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Heated Wiper Blades / Ice - E - Liminator

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by RIKER, Jun 2, 2015.

  1. RIKER

    RIKER Junior Member

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    Well I doubt there's a lot of interest in a product like heated wiper blades at this time of year, but it's another addition I made to my Gen 3 while the snow and ice were still around. They did help to keep ice from building up on the wiper blade arms but not to completely eliminate the ice build-up during a couple of hour+ long drives when snow and/or freezing rain were falling. That didn't completely surprise me, because I consider that a pretty tough combination. The safety benefit of it during even a few snow falls, freezing rainstorms and freezing road spray from other vehicles made enough of an improvement to driving visibility to pay for themselves. During their expected lifetime, they'll probably only cost a very small amount per drive. I thought I might remove them during warmer weather, but so far I've decided to keep them on. Wiper refills can be used to keep them fresh and working well regardless of the time of year.

    Details can be found on the company's website. The company's name actually is "Heated Wiper Blades."

    Heated Wiper Blades

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    #1 RIKER, Jun 2, 2015
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2015
    Rhinoruns likes this.
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    What I noticed on a lot of cars recently (helping someone car-shop a couple years ago) is a heat grid on the windshield glass, like the rear defog grid, but only very low on the glass, where the wiper blades rest, and the blades themselves are ordinary. I wonder how well those setups work? I've seen aftermarket heat grids offered for that purpose, from the same companies that offer aftermarket rear-window and mirror grids.

    -Chap
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Jun 2, 2015
  3. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    My new Subaru has that. But due to our very mild winter on the West Coast, I don't yet know how well it works.

    The old Subaru lacked it, and that turned into a problem several times. I mostly resolved it by pulling the wipers off their spline shafts, then remounting one tooth higher on the shaft. This raised the wiper rest position to a point just above the dash-glass interface, so that the wipers were resting on a section of glass heated by the defroster.

    This probably caused a bit more air drag and MPG loss, and some folks may dislike the slightly more obtrusive appearance when the wipers are not in use. But it did help me enough to put that issue to bed.
     
    #3 fuzzy1, Jun 2, 2015
  4. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    I wish all cars had that. It heats where wipers are prone to be frozen to the glass and direct heat on the glass does more than anything else to counteract fogging. Less work on the heater/AC to do the job.
     
    #4 qdllc, Jun 2, 2015
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    riker, that's pretty sweet! never heard of those before.(y)
     
    #5 bisco, Jun 2, 2015
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