dirty window/liftgate

[palooka23]

Anyone notice how dirty the rear window gets? I wash my truck pretty religiously but cannot seem to keep the rear liftgate and window clean. Also, with the new wiper design, hard to clean the area below the rear spoiler.

 

[jspagna1]

^^^ Agreed. Yes I feel the same way. One snow storm and the back glass & liftgate are a mess. I really think it's due to the overhang of the spoiler. Wish it was more like my 3rd gen.

 

[FatDave]

I don't notice excessive dirt/dust accumulation in general, but those darned breather holes in the bottom of the spoiler drip dusty water onto the window after every car wash...

:ybrick:

 

[FERAL 4R]

The rear glass and liftgate are sacrificial lambs for aerodynamics. Does suck though for sure.

 

[1engineer]

The rear glass and liftgate are sacrificial lambs for aerodynamics. Does suck though for sure.

Exactly the right word used! The reason your back window gets dirty is "suck." The aerodynamic properties of our 4Runner cause a pressure diffferential while at highways speeds. Basically you vehicle is punching a hole through the air creating a lower pressure behind the vehicle. Any dirt or dust or water vapor that is kicked up by the vehicle will get sucked into the lower pressure behind the vehicle and you see the results by looking at a dirty window. The spoiler protects the wiper and at least where I live keeps the snow off the back window while stationary. If you want a clean back window you need a truck or sedan. Putting the glass in the rear and upright like ours means the dirt will be on the glass. A pickup truck gets the tailgate dirty, a sedan gets the trunk dirty.

 

[wxxiong]

I had some comparison between my 11 TE and 98 limited.
One time both of them were driven on the same off road trail.
The result at the end of the trip: the 11 TE's liftgate window attracted much more dust than the 98 limited.

 

[H2O_Doc]

Exactly the right word used! The reason your back window gets dirty is "suck." The aerodynamic properties of our 4Runner cause a pressure diffferential while at highways speeds. Basically you vehicle is punching a hole through the air creating a lower pressure behind the vehicle. Any dirt or dust or water vapor that is kicked up by the vehicle will get sucked into the lower pressure behind the vehicle and you see the results by looking at a dirty window. The spoiler protects the wiper and at least where I live keeps the snow off the back window while stationary. If you want a clean back window you need a truck or sedan. Putting the glass in the rear and upright like ours means the dirt will be on the glass. A pickup truck gets the tailgate dirty, a sedan gets the trunk dirty.

I like it when you speak nerd.

 

[BobsTrail]

Rear Window

I was going to suggest keeping the window down to keep it from getting dirty. Then I saw how much crud was on my window and decided it's best to let it all stick to the window.