Windshield defrost switch

[Firesq14]

Hello all, I now own my first 4R. Upgrade from a suburban. It is a SR5 with a few options. One that I thought it would have, that a friend of mines has, is the windshield defrost opinion. His has less options than mine and his came with it. Soooooo do you think the harness has it there and I could add the switch?


Thank you

Chris

 

[rigtec]

Hello all, I now own my first 4R. Upgrade from a suburban. It is a SR5 with a few options. One that I thought it would have, that a friend of mines has, is the windshield defrost opinion. His has less options than mine and his came with it. Soooooo do you think the harness has it there and I could add the switch?


Thank you

Chris

Hi Chris,

Are you referring to the Windshield wiper heater/de-icer or the windshield defroster; which all vehicle's have?

rig, cheers!

 

[nglayton]

I'm guessing you mean the wiper heater, not defroster. The harness probably has the pigtail, but adding the switch won't be enough.

It probably needs a fuse someplace, but more importantly, the windshield has to have the capability.

 

[curmudge1]

Standard feature?

According to the brochure I downloaded for my 2012 TE 4R, the wiper heater was standard equipment for the 4R that year. I have it in mine.

I don't know about other model years, though.

--
Dave

 

[philsey]

I'm guessing you mean the wiper heater, not defroster. The harness probably has the pigtail, but adding the switch won't be enough.

It probably needs a fuse someplace, but more importantly, the windshield has to have the capability.

This.

No switch = no hope. Toyota does not build [4Runners with] anything extra, just in case someone wants to "add it later".

It's not all that effective anyway.

 

[mlrff]

So you say that Toyota doesn't build things that way ,but my fj was wired for things not installed.

 

[philsey]

So you say that Toyota doesn't build things that way ,but my fj was wired for things not installed.

Fixed it.

 

[nglayton]

So you say that Toyota doesn't build things that way ,but my fj was wired for things not installed.

I think the base wiring harness is about where it ends. Anything functional is where it stops. Just adding a $40 switch isn't going to get you there. While you might be able to plug the switch into the harness, I doubt there will be any magic happening.

 

[1000MPH]

Need a windshield with the embedded heating elements.
If it doesn’t look like this you are out of luck.

 

[93civEJ1]

Need a windshield with the embedded heating elements.
If it doesn’t look like this you are out of luck.

Do all 5th gens have this visible on the windshield? I have a 2014 limited and had my windshield replaced this morning. I did not notice any grids on my other glass (but I didnt look hard)...it was just super dark black around the glass at the bottom.
The replacement glass looks identical and is black as well, but you can easily see the grids in the black area of the glass.

I am almost wondering if the previous glass didnt have it, or the toyota factory one is just so dark in that area that you can not see the heating element portion?

 

[llDemonll]

Factory glass is easy to see the heating elements.

 

[meltdown]

Factory glass is easy to see the heating elements.

Not as easy to see as in the above picture though. Unless you’re looking closely, they easily blend into the black portion of the windshield. Mine do at least.