with the wipers.

Simple.

From a functionality perspective, it sounds like it would be a decent addition.

But from a purely aesthetic point of view, I hate rear wipers on cars like this.

Every time I see a RSX with a rear wiper, I shake my head.

I use my rear wiper EVERY morning. Granted I don't have a 370Z, but if my car has it, might as well use it.

I once had a '92 Saab 9000 without a rear wiper. All that glass with no rear wipe!? That was a mistake. Gimme some funtionality! You can even get one on a 911!

I think I'm fine with no rear wiper actually...I find that they usually end up making visibility worse as opposed to better, due to the fact that that surface gets dirtier combined with the fact that the rear wiper usually degrades faster and doesn't get as much use, especially after a summer.

no rear wiper ruins the look.

I live in Seattle where it rains (for what seems like) 8 months out of the year. It's really useful to have a rear windshield wiper, especially on the high ways.

That said, I can still get by without one (none of the cars I owned have them). And unless I'm racing in the middle of a storm I don't see the critical need for one on a sports car.

What is the criteria for having a rear wiper? Normal sedans usually do not, but hatchbacks with sloped tailgates usually do. Why is that? I understand having a rear wiper in a car with a vertical tailgate because spray tends to accumulate on the rear window. When the rear glass is sloped, however, what dictates the need for a wiper?

Remember how the old Mazda 6 came in a hatch and a sedan, but they were both shaped essentially the same. The hatch had a wiper, but the sedan didn't. Why? What's the deal?

"They...they only eek 330hp out of a V6 and its a bit harsh near redline. I'm sure sherief has a lot of experience with a 370Z."

-One 370Z test drive was enough to turn me off.

FAILlol

Isn't this mostly an issue of air flow? Especially on the highway. On vehicles with the rear window at the very end of the car, hatchbacks (my GTI, for example) or SUV's, the airflow at the back of the car causes the water to accumulate especially quickly on the back of the car. on a sedan or sports car like the Z where the rear window is steeply angled and positioned relatively far from the back edge of the car, the rain issue isn't as bad.

obviously i've never driven the z in the rain, but i'm guessing this is the reason that it and cars like it don't have rear wipers.

For where this car is driven rain should be a non issue and if it is a big deal than the rain x idea is a good start.

I favor the rain-x idea. I always accidentally hit the rear wiper switch on my wife's Taurus wagon when reaching for the parking brake release, and beyond that, it just doesn't clean a very big area very well.

I would miss it on my 350Z if it wasn't there. Not a huge deal but it's nice to have.

wobbly_ears has it right.

I'm not a fan of rear wipers. I have never felt as if I were struggling to see out of the rear glass in the rain so to me a rear wiper is a completely unnecessary feature.

It's not the rain that's the problem, it's the salt and road crud that builds up on hatchback rear window.

On a slushy road you wouldn't be able to see squat out the back window without a rear wiper.

Rain-X should help as the spoiler is below, not above the rear window.

Chevrolet had a similar problem with its now discontinued Malibu Maxx "extended sedan" (hatchback):

First year models, which had no rear wiper on the hatch, did ok as long as one used Rain-X and drove at reasonable speeds.
The second year, marketing slapped a spoiler over the hatch's top edge. The rear window then soiled much faster, forcing Chevrolet to add a rear wiper to control the mess.

Every lb counts, and looks so much better without it. And who needs to look out the rear window anyway. There usually isn't much catching up with the 370, other than those pretty flashing lights.

Asian and Euro models have a rear wiper...

Why don't all cars have rear wipers?

Functionally, I'd like one, but it would not be a deal breaker when buying the car. The micro cabin is a deal breaker though. I didn't even test drive the car after sitting in it for 5 minutes. I couldn't wait to get out of the thing, and I fit in the 350Z.

I had a 350Z and now own a 370Z. I missed the rear wiper initially but after 6 months with the new car have not found a single occasion where I've needed it.

As soon as my Dad picked me up from Melbourne Airport last night I looked to the back window of his 370Z. There's a rear wiper on his 370, affixed to the right side.

A small revision since release?