Windshield Wiper De-Icer

[PythonNF]

We had some freezing rain here today & when I was clearing the windshield, I noticed that there was no melting around the wipers. The last 2 cars I had (Genesis Coupe & Optima SX) both had a strip on the windshield under the wipers that heated and melted the ice. This was activated with the rear window defroster & was useful in freeing the wipers when stuck to the windshield. I find it curious that this useful item was omitted on the Stinger considering it costs $10k+ more than the Optima SX.

 

[eflyguy]

It is indeed curious but they certainly left it off. They expect you to use the interior windshield defrost to remove ice before driving, which as far as I can see, will not help release iced-over wipers.

Consensus from previous discussions is to put the wipers in "service" position, and lift them from the vehicle, when snow or ice is expected.

 

[Bigjohnb20]

Definitely a curious omission and one I think would've gone a long way considering the hoid/wiper/cowl design.

I just did my first big drive in the snow on Tues evening. Hour and a half of crawling home with steady moderate snow coming down the whole time. I must say I was pretty disappointed with the wipers performance. First of all I have auto wipers so no option for a traditional intermittent. The lo setting was way to much but def needed a wipe every 5-10 seconds. For whatever reason the auto would not go. So then I was constantly messing with them or manually operating when I should've been paying attention to the poor road conditions.

So then I'm not running the wipers as much so snow starts building up in the cowl. Of course the defrost doesn't hit this area so it just gets worse and worse. Now everytime the wipers go they have a fair amt of snow and ice built up on them from sitting in it and just smear all across the windshield. The snow starts to melt but windshield isnt quite warm enough so wipers remain iced up and melted snow starts to refreeze on the windshield in a thin film.

So I need to crank front defrost at max heat/fan. That quickly starts to melt off the windshield but of course it doesn't affect the bottom few inches of windshield where the wipers reat. And then im sitting in my winter coat getting blasted with hot ass air and basically start sweating. So cut front defrost and basically it all repeats...

Finally made it home and parked and noticed both wiper blades are like 60% covered in ice buildup. The cowl area was completely filled with snow and there was a large build up of ice on the glass right under where the wipers rest. Seems it would have continued as bad or getting worse if I hadn't stopped.

Needless to say I was disappointed and frustrated. There were times where it felt unsafe. I will say the car handled great and felt really stable (awd gt1) but all the handling in the world dont matter if you cant see out the windshield

 

[Guardstang]

I don't have a problem with that, you have to get the ice scraper and brush out to clear the window so just knock the wipers loose. The thing I don't like is you can't pull the wipers out to clear snow and ice out of the base of the windshield. I first noticed it in the summer--most cars you can open the wipers away from the hood to clean the windshield but not this car. Last car I had like this was a 1992 Sunbird.

 

[lucif3r]

I also noticed this, and it drives me insane. The wipers sit below where the interior heat ducts warm up the windshield and almost always frost over because they dont get hot enough. The snow/ice will melt of the windshield and run down and freeze up on the wipers rendering them completely useless. Very frustrating and a terrible design. I wonder if you can reposition the wipers to sit up higher on the windshield so they get heated up by the interior heat/defrost.


yes I mean while driving..

 

[eflyguy]

You mean like this?

 

[Bigjohnb20]

That doesn't really work when you are driving down the road....I think he means the resting position while the car is running and wipers are in use

 

[Guardstang]

No I meant cleaning the snow and ice out of the wiper gutter-- I didn't realise you could park the wipers like that thanks eflyguy

 

[Bigjohnb20]

Wasn't sure if he was replying to you or the guy immediately above him.

 

[PythonNF]

I don't have a problem with that, you have to get the ice scraper and brush out to clear the window so just knock the wipers loose. The thing I don't like is you can't pull the wipers out to clear snow and ice out of the base of the windshield. I first noticed it in the summer--most cars you can open the wipers away from the hood to clean the windshield but not this car. Last car I had like this was a 1992 Sunbird.

Knocking the wipers loose with a scraper can damage the rubber blades so you need to be careful. I liked the de-icer & was disappointed to find it wasn't on the Stinger. It's a nuisance having to think about parking the wipers if a storm is coming and around here we often get freezing rain & ice when not forecast.

