Why are rear wipers always so small? This is not an issue specific to the Ford Flex. I just happened to be driving the Flex in all this rain.
I've never seen a rear wiper that actually clears the back window. It's like they're an afterthought.
Can you think of any car with a wiper that clears the rear glass as completely as the front wipers do?
I'm obsessed with wiper blades today. I just put three new ones on my Integra. And its back wiper is small, too.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
t4rboarder says:
12:01 PM, 01/21/10
Older Camry wagons had two rear wipers. Never knew how good they actually worked though.
fadetoblackii says:
12:05 PM, 01/21/10
The one on the Flex (and many other vehicles) is limited by the height of the window. My parents used to have a Toyota Previa van that actually had a pretty useful rear wiper IIRC.
willin58 says:
12:06 PM, 01/21/10
That picture tells you exactly why the wipe area is so small: The path is limited by the height of the rear windshield itself. Unless there is some multiple pivoting articulation, the clearing area is limited by the length of the blade, which is limited by the height of the windshield. I remember the Camry wagon's dual rear wipers...It may have worked (never seen it in action), but it looked ridiculous. But then again, so did that model Camry.
ptcdawg says:
12:11 PM, 01/21/10
I find it hard to believe you asked that question with a straight face.....where do they find you people?
thegraduate says:
12:24 PM, 01/21/10
The wiper on our previous generation (2000 model) Honda Odyssey wiped a big chunk, better than most I've seen.
uncanny_man says:
12:28 PM, 01/21/10
Part of the problem is that no one ever reviews these vehicles in rain or snow. I don't think I've ever been told how well a vehicles wipers or defrosters work, so how much incentive is there to make sure they all perform well? Alot of new vehicles don't even have rear windshield wipers now, be thankful for the little clear section you've got!
chavis10 says:
12:37 PM, 01/21/10
IL needs to be based in a more realistic geographical area. S.Cal is obviously the worst place to conduct long term tests because a single drop of cloud water stirs mass hysteria and utter pandemonium.
bossman799 says:
12:41 PM, 01/21/10
A 2010 Lexus RX?
rsholland says:
12:54 PM, 01/21/10
The wiper can't be any larger, or it would wipe up on to the hatch above the window and hit the washer nozzle. What's needed are 2 wipers, as per the old Camry wagon.
robert4380 says:
12:54 PM, 01/21/10
Why not just go crazy and put 3 wipers on the rear, just like how the FJ Cruiser has 3 wipers up front. Or put two wipers on the rear, but make them go back and forth sideways like on the front of a bus.
rick8365 says:
12:55 PM, 01/21/10
A good picture of a design flaw.
A three wiper solution would be the answer - one up top and centered and one in each lower corner, all just missing each other :-) Or, the more "conventional" set up like an old MG or the current FJ Cruiser. Or....a single articulating arm like Mercedes has used on their windshields - cool engineering and design.
brn says:
12:55 PM, 01/21/10
The wiper is small for the reasons suggested above.
However, it's a VERY misleading photo. Taking a photo with a wide angle distorts the perspective. Shoot from straight behind at 70mm and post it again.
carfreak8394 says:
12:59 PM, 01/21/10
http://photos.webridestv.com/datastore/images/user/f555a19ea1104d5f6b39c2308b120232/Lexus_RX_350_2010_187496_20090317.JPG
Very cool design, a la Land Rover Range Rover.
desmolicious says:
01:06 PM, 01/21/10
Porsche 911
azggjones says:
01:21 PM, 01/21/10
Duhh. Also, when you are looking through the rearview mirror, you only need a small view to see behind you. Three wipers, three times the breakage, cost of wiper blades, space, etc. Who cares whats behind you, its what's in front that matters.
rick8365 says:
01:26 PM, 01/21/10
Just having fun with the 3 wiper idea.....
subaru123 says:
01:37 PM, 01/21/10
Donna skip to 3:07 in the video link if you want to see a large rear wiper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki9ad5UCmwo
subaru123 says:
01:42 PM, 01/21/10
I forgot about the Mini Clubman, but with it's design you have a pillar in the back window.
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/t/I/1/ag_08clubman_rear.jpg
bal169 says:
01:44 PM, 01/21/10
Treat the rear window with Rain-X?
