Keeping the rear window clean.... Help!

[MadeInMaine]

Hey everyone,

I have been visiting my father up in the woods of Maine on dirt roads. With the rain and snow, the roads are a mess... Which means the back of the 4Runner gets covered in mud. So much that I can't even see through the rear window.
Yes the wiper works, but I am looking for something to help prevent the extreme collection of dust/mud on the rear.

I know that in the 80s, on Suburbans, there is an air dam (like an inverted spoiler) which pushed wind down, therefore keeping the rear window much clearer.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Jeremy556]

Make one of these

There is no good/easy answer.

 

[MadeInMaine]

There is no good/easy answer.

I was hoping not to hear that, but figured it may be the answer

 

[1engineer]

The only way is to put a full width mud flap right underneath the edge of the back bumper. Almost all the stuff that hits the back window comes from underneath not the top. Putting the mud flap there will prevent it. Anything else will be ineffective on a vertical glass at the rear of a vehicle.

 

[Mistaken]

Try waxing the rear window.

 

[CSix]

I remember using RainX on a Land Rover... I may have to try that on the Runner, thanks for reminding me... Now, a sure fire way to keep the window clean is to keep it open when driving and close it when in the garage... but that will cause several less desirable issues ;-)

 

[look171]

Rain-X or wax didn't do squat for me on our trip to Lake Tahoe a couple of weeks ago. I just suck it up and use the wiper. Why can they make a better or more windshield delivery jet back there?

 

[8086bruce]

Not sure why but the 5th gen seems to be worse than the 4th gen I had for dirt collection on the back gate and window.

 

[96 ToyRunner]

A good ole fashion way is to get a bucket of water and splash the back with it..jklol.....I use rainx on my windows and it seems to collected dirty so maybe my joke would be the best solution.:faint2:

 

[st8rocks]

Keep the window down.... Duh :brushteeth:

 

[Danimal]

The 3rd gen 4runner had the rear window spoiler thingie that did a darn decent job keeping the rear window clean. I found it worked best with dry dusty dirt, and not so well with the wet stuff you describe.

Dan

 

[N/A]

I just aquapeled mine, hoping that helps a bit

 

[Raven]

This won't help you, nor me, for that matter, but this is just one of the reasons I miss my FJ.
Don't get me wrong - LOVE my Runner! ..... but the butt end of the FJ was always cleaner. It's a design thing. I can live with it.

 

[ToyotaDoodz]

Not sure why but the 5th gen seems to be worse than the 4th gen I had for dirt collection on the back gate and window.

From experience, it's much worse than both the 3rd and 4th gen. There was a small air gap between the lift gate and the spoiler on the previous gens which is not there on the 5th gen. It allowed some airflow from the front to go in between the spoiler and lift gate. It helped keep the loose dust from piling up. Driving the Alpine Loop from Ouray to Lake City, I had almost 1/4" deep dust over the entire rear glass. I washed dirt out of the rear windshield wiper cover for weeks after. The 5th gen is definitely worse for dirt collection back there.

 

[oljedi11950]

IDK rainx worked pretty good for me on dusty roads ! Don't know about mud ? Just threw a little bottled water rinsed right off .

 

[8086bruce]

From experience, it's much worse than both the 3rd and 4th gen. There was a small air gap between the lift gate and the spoiler on the previous gens which is not there on the 5th gen. It allowed some airflow from the front to go in between the spoiler and lift gate. It helped keep the loose dust from piling up. Driving the Alpine Loop from Ouray to Lake City, I had almost 1/4" deep dust over the entire rear glass. I washed dirt out of the rear windshield wiper cover for weeks after. The 5th gen is definitely worse for dirt collection back there.

Forgot about that gap!

 

[jhebert9]

Rear window problem

On mine I thought about putting a small auxillary water tank under the body on the frame with a 12 volt pump and running a windshield washer hose to a nozzle/nozzles mounted above the window or drilling out the existing nozzle for more volume and running the hose to it. Not sure if this will work. Rain-X will help. It won't keep the window clean, but it will help to keep the dust from sticking, even if you have to carry a container of water to splash on occasionally.

 

[diverscale]

forget about rainX, aquapel, waxing, nothing will help you, beside maybe the 1engineer solution of a full width mud guard.

My windows are rain-x'ed, and it does not cure the issue at all.

One solution is to get a new rear wiper blade, cost me 9$ from the dealer. Good difference as mine was worn.

 

[1engineer]

forget about rainX, aquapel, waxing, nothing will help you, beside maybe the 1engineer solution of a full width mud guard.

My windows are rain-x'ed, and it does not cure the issue at all.

One solution is to get a new rear wiper blade, cost me 9$ from the dealer. Good difference as mine was worn.

Nobody wants to do the only thing that will work because it would be ugly. They would rather just complain instead of fixing it.

 

[iowanative2001]

Windex + towel = clean back window.

I also agree with other posters that this is worse than my 3rd gen and possible the only thing I don't care for on the 5th gen.