No rear window wiper on some new cars - why?

I find the rear wiper useful to clean the rear window in our van. It gets filthy without regular cleaning. This is not the case with our Accord and Cobalt sedans.

How can rear wipers be an expensive nuisance ? They usually come with the vehicle and do just what they are supposed to do.

Expensive nuisance to the auto company.

My 90 pathfinder didn’t have a wiper. Other trim levels did though. I found I didn’t need it. The rear spoiler did a great job at keeping the rear wind clean (as it was designed to).

My 98 Pathfinder and 05 4runned NEEDED the wipers. Both had spoilers, but they didn’t work very well.

I thought they were very useful… even necessary… on both my vans. No need for one on my current car, a hatchback coupe.

most people wont even glance out the rear window,and an occasional wiping or cleaning works good,a bunch of posters here claim you cant see out the rear windows on new cars anyway.Its rather disconcerting to follow a vehicle down the road for 20miles with the wiper going furiously,scratching the glass and the broken ones twitching like a cockroach,sprayed with “Raid”,while they may have some benefit,I rate them up there with headlight wipers(something else to maintain)
But,hey I drive trucks,gotta use the mirrors,to keep some kinda idea of whats behind(except for the Folks that tailgate and like to hide in the “Blindspot”(the only way you know they are there is seeing the shadow on the side of the road.Flipping the lights on will usually reveal them(they think you are braking)
The Publics truck “protocol” is usually rather poor as evidenced by the people that pull up one or two ca r lengths beyond the painted lines at intersections better driver Ed,will be much more effective then all the rear wipers in the world.

I use all three of my rearview mirrors regularly and often as a matter of habit (intentional self-training perhaps). I like to keep as aware as possible of what’s going on around me.

On my vans I found the rearview wipers extremely useful and kept them and their respective washer-squirters properly functioning.

Glad you use your mirrors Same,seems to be a dying art,after my fall from grace"actually off of Moms roof"I can only turn my head with great difficulty now.
Let me throw this out there,does anybody actually like the “convex” mirrors?The distortion and lack of detail drives me nuts(hard to judge clearance too.)

I like them. The center rearview is slightly convex and that makes it hard to judge distance, but on the corners of both “flag” mirrors I’ve put “fisheyes”. If there’s anything at all in the fisheye, I know there’s a vehicle in the adjacent lane. I like knowing that. I use the flatter areas of the mirrors combined with trying to turn my head and look to more closely assess the proximity of the adjacent vehicle. If I have any doubt whatsoever, I simply stay in my own lane.

I’d like to see a three-camera rearview system providing a panoramic view of everything beside and behind the car to a segmented display on the dash. The technology exists, but I guess none of the manufacturers have come up with the idea yet. Perhaps an aftermarket system powered off the power port would even be a good idea. Ah, the things that could make me a millionaire if I only knew how to convert ideas to cash!!! {:stuck_out_tongue:

One thing I’ve noticed is how many drivers are clueless to blind spots and will hang in someone’s blind spot for mile after mile. They are literally invisible unless you saw them sneak up in the first place. This was something certainly covered in drivers training to stay out of blind spots but it seems like no one notices that now. With the poor visibility today I’m looking forward to the side cameras maybe in the next car instead of having to check three or four times before changing lanes.

Bing wrote:
With the poor visibility today I’m looking forward to the side cameras maybe in the next car instead of having to check three or four times before changing lanes.

My car has blind spot monitors. I’m not a fan of all of today’s nanny features, but I do find this one to be helpful and effective.

I’m used to flat mirrors which give a true view,I move head slightly to increase the view,a convex mirror on the rightside of a truck will help with object awareness a bit,but are almost useless for precision backing