300td says:
03:13 PM, 01/21/10
The Mercedes Benz Wagons
wasaabi92 says:
03:26 PM, 01/21/10
My Saab 900's (and the first 9-3's) rear wiper cleans plenty of glass, but I'll hafta go with the LR3/LR4 and Range Rovers. They use pretty big blades that clear plenty o'glass.
Weird topic, but here in Boston I actually use all three of my wipers.
tarmacdaddy says:
03:47 PM, 01/21/10
03-06 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. A lot of cars in Japan have a rear wiper (regardless of body style), and the last chassis of Evos were lucky enough to not have them removed when brought over.
redliner says:
03:53 PM, 01/21/10
Mini Cooper Clubman... 2 rear wipers
firstwagon says:
07:15 PM, 01/21/10
My 91 Legacy wagon did a great job. Low belt line and relatively tall roof compared to the width of the car allowed the wiper to cover most of the glass. It's what happens when function is more important then form.
rsholland says:
05:53 AM, 01/22/10
Speaking of rear wipers: I don't understand why sedans and coupes don't have rear wipers. In Japan many do. For some reason here in the USA and other markets, unless it's a hatchback, or wagon, or CUV, or SUV—something with a rear *cargo opening*—it won't get a rear wiper. This is stupid.
This hit home the other day as I was test driving a new Suzuki Kizashi sedan in the rain, and with no wiper. All my vehicles have rear wipers, so when I encountered this one without a wiper, it bothered me.
brn says:
08:19 AM, 01/22/10
Bob, I've owned station wagons, SUVs, hatchbacks and sedans. Compared to the others, sedans really don't need them. Even hatchbacks, not so much.
The problem for me has never been rain. It's the backwash from the road. Having a vertical window at the rear of the vehicle creates a vortex that brings road junk right up onto the window. A sloped window 2/3rds of the way back doesn't have such issues.
A little blurring from water on the rear window doesn't bother me. Being completely blind because of road grime does bother me.
rsholland says:
08:30 AM, 01/22/10
Well it bothers me. Besides, in heavy stop-and-go traffic, or if the traffic is moving slowly, not having a rear wiper in the rain is potentially a safety issue, as rear visibility is somewhat impaired.
What drives me nuts is that Mazda (and others too) would offer a Mazda6 sedan and 5-door—with almost the same body profile—yet the 5-door will get a rear wiper and the sedan won't. That's just dumb.
isthar says:
08:45 AM, 01/22/10
Mini Cooper Clubman: rear barn door windows each have a wiper, and the way they wipe is I'd say easily 90% complete if not more
bimmerjay says:
09:26 AM, 01/22/10
@rsholland,
I couldn't agree more. With the 5-days straight of rain we've been having here in CA I've been thinking about how much I love rear wipers and how I miss having one on my coupes/convertibles.
uncanny_man says:
09:36 AM, 01/22/10
^^^ Like I say, people don't test drive cars in bad weather (normally) and US car reviews never cover issues like wipers and defrosters. Consequently, most never think of it when buying a car, so car makers don't feel particularly obligated to get these right!
felonious says:
09:40 AM, 01/22/10
IL staffers, check the area covered by the rear wiper of your A4 Avant. It does a great job on my B6.
mjp16 says:
06:00 AM, 01/23/10
If you want reviews in snow and rain, try CanadianDriver.com. Especially their day-by-day reviews and "Inside Story" articles--they cover a lot of day-to-day details one might not notice on a typical test drive.
But yes, that camera angle is extremely misleading. You really don't need that much of the rear window to be clear anyways.
igozoomzoom says:
08:45 AM, 01/24/10
The rear wiper on my '06 Mazda3 (5-door, obviously) is one of the better ones I've seen/used. It clears enough area to eliminate any blind spots caused by a wet/dirty rear glass. My '91 Civic Si covered a huge area, too.
The scary thing is how few people seem to bother using their rear wiper! Look around next time you're in traffic at the SUVs and minivans that haven't just been washed. You'll see that few, if any, of them have bothered to use the washer/wiper to clean the rear window...my mom has an '07 Explorer and doesn't even know how to turn on the rear wiper....SCARY!
uncanny_man says:
03:35 PM, 01/24/10
@mjp16:
Canadiandriver does seem to be pretty well rounded. Thanks for the suggestion!