This one has been bothering me for years: why don’t all cars have rear window wipers?
Typically station wagons, hatchbacks and all sorts of minivans and SUVs have one; but ordinary four-door cars almost never do. Yet the need is identical: why, then, discriminate against these?
If you have a good answer, post it in the comments!
you can’t reach the rear window from the backseat of an SUV, but can from the backseat of a sedan.
I think it has to do with the angle of the glass. Some windows naturally collect more crud (mostly dust) than others. Look around and see whether wipers are not more prevalent on windows which are more nearly vertical than those which lack wipers.
Interesting idea, Tom. I’ll look to see whether that relationship exists, though my impression is that the division is exact - four doors no wiper, 5 doors yes. Of course four door cars also have a more slanting glass.
Nathan,
In Israel - that’s the law. Even when the geometry of the car is (virtually) unchanged, if the rear window is part of a hatch - it has to have a wiper (see Mazda6 for example). It makes no sense.
On cars with vertical rear windows, and without a separate trunk (like minivans, or Renault Clio), a rear wiper is really beneficial, becuase all the crud thrown into the air by your own car ends up on your rear window - probably has to do with turbulence behind your car.