shroomster

has anyone else noticed that commercial for the Buick lucerne, that comes with an optional WasherFluid Heater?

WTF?!?!?!

is this a good thing or does anyone else agree with me that you can save yourself time and money by just rain-x-ing the damn windshield....

micks7thgen

iTrader: (1)

good idea but there is the possiblity that you can crack the windshield like that.

blouisgod

iTrader: (14)

that crap is useful in NY. in florida it serves no purpose but gramps will still get it.

skipbarber

iTrader: (34)

I guess it's to warm up the fluid so that it's easier for it to squirt out when there is ice or snow blocking the nozzles. kinda stupid though, for the amount of time it takes to heat up like a gallon of fluid, you could just clean off the ice from the nozzles..but then again, this is probably just another reason for GM to fire 30,000 employees.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

i dont know, but it may not 'heat' the winshield washer fluid like you would naturally think it would.. it may just keep the windshield washer fluid from freezing..

i dont know.. i'd just buy the de-icing windshield washer fluid that has a lesser chance of freezing..

shroomster

I agree and I saw the commercial for it and at the bottom in small print it said this "approximate time of 'heated' fluid discharge is 40 seconds" so thats a waste to me...you want it done immeditely...and as for the Florida thing, yeah def worthless down here...I just wish they'd put more thought into making the car more reliable instead of increasing the amount of damagble electronics and such with this kind of add-on....

CivicsRdBest

that was half-assed... if it is freezing outside in the first place, you SHOULD NOT be using the fluid in the first place as it will turn into ice on your windshield.

shroomster

FOUND THE AD

dre2600

Not enough of you live in Canada. It helps in the winter to get frost and stuff off your windshield if you spray some washer fluid on it, washes the ice off and I think maybe makes the remaining stuff melt at a lower temperature. Sounds like a great idea to me, I'm surprised nobody thought it up sooner.

Even if you lived in a warm climate though, warmer washer fluid would be much better at dissolving/washing anything off your windshield. Try cleaning your dishes with cold water, now try with hot, you can imagine the difference.

Cptn. Slow

the purpose of it is to melt ice on your windshield

shroomster

what does it do once it is on your roof or in your drain ports? wouldn't it just freeze...not rnough volume or mass to hold a high temp for long at all I can't rmember the freezing temp of basic washerfluid either....

isuzu5000

uhh....i dont think that its that bad of an idea....i wouldnt call that the dumbest add on ever...i'd say l.e.d. washer squirters or....haha jp man

dragoon

iTrader: (2)

imo it has its uses. just like headlight wipers do.

InanimateCarbonRod

iTrader: (6)

There was an aftermarket kit to make any car do this. It was available some years back. Useless? Only if you live South of the snow belt.

JP375

iTrader: (1)

In my opinion it is a very sweet feature. I think some of you aren't understanding they system. Often you get a thick layer of frost on your windshield even when it hasn't snowed. Not quite hard ice, but thick frost. The wipers alone aren't able to scrape it. The washer fluid used up north doesn't freeze until like -20 F, so even normal washer fluid helps with this purpose. However, its still a cold liquid so it doesn't do the greatest job. A hot spray of washer fluid would be awesome, and because the washer fluid doesn't readily freeze, its not going to be counterproductive.

As far as how the system works, I think it only quickly heats the washer fluid in a small portion of the lines. Thus the limit on how long you can get a hot spray is probably the 40 seconds someone mentioned. After that you would run out of hotness, until it was allowed to sit a bit.

I applaud GM for this one. Its a great feature.

JP375

iTrader: (1)

Some fluids are made to stay fluid at much lower temperatures. Mine is good to -20 F. Only a few days a year does it ever get that cold where I'm at.

mrchowmein

id get that feature on my car, i dotn like it when i go skiing and my windshield washers freeze up. ususlly i just go toe the bathroom before i leave teh ski resort with a bottle of hot water to melt the washer jets. but thats a good feature if you live in a place that expereiences freezing temps. headlight wipers do a function too but thats another discussion.

micks7thgen

iTrader: (1)

what do headlight wipers do other than make you waste 20 bucks

mrchowmein

in snowy conditions, your headlight will have a muddy film on it. the lil wipers clean the headlight lens. that way your headlights wouldnt be impaired. if you drive in snowy or muddy condtions, you'll realize that you have to clean your headlights everyone time you drive. there used to be another thread about this.

CiViCPrAnInG2k1

iTrader: (1)

i think the best way to get rid of ice on the windshield is simply just warming it up. put the setting on the windshield and blast the heater on to high. this way ice/snow would melt and just run your wipers. DUH!

mrchowmein

but that snow might not be clean, have you ever used your wipers with dirty snow, its leaves a brown filmy mess on your windshield only windshield washer fluid could clean.

Civicccc

I think its cool

CiViCPrAnInG2k1

iTrader: (1)

of course you have to use your windshield fluid too.

DDragon7

I think its just a damn useless feature. Normal windsheild fluid in Canada has a rating of -40C/F and I have never seen it freeze, and to remove that thin layer of frost, you could just scrapethat it off with the ice scrape and also blast it with heat.

mrchowmein

off topic, but is it true that some provinces in canada ban rainx cuz it causes cancer or blindness?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

jeez you guys are lazy. keep a scraper in the car and spend 10 secs to get the ice off. then touch your finger to each nozzle for a bit to melt the ice on the hole.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

these days, everything causes cancer. like used motor oil for example, should they ban that too?

Draven2

Only in lollipops///

Al Gore FTW

iTrader: (19)

its not bad, the name of the model is funny though, Lucerne. Lucerne is a dairy brand that safeway owns.

eye_see_you

iTrader: (13)

APC stickers, APC anything

my .002 cents