Living in Southern California where it rarely rains, our windshields get pretty dusty.
I live at the beach and I notice a lot of salty buildup on the glass. So, I use the windshield fluid often.
My favorite system is the one in the Pontiac G8. The washer fluid comes out of the wiper arms and really coats the whole area of the window, instead of shooting up two jets and making the blades disperse it.
Here is a video because I wasn't able to capture this with my still camera.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 33,093 miles
operators says:
10:57 AM, 10/12/09
FX35 does it this way too :)
bc1960 says:
11:10 AM, 10/12/09
If I recall correctly, the Ford Fairmont did this more than 30 years ago, and I can't be positive that there weren't earlier examples. It did work well and other than complexity and cost, I don't know why it didn't catch on.
rick8365 says:
11:32 AM, 10/12/09
I use my washer fluid all the time too (not far from the beach here either). I like a clean windshield and I like this system. The only way I could improving it would be to have the fluid come out on the other side of the blade so the blades aren't wiping a dry windshield on the first swipe.
At a previous job some years ago, I used to have access to an 80s Chevy van. It too had small rubber hoses going up each wiper arm. A friend of mine and I knotted off one of them and pulled the other one (pass. side) out of its wiper arm and attached it at the base of the windshield aiming towards the curb. We swapped out the fluid for water and then had some fun...you might be very surprised how far it will shoot with the other one knotted off......lot of laughs.
subaru123 says:
12:53 PM, 10/12/09
I love this system. The back wiper on my Yukon Denali XL had this. However the spray om Tribeca is just fine because it only sprays within the wipers' reach. However the jets on my Prius shoot half of the fluid over the roof of the car leaving the back half of hte car spotted where the fluid landed.
carguy622 says:
03:37 PM, 10/12/09
The only problem with this set-up is that in the Northeast the fluid can freeze in the lines. Not sure if anything has changed but at least that the problem I've experienced with a early 90's Dodge Shadow.
hondacura4 says:
03:37 PM, 10/12/09
Excellent setup as the fluid is put where it's needed not all over the hood or the top of my car.
bodyblue says:
03:42 PM, 10/12/09
MY '77 LTD had this system.
uncanny_man says:
04:35 PM, 10/12/09
I really do appreciate seeing posts about things like this. It really doesn't make sense to me for most car reviews to come from the weatherless state of California because the normal reviews never give details about the wiper systems, or the speed of the heaters, or the handling in snow or on ice, etc. Nice to see the blog cover this kind of thing a bit!
billt9 says:
05:34 PM, 10/12/09
sweet.
ya what if it freezes/clogs when it ices/snows?
bc1960 says:
06:09 PM, 10/12/09
In my experience, if it's cold enough to freeze washer fluid, it's cold enough to freeze it wherever the nozzles are mounted.
the_big_al says:
06:46 PM, 10/12/09
just use a little bit of anti-freeze in the wiper solution during the winter and the freezing problem is solved. Or get that de-icing type washer fluid that won't freeze.
dg0472 says:
07:01 PM, 10/12/09
I think this dates back to the first articulated wipers. My grandfather's 1975 Dodge Coronet had both.
jaden82 says:
11:11 PM, 10/12/09
My old 94 Grand Prix coupe had this. I really missed this feature when I moved on to my current 02 Focus with its conventional hood jets.
redwoodaggie says:
08:29 AM, 10/13/09
Yeah, this does work a bit better than the hood mounted nozzles on my BMW.
ohh_my says:
01:18 PM, 10/13/09
My Audi has hood jets which i think facilitate the heated washer nozzles which come part of the cold weather package. Since i live in new york, this is a great feature. Although i like the wiper mounted jets, it doesnt seem like the heated nozzles would be a feasible option.
cr_driver says:
12:28 PM, 10/14/09
Interesting....