Rear Window Defrost

[dainesefreak]

Hi all

Saying hello as a new member but registered to ask a question.

The rear defrost on my 2008 hardtop coupe doesn't seem particularly fantastic and as I only picked the car up a few days ago I wondered this was usual??

I read that the top few bars are the radio and aren't part of the heater but the whole thing seems fairly lacklustre. It sort of melts the ice slowly but takes ages to burn off properly and usually switches off before it has done a decent job of burning off most of the water/melt.

I also get a patch about 2/3rds of the way down where the wires open into a square where it doesn't really defrost. This isn't a break in the wires, it looks designed that way.

Should I be expecting this to be more dynamic? Should it really burn everything off or is this just a "feature" of this model?

Really enjoying the car, just want to know if I should be getting the dealer to sort this.

Apologies if you read this post over in the UK regional forum, thought I'd get a bigger response here.

[Mariobro34]

Mine defrosts rather easily and even...

[mikel85]

i have the same exact issue but when i told the dealer about it he said the defrost cannot work a little it either work or not ?
I told him its not working properly but it does work but not the way it should my civic defrosted better then my BMW and thats not normal !!!

[Guildenstern]

Defrosters are for Defrosting (and primarily defogging) not ice removal. My 08 has never had a problem, even with a little actual frost, but it's not meant to remove ice on the outside of the window if that's what you are trying to do.

I'd recommend running the AC with the heat. I know it seems counter intuitive, but it dries the air in the cabin and reduces overnight frost buildup inside the car. Even says so in the manual. (or some car manual I've owned at some point)

[dainesefreak]

Thanks for the replies.

It just doesn't seem particularly effective in comparison to other cars I've owned. It's nothing major I just wondered whether I had a problem or whether that was as good as it got.

Having only owned the car for a couple of weeks I wanted to get back to the dealer as soon as if there was a problem. I've found that dealers think they have more wriggle room the longer you leave it.

[KingOfJericho]

Mine works extremely well but you have to keep in mind that it is called "defrost" because that is it's specified purpose. De-icing is a totally different issue.