Hydrophobic Glass?

NoDak

NoDak

Senior Member
Well, Toyota has permanently coated the windows of the 4Runner with a
chemical that is water repellent. The chemical causes water to form big drops, which are quickly blown away by the wind.
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i have heard/read that toyota has coated all the glass/mirrors with this feature but cant find any solid info on what harm rain-x, etc will do to this coating.
 
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It is basically similar to Rain-x, except that it's permanent (or so Toyota says).

"All exterior glass shields 94 percent or more of UV rays. The windshield, side windows and side mirrors are hydrophilic glass with an outer surface that is water repellent. The glass causes water to form large drops, which is more easily shed by gravity or wind."

This is quoted from this Toyota link:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/display_release.html?id=20034runner_r

(Scroll down to "Rugged Exterior Design".)

The quote is actually not entirely correct...at least on my '02 4runner (which I think is the same for '03 & '04 4runners). ONLY the front windows have this coating. The rear and cargo windows do not.

Hope this helps.
 
Hydrophobic glass

at least on my '02 4runner (which I think is the same for '03 & '04 4runners). ONLY the front windows have this coating. The rear and cargo windows do not.
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On my '04, the rear window definitely has the hydrophobic glass. I notice it every time I clean the window at the gas station.
 
Maybe I'm crazy, but this doesn't seem to work on my 03 Limited. O have used RainX on other cars and it works much better than on the supposedly treated windows on my 4Runner. Maybe they just need a good cleaning.
 
ok i finally found an entry in the owners manual, page 343.

rain clearing mirrors:

on some models, the outside rear view mirrors have been coated to produce a "rain clearing effect. this coating causes the raindrops to spread, clearing the driver's rear view when it rains.

it is sufficient to wash the mirrors with water for day to day care.

the rain clearing effect is reduced in drizzle and light rain.

in the following cases, the rain clearing effect will be reduced temporarily, but will gradually recover.

1. after wiping dirt off the mirrors
2. when the mirrors fog up
3. after waxing your vehicle in an automatic car wash
4. after your vehicle has been parked for a long period in underground parking lots, etc. where there is no direct sunlight.

if you would like to restore the rain clearing effect to its normal level immediately in the above cases, wash the mirrors with neutral detergent, then rinse thoroughly.


notice:

to maintain the rain clearing ability, and prevent the mirrors from being scratched, observe the following precautions.

1. do not use any glass cleaners that contain compounds

2. if ice should jam the mirror, do not scape the mirror. use a spray de-icer to free the mirror.

3. wash off any wax stuck to the mirrors with neutral detergent and rinse thoroughly as any wax on the surface of the mirrors can cause the rain clearing effect to be lost

4. do not use any water repellents as they can destroy the rain clearing effect. if any repellents gets stuck on the surface of the mirrors, wash it off with neutral detergent, then rinse thoroughly.
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so it seems if you use rain-x, you pretty much destroy the feature.
 
Last edited:
NoDak said:
ok i finally found an entry in the owners manual, page 343.



so it seems if you use rain-x, you pretty much destroy the feature.
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But if you're going to use something like rain-x you're probably not counting on the factory coating anyway. I had never heard of the windows being treated and already have a coat of rain-x on the windshield. As long as something's doing the job I'm happy.
 
I doesn't "destroy" the hydrophobic glass feature. That is just Jinglish in the manual.
They hydrophobic abilities are restored once you wash off the RainX or wax.
 
Jinglish

That is just Jinglish in the manual.
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I was surprised at the poor quality of writing in the manual. It was obvious that it had not been writting or corrected by someone who spoke English as his native language. Years ago this was very common in equipment manuals from Japanese companies but had seemed to have improved lately. Especially when buying a $30,000 machine I had expected a manual written by someone who was fluent in English.
 
Re: Jinglish

dcampen said:
I was surprised at the poor quality of writing in the manual. It was obvious that it had not been writting or corrected by someone who spoke English as his native language. Years ago this was very common in equipment manuals from Japanese companies but had seemed to have improved lately. Especially when buying a $30,000 machine I had expected a manual written by someone who was fluent in English.
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Speaking of.... wouldn't Hydrophobic mean the windows are scared of water? I sure hope it is a fear they overcome, I'd have to start having to take my car to therapy.
 
i couldnt remember the correct word to use (which thai pointed out is "hydrophilic") so i put in a word that came close that what i was trying to get across.
 
NoDak said:
i couldnt remember the correct word to use (which thai pointed out is "hydrophilic") so i put in a word that came close that what i was trying to get across.
Click to expand...

hehe... I was just teasing. :D
 
Hydrophobic = repels water

Hydrophobic is correct when refering to a surface that causes water to form large beads. Hydrophilic means the opposite - "water loving" - and a hydrophilic surface would cause water to spread out over the surface.
 
Hydrophobic glass.

From what I observed yesterday when I washed my 4Runner I would say that the side and rear windows definitely have a hydrophobic treatment. The front windshield does not appear to have this treatment. I didn't pay any attention to the sideview mirrors.
 
I guess the dried water spots on my front window suggest I don't have it either. The wipers work well enough though. ;):
 
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