Will They Fix The Rear Wiper?

:huh: Do you really find this is a major issue? You need to be able to see out of the center of the rear windshield, not the small corner near the top that gives you a nice view of the sky (as opposed to the horizon). In my experience, I don't use that corner of the window when changing lanes. I use the rear-view mirror to look directly behind the car, look at the side mirror, then turn my head over my shoulder to check my blind spot through the right rear passenger window.

Besides, I don't use the windshield wipers to brush the inches of snow off of my car in the morning. That's just lazy. :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Smooth Operator @ Jul 11 2006, 11:53 PM) [snapback]284784[/snapback]</div>

<span style="color:#666600">What is this "SNOW" thing? :huh: </span>

 

You don't need to see out the back when it's snowing that hard.

You can rest assured you have either a 4x4 Pickup, or a hummer that wants you to move to the right so they can get going past 8mph. They are only 6 inches behind you.

Just cut out the picture of a F350 grill from a magazine and tape it to your rear view mirror.

:lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brandon @ Jul 11 2006, 11:04 PM) [snapback]284791[/snapback]</div>

Believe it or not, in some places it snows while you're driving! It's not the extreme upper-right corner in question, it's pretty much the whole right-hand side. Being on the tall side of average, I really don't see sky out of any of the back window. The window is small enough as it is - fine for backing up especially with the lower window, but not real good for switching lanes even when it's clean. Means you have to be a bit more diligent, but an improved wiper would help.

 

Get the 20" JDM/Euro wiper arm. While I don't usually have to deal with snow, I do live in the PNW so rain is a constant issue.
The 20" wiper makes a dramatic difference in rear visability. I can't think why Toyota does not make this the standard in
all markets.

 

The issue is not which side the wiper is on. The issue is that the wiper clears such a small part of the rear window. Toyota's engineers could have designed a system that would clear much more of the window. Regardless of whether we're talking about snow or rain.

 

Even driving in heavy snow, I've never had a problem with rear visibility with the standard wiper. But as long as I'm moving at a decent speed, then most falling snow tends to fly right over the car. That's good aerodynamics. In fact, I recall several times driving through snowy weather and only needing to use the wipers (front and rear) when I was at a stop sign or traffic light.

Oh, and as for the trucks around here, they're bad at the beginning of snow season (which can begin as early as September or October here), but after a month or two, they get better. Car drivers tend to be good the entire time, except when they become afraid and start driving 5 miles an hour everywhere. Though it's always a good reminder to see the photos from the first big snow of the year with lots of SUV's and pickups stuck on the side of the road. They just seem to forget how to handle it, and get overconfident.

 

Have you tried a product called Aquapel? It's like RainX but lasts a lot longer. Here's the cheapest I've found it.

http://www.autobodydepot.net/scripts/depot...pgm=aquapel.bbx

 

I haven't driven my Prius in the snow yet, but I allways have a small wiper in the car. Before driving away I allways wipe of all snow, orr when it rains I wipe the windows. During driving the windows usually stay reasonable clean.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(grasshopper @ Jul 12 2006, 09:33 AM) [snapback]284904[/snapback]</div>

Agreed. What is snow?

:lol:

As to the wiper, never noticed if it was on the wrong side or not. I'm just glad I have it. Wish I had one on the HyCam.

 

Toyota has positioned the rear wiper on the Prius correctly

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Acelin @ Jul 12 2006, 11:41 AM) [snapback]284973[/snapback]</div>

suggested vendor?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prizzle @ Jul 12 2006, 09:58 PM) [snapback]285382[/snapback]</div>

Sigma has them.

http://sigmaautomotive.com/jdm/prius/prius0405.php

On the very left column under Accessories. Its called "Oversized JDM/Euro Steel Rear Wiper" $67

 

I agree with the OP the wiper is on the wrong side as is the rear badging. It's for the JDM and not NA or other contries that drive on the RHS. And yes the blade is to short and the arm doesn't stand up without the 2 minute mod. so you can clean the window with a squeege.

 

I am often amused by how much greater the visibility is having a wiper verses not... while stuck in heavy traffic watching the sedans attempt to melt the snow off.

So having a larger area clear doesn't rank high on the want list, especially since I use the side mirrors more than most car drivers.

 

I was on the verge of ordering that rear wiper from Sigma, but I decided to call my Toyota parts department first. He said that if he had a part number he could order it, even if it is a Japan-only part, but that it's likely to cost more, since Sigma may be importing in quantity.

HOWEVER there's a caveat: He suggested that it's possible that the wiper motor may be smaller (in order to be lighter) in the U.S. Prius, and if that is the case, the U.S. rear wiper motor may not be able to handle the larger blade. If this is the case, the 20-inch wiper blade could cause the wiper motor to burn out.

So, does anyone know anything about this? Does anyone know if the Japan Prius and the U.S. Prius use the same rear wiper motor?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Jul 13 2006, 10:15 AM) [snapback]285624[/snapback]</div>

Size doesn't matter (that much, but I like to start a sentence that way whenever I can The bigger factor is what you're pushing out of the way - rain is light, snow can be heavy. I wouldn't use even the standard size blade on more than an inch of heavy snow.

Snow does tend to fly over the vehicle when you're driving at a decent speed (it also gets blown off the roads that way), but in a snowstorm in middle-tier states people drive incredibly slow, and then the snow piles up on the road and on the car. (Back home in MN people drive sensibly for the weather, of course, and in Texas it seemed that they felt if they could somehow accelerate to 60 in a snowstorm, then it was perfectly fine to drive at 60. But here in Chicago, they go at 10mph as soon as the shoulders get white, particularly early in the season.)

 

Before replacing the rear wiper, make sure you have your side mirrors adjusted correctly. They should be aiming far enough away from the car that you can't see the car right behind you or the side of your car. This dramatically reduces the blind spot.

 

I am offering my brand new wiper arm for sale (I didn't like it):

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=22215

- Doug

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prizzle @ Jul 12 2006, 09:58 PM) [snapback]285382[/snapback]</div>