 

[CaliSting]

Solution. ....Move to California

 

[Soca Boy]

I also noticed this, and it drives me insane. The wipers sit below where the interior heat ducts warm up the windshield and almost always frost over because they dont get hot enough. The snow/ice will melt of the windshield and run down and freeze up on the wipers rendering them completely useless. Very frustrating and a terrible design. I wonder if you can reposition the wipers to sit up higher on the windshield so they get heated up by the interior heat/defrost.


yes I mean while driving..

I thought the GT Limited had it(my Stinger doesn’t know what snow is). Front defroster is a must in Canada.

 

[lucif3r]

I thought the GT Limited had it(my Stinger doesn’t know what snow is). Front defroster is a must in Canada.

It does have front defrost, however the wipers sit well below the windshield and do not get hot and thus ice builds up on them.

 

[PythonNF]

It does have front defrost, however the wipers sit well below the windshield and do not get hot and thus ice builds up on them.

All cars have front defrost which is warm air blowing on the windshield. It does not however have the heated strip on the windshield where the wipers sit and is very effective in melting the ice around the wipers & freeing them. My 2015 Optima had this & I think my wife's 2015 Sportage does also.

 

[Kazz]

Do the 19 models?

 

[PythonNF]

Do the 19 models?

Mine is a 2019...GT Limited (GT2)

 

[Bigjohnb20]

Well Sunday morning I had to do another hour or so drive in the snow. I Continue to be extremely disappointed in the wiper design and performance. Experienced most of the same symptoms again from my rant post above.

Near the end of the drive snow had slowed down so I hadn't run the wipers for maybe 5-10 minutes. Right before getting home I went to clear the windshield by clicking to the Lo setting and for a brief second nothing happened. Then finally the wipers violently broke free and skidded across the windshield. They had completely frozen solid to the window and were completely frozen with ice. Felt like something was going to break...

I can not believe I am the only one having this issue. It is bordering on a deal breaker for this car for me. Living in Minnesota there will be times I have to drive in snow or freezing rain and thus far something as simple yet as critical as the windshield wipers are simply not working up to par. It annoying at least and downright dangerous at worst.

 

[StingNE]

Long time reader, first time poster here. Just wondering for all us potential buyers in the snow belt if this lack of a wiper area deicer is indeed a deal breaker. Would love to hear thoughts from @Bigjohnb20, @PythonNF, @lucif3r in particular.

I just test drove the car (loved it, of course) but noticed, almost immediately, that the wipers sit way below the interior windshield defrost vent. I live in New England and would strongly prefer having fully functional wipers in a blizzard and/or freezing rain storm.

Fwiw, I'm in the market for a GT2 and have been incessantly studying this beautiful car, thanks to this awesome forum.

 

[Revvdmedia]

Revisiting this topic, considering how electronically everything in cars are controlled, I wonder if an "ice" mode could be programmed into the wiper system as a slightly higher park area, meaning the wipers do not fully park at the bottom of the windshield where they accumulate ice, but rather park higher when not actively wiping to take advantage of the warmer area of the windshield to help de-ice the wipers.

I would imagine they would need to still operate full-stroke, meaning the wipers would run the full stroke to the bottom, but instead of park there, they move up a few inches to be resting in the hot zone of the windshield, only fully parking at the bottom between wipes when not in the "ice" mode.

 

[Bigjohnb20]

Revisiting this topic, considering how electronically everything in cars are controlled, I wonder if an "ice" mode could be programmed into the wiper system as a slightly higher park area, meaning the wipers do not fully park at the bottom of the windshield where they accumulate ice, but rather park higher when not actively wiping to take advantage of the warmer area of the windshield to help de-ice the wipers.

I would imagine they would need to still operate full-stroke, meaning the wipers would run the full stroke to the bottom, but instead of park there, they move up a few inches to be resting in the hot zone of the windshield, only fully parking at the bottom between wipes when not in the "ice" mode.

Thats actually a pretty slick idea and one that theoretically could be fairly easily implemented. Unfortunately it would have to be a software update from Kia and I truly doubt it would ever happen. But it is simple, requires no new hardware, and seems like it could go a long way in alleviating one of the main issues with the wiper set up.

To the poster above (@StingNE), clicking back on this thread and re-reading my posts above has me a bit nervous lol. Over the summer was enjoying the car so much and without snow/ice had kinda forgotten how much trouble I was having last winter. We are just starting to get into the snow season here again so really hoping somehow I have better luck this year. Coming off a great summer I can't say it would prevent me from buying the car again, but like I said re-reading my posts above I now recall being very frustrated and dissapointed in the whole situation.