Prius Rear Windshield Wiper Doesn't Quite Cover Enough of the Back Window

yea it seems like it should be alot bigger.

 

The useless rear wiper blade is a well known annoyance with the Gen II. Sigma Automotive sells an oversized JDM rear wiper upgrade. Not sure if it would wirk with the Gen III but here is the link. If you E-mail them they're pretty quick at responding. Ryan Toyota Prius 2004 ~ 2009 NHW20 Exterior Accessories :: Sigma Automotive

 

Seems like it could be a lot better: maybe if the hinge was at the top center of glass area? Even better would be if it changed reach as it went through it's sweep (as one of the front wipers does).

And then of course the glass area below the air foil gets very grubby.

 

The rear wiper has popped up on other threads recently. I wish I could have deleted the rear wiper/washer. For me it's not functional, nor does it provide useable (additional) visibility. I sure hope Toyota fixes this issue for future models.


Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

Next time ours is running I'm going to check out it's sweep,. Just thinking: if it stops a fair distance short of the air foil, maybe the wiper could be taken off the mounting bolt and then placed back on it rotated one (or two) notches clockwise, for a more complete sweep.

 

I haven't tried it but it looks like you could accomplish what you want by substituting a straight wiper arm for the dog-leg factory arm, then re-clock it on the spline when you install it.

You could use an adjustable length wiper arm and the longest blade you can fit in. I know a longer blade wasn't your primary objective, but why not do that while you are at it?

Here is an example of an adjustable length arm. I didn't check to see if it would fit a Prius, but it gives you some idea what to look for.
http://www.awdirect.com/replacement...length-5-8-drum/truck-equipment-wiper-blades/

 

Hi Rachmaninov (nice name, BTW - Rach 3 rocks!) - I am pretty sure there is nothing wrong with your rear windshield wiper.
The design of it is simply "useless" and for me the design is more for the right-hand drive than the left-hand drive. It clears up a very small patch of the windshield, which is already so steep inclined, that the overall view at the back is far from being perfect.

Add to that the the lower portion of the back does not get cleaned, gets sprayed with water/dirt when it rains from the wind generated by the car, with no chance of cleaning it - you end up with very bad rear visibility. Including the black bar in the middle.

They really need to improve the design of this part of the car in future models/revisions.
But there are other cars out there that have also a bad rear view visibility - to name a few - the Citroen C4, the BMW X6, the BMW 3 series (it does not even have a wiper), etc....

If I could have a camera showing me in the rearview mirror the back at all times, they could even remove the glass - as it is, it's not good...

 

I adjusted my rear wiper by removing the entire assembly from the motor shaft (one nut and a light tap on the stud) and then replaced it one spline off from its original placement. Total degree of sweep isn't increased but the affected area cleared can be adjusted for a somewhat, more effective sweep.

 

I just put rain-x on my back window Saturday. It rained yesterday (that's always how it works after washing the car), and I had very little water on that back window. The rain-x (you can substitute any similar product) seems to help keep the window clearer due to what it does combined with the wind flow over the window.

 

No advice, but tried my rear wiper for the first time today and was SHOCKED how sucky coverage (or lack there-of) was. You'd think this design oversight wouldn't be possible in such a fab high-techy vehicle.

 

J5A - you would be surprised with how many "low-techy" solutions there are in the Prius. But if you drive an X6 from BMW, you would see even less - I have seen one yesterday and considering the buy price, the Prius is not much worse at all - it is actually better.

 

Not ready to modify anything *just* yet, but will keep it in mind for later - good to know - thanks!!

 

it is kind of a shock at how poor the coverage is, but guess getting used to the side mirrors is important to get used to for other reasons. the rear view is one of those areas of the Prius that are very "weak".

 

I have a terrible time with the lower (vertical) window. It gets so dirty. Would RainX help?

 

I would like to know as well. They sell it in Germany as well and it is quite expensive - a small bottle about 7-9€...!
And also I would like to know if it can damage/wear the glass, its properties, its color and if it can be easily removed. Considering that the lower part of the back is made of darkened glass, with metal lines to remove moisture...