Question about rear window

[xStePheNyz]

A friend of mine said to me that riding with the rear window down is dangerous and could let carbon minoxide into the truck. I said, why would Toyota make a rear window that can go down if it's dangerous. Any thoughts on this subject?

 

[Ron Helmuth]

it could happen

In certain conditions the exhaust will drift up into the back cargo area if you drive with the rear window down.

You can experiment with differing amounts of "crack" to see if you can discern a difference.

Personally I have never noticed it on my 3rd gen, it was somewhat of an issue on my 2nd gen. Runner.

A small opening at the back end is usually enough to buffer the airflow disturbed by the sunroof or other openings.

 

[Rbv714]

I had a tailpipe that went straight out the back four about a year, and when I drove with the back window down I could definitely smell the carbon monoxide. It was pretty intense.

Im pretty sure by putting that last corner turn on the tailpipe on factory 4runners, much of the carbon monoxide is shot to the side of the car and the draft doesn't kick it inside the car. Seems like thatts kinda the point of the tail pipe headed out to the side, not the back.

Losin a couple of brain cells wont hurt.

 

[techno]

Exhaust fumes can be sucked in through the rear window. It's an aerodynamics thing. As the car is moving along, air is flowing over the roof and around the sides and then comes back in around the rear door. As the vehicle reaches a certain speed the air cannot come back in fast enough, resulting in an area of low pressure. This low pressure is now sucking air (and your exhaust) in to fill the gap. Its hard to explain without graphics. Those air deflectors you see on some 4Runners at the top of the tail gate is designed to direct the air flow over the roof directly down into the low pressure area behind the car and hence keep exhaust fumes in a minimum.
If you drive with the rear window down you can reduce the levels of bad stuff by keeping the aircon/heater fan on a medium setting, or keep the other windows down so more fresh air comes in.

 

[Jordan Petry]

I had a tailpipe that went straight out the back four about a year, and when I drove with the back window down I could definitely smell the carbon monoxide. It was pretty intense.

Im pretty sure by putting that last corner turn on the tailpipe on factory 4runners, much of the carbon monoxide is shot to the side of the car and the draft doesn't kick it inside the car. Seems like thatts kinda the point of the tail pipe headed out to the side, not the back.

Losin a couple of brain cells wont hurt.

Last time I checked you can't smell carbon dioxide. :biggrin2: What you are smelling is actually exhaust.

Mine stinks real bad when I roll down the window, to fix it I just crack a side window and the fumes get sucked out.

 

[LINY4Runner]

i love driving with the rear window down, you get a nice breeze from behind....but i NEVER drive with just the rear window open, thats just askin for trouble....at the very least i have the back door windows halfway down when the rear window is open