As far as I know, the only place that requires them is Canada, who did so in 1969. Most imported cars sold in the US in the 70’s and even later came with defrosters because the companies didn’t have separate operations in Canada and the US and so they’d just make a “North American” version. Keep in mind this was before the switch to metric up north and before a lot of the emissions regulations down south, so theoretically an identical car could be sold in either country. At least that’s the story I’ve always heard with regards to the old VW bugs, which all started coming with rear defrosters in the 69 model year when it hadn’t been an option before. This is, incidentally, one of the only ways to distinguish a 69 from a 68 from the outside.
I do believe New York state also requires cars to have rear window defrosters. The Yaris must have the wiring in place. In any case $340 is cheap in the scheme of things to get a safe car.
back the car into the driveway while the car is warm and the rear window is clear.
This is not a good option as it appears you are suggesting one pull out of the driveway without clearing the rear glass. This practice is dangerous.
Thanks for the chuckle. I’ve encountered a few with that package.
You’re right about NY. My car was purchased in Ohio in 1996 without a rear defroster and I’ve rarely, if ever, seen other cars here with NY plates without rear defrost. Here’s a link to info about NY: http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/equipmen.htm at the bottom of the page.
NY has required rear defrost since 1974 for cars with fixed rear windows and 1986 for all other vehicles (like hatchbacks). Whitey could be correct - maybe otterhere’s state only requires them on fixed windows, if at all.
I don’t recommend not having rear defrost in NY or places with similar climates. I’ve gotten by, but the inside fogs up and I can’t fix it without pulling over and wiping it off. Otterhere, definitely pay the extra money for it.
“I thought that rear window defrosters had been required in the US for some time. Maybe it is only in some states? What do you guys know? I am really curious about this.”
Same here; research the other comparable models and get back to me, because I’m too lazy to bring them all up on cars.com, LOL… Seems to me if you need the front window defosted for visual safety, same would apply to the back; I currently drive a hatchback and have had to defrost the rear window every time I’ve had to defrost the front. Making this “optional” and extra while supplying an a/c standard just seems nutty to me and less than I’d expect from a “quality” vehicle from Toyota…
Come on, guys; is it standard on the Versa, Fit, SX4, Mini, Smart, Focus, Accent?
Agree with Otterhere; use $0 as the “residual value” of your car since you are going to wear it out. I used to look at resale value when employed in sales, since my employer wanted me to drive a car no older than 4 years. If such is not the case, your best bet is to spread the ownership costs over 15+ years and assume you will give the car to charity at that point. Over the years I have driven three cars to the junk yard, given four away, and the rest were traded.
Just came back from a 2 week vacation trip during which I rented a Hyundai Accent. This turned out to be a sweet little car with good power, perfect road manners, good gas mileage, 4 cup holders, even in the doors, good seats and A REAR WINDOW DEFROSTER, which came in handy since the car was parked outside.
But… Is it STANDARD?
Yes, it’s standard! The only problem with this car is that you have to buy the topline trim to get cruise control. Mine did not have it.
Didn’t Yugos and those old 3cyl Geos have rear defrosters to keep the owner’s hands warm while they pushed it in the winter time? 
They all have web sites, The information should also be on Cars.com, edmunds.com, and vehix.com. Let us know what you find out.
very clever, lol
Most smart dealers order all their cars with this package which used to include a larger battery and a better heater. If your dealer is offering one without it, go to another dealer.
Order the vehicle exactly as you want it and stop complaining. << You’re the same class of customer who complains abount getting “stuck” with a package that has items you don’t want under the gripe that “it costs too much and why should I pay for things I don’t want.” It’s always been an industry catch 22 and, it seems, no one is ever happy. If you’re the customer who keeps a vehicle for 15, 20 years like me, then special order your vehicles . You absolutely cannot expect every auto maker to include only the items you want on a “standard” basis. It’s not their job to hold your hand and babysit your car buying. If the car is not what you want …don’t buy it !
Well it’s standard on the front because it’s just a function of the heater. I guess they could make the heater an option (heater delete used to be available for a lot of cars), too, but yeah, the rear defrost works differently than the front defrost.
Number two, you NEED to see in front of you in order to operate the car. There are vehicles (service vans, mainly) that don’t even have rear windows, I don’t believe that rearward visibility is treated as seriously as forward visibility.
Also, once you get the car warmed up, the rear window tends not to re-fog. You can get back there and wipe it down, then once you got the car’s temperature up, it tends to stay defogged. I don’t know, I don’t see anything wrong with making that an option, it has been for years and years on most inexpensive cars.
The thought occurs to me that the Yaris electrical system may also be designed to operate near-capacity most of the time, and that an upgrade (probably the alternator at least) may have to take place if rear defrost is added.
Agree that special order is normally better if you want a specific combination of accessories. I’ve ordered two such cars in the past, a Dodge Dart and a Chevy Impala, and in both cases the waiting time was 6 weeks, but it was worth it. I also bought a used Caprice which had the exact equipment I would have wanted; the origianl owner custom ordered it.
In Japan very few cars are kept in inventory; nearly all cars are orderd by the purchaser and the delivery is a few weeks.
In North America, Japanese manufacturers group equipment, and sometimes you can’t get what you want in a certain model. My personal gipe is with Hyundai, which only puts cruise control on its high line models, not relaizing that here in the West, cruise is considered a necessity on long drives.
I find that once I’ve had a particular feature, I miss it if my next car doesn’t have that feature. I had a 1971 Ford Maverick Grabber. It had a rear window defroster, although it was a blower built into the package shelf rather than a grid of wires in the glass. I traded it for a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2 and this car didn’t have a rear window defroster. I bought a blower type rear window defroster for the Oldmobile because I missed this feature. The cars I owned before the Ford Maverick didn’t have rear window defroster and I didn’t see the need for one. I had a 2000 Ford Windstar that had cornering lights. I replaced in with a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander and the Uplander doesn’t have the cornering lights. I miss this feature.
There were a lot of features that were options. In 1962 I bought a 1955 Pontiac that had just been overhauled. The car was not equipped with an oil filter–it was an option on the 1955 Pontiac even though it had hydraulic lifters and was an overhead valve V-8. I had a terrible time with the oil passages in the studs plugging up and causing the rocker arms to chirp. My bottom of the line 1965 Rambler Classic 550 didn’t have back-up lights, nor did it have switches in the door jambs to turn on the dome light. My first car, a 1947 Pontiac that I purchased in 1961 didn’t have turning signals. I spent a whole afternoon installing a turn signal kit that I ordered from Montgomery Ward. From the 1930’s through the mid 1950’s, a heating and defrosting system was an option. I am rather surprised that a rear defroster in a 2009 model would be an option.
In the 60s cars were desinged to range from barebones to fully loaded, nearly doubling the list price. I had fun “building” my Dodge Dart 2 door hardtop. Although the modelwas the top line, I still had to add the follwing:
- Varable speed windshield wipers
- Winshield washers
- Small 273 cu inch V8
- Console gear shift
- Torqueflyte automatic
- Heavy duty springs and shocks
- Deluxe wheel covers (“Ben Hur” spinners)
- Underhood pad
- Block heater
- Rear seat belts
- Heavy duty battery
- Front sway bar
- Padded trunk mat
- Tinted windshield
- Power steering (Yes!)
Items I skipped were whitewalls, bumper protection group??, vinyl top (ugly), radio (installed my own), air conditioning, power brakes (dangerous).
Most dealer salesmen were incapable of doing this on their own, so the boss ordered packages of what he thought would sell, taking care to order a few “strippers” as price leaders.
I guess you want to ban all those trucks and vans with no rear windows at all then?