Water-Repellent Glass Explained

Although it is supposed to have the water-repelling glass, I cannot see the difference in how water runs-off the front side and rear side windows on our Gen 3 package v Prius. In fact, the difference is so inapparent, I had completely forgotten that this was a feature on the five. What is the experience of others regarding the Prius water-repelling glass?

 

The difference is very noticeable on my car. When it's raining, the front side windows stay clearer vs. the rears--like the fronts are waxed. And after a rain, you can see that the fronts have much less residual dirt on them.

 

They make drying significantly faster/easier when I wash the car. In fact, I use an electric blower during the drying process and all the water just roll off from the water-repellent glass within seconds. Not so on ordinary glass. Makes me wish the Prius had water-repellent glass all around.

According to the patent that Toyota has on water-repellent glass, it has the coating on both sides of the glass so you don't want to apply any abrasive on the inside of the windows either.

 

I have used "Rain-X" for years on all of my vehicles, and would be willing to bet that it works at least as well as the Toyota window treatment (and it can be applied to ALL of the windows). When driving at any speed over 35 MPH, you don't even need to use the wipers. It really improves forward vision during heavy downpours.

The only disadvantage is that it needs to be reapplied periodically.

 

And the concept/technology behind it: [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_effect]Lotus Effect[/ame]

Very very clever!

 

My personal opinion - 2 "waste" features on IV and or V:

the rain repellent side glass - I really do not notice significant difference. And if it is a safety measure - why only on the upscale models?

the V headlamp washers - utter waste. I have only accidently used them and they make a mess of the hood and front. I use they when going thru the car wash only to move fluid thru the system. I could see usage up north with grimey snow etc, but again... a mess.

Cost for these 'features' could have better been used inside the car with upscale interior materials for the IV & V.

 

That's like asking why PCS is available only on the upscale model if it's a safety feature.

Agreed. Utterly useless in California. Just pull the fuse to it and you won't make any more mess.

 

Well, hey...you two live in the desert. Of course you're not going to appreciate features designed for other climates. Being able to see where you're going is vital, and for those of us who don't live in the desert, these are important safety features.

 

We have a Gen 3 package V and a II and I cannot tell the difference in water-repelling characteristics of the front-side windows in the two cars, or the front and rear side windows in the V. We had a couple of dozen rainy days this past winter and I didn't notice any difference in water-repelling features for the "treated" windows and the others. I have washed the cars, side-by-side, and the water behaves the same on both cars on all windows. When I wax the cars, I usually shine the windows with the same towel used to shine the wax on the body paint. Could it be that a little wax on the windows is as good as the factory water-repellent coating, or could it be that a spot of wax has disrupted the factory coat on our V windows? How can I determine whether my V really has the water-repellent windows on the front-sides?

 

Thee was a thread a few months ago where someone scraped some crud off their side windows with a razor blade and removed part of the factory water repellent coating. You could see the difference where he scraped it off. I'm guessing you don't want to try that method.

I also wonder what those windows are going to look like after 8-10 years of use and abuse.

 

Glad I saw this. I wondered if my 2010 IV was missing that water repellent glass because there is absolutely no difference between my Prius and any other car I have owned.

 

One way would be have the side window up. Get a bucket of water. Toss the water against the window. Open door and check interior.

If it's dry,,,
Now roll down the side window and close door. Get another bucket of water. Toss the water on the side. Open the door and check interior.

If it's wet you have water-repellent windows. So in a car wash or if raining - keep windows closed.
:mod:

 

Try using an electric blower on it. Water rolls off much quicker on the water-repellent windows.

 

I don't see the advantage of it.....hope it wasn't a large expense to do it......Not worth it in my book.

 

There are a few Hertz rental Prii with a Smiley sticker under the drivers grab handle that have all the windows coated, with Castrol Super Clean AccuVision, by me

Every rental car I drive gets all the windows done so I don't have to screw around with wipers in the rain, not seeing at night in rain, not seeing in the daylight in downpours and having bugs glued to the windshield. That stuff works and lasts several months if applied properly in the first place. I will never drive a vehicle without it's windows done with this repellent.

Oh yea, there is one 2011 Elantra with it's windows done too

Mike

 

I'm about to try the bucket test, with my wife in the front seat so she can let me know immediately if water gets past the invisible water-repellent barrier. I told her about your novel idea of using two buckets of water, with the different window settings. You'll want to stay near the phone so she can give you all the credit that you deserve as soon as she gets the results from your experiment. :cheer2:

 

I'll wait and read about it in the newspaper.

 

The effect is immediate and disappears very quickly. When you first splash a good amount of water on to the windows, the rear window would have a big blob of water covering the majority of the window the first half seconds. It beads off but takes about a second or 2. The front window has the same effect except the process is speed up and the blob of water is much smaller. The blob lasts maybe .2 seconds and quickly turns into beads and roll off the window.
My Prius was treated with water repellent on all the windows from the dealer. The first time I wash my car, the water bead off the all the windows. It quickly wear out because my second car wash only the front window bead off quickly. The windshield, rear windows and hatch windows don't have the same water repellent effect like the front windows do.
I think the best way to show the water repellent effect is to take a high quality high frame rate video of the water beading off the front window vs rear window and slow it down.