16.5 CX5 GT- front defrost doesn't work well

My rear window did stay clean after I cleaned it up before driving, with rear defogger on and with the rear wiper on intermittent. This is despite being stuck in 10~5 MPH traffic for over an hour while it kept pouring. I believe I don't have heated mirrors in my Touring, but this was not a problem for most of my drives.

For me, most of the drives to the mountains are in dry weather, we go once or twice a year through the storm. Off the mountains, all this is not applicable.
 
As a winter driver in Minnesota (recently voted to have the worst winters in the USA), I am somewhat amused by all of these comments. Unobtanium, you did not say/specify whether or not you used the rear wiper while driving in the snow. Yes, on almost any vehicle with a near vertical rear window the snow will compact. But the use of the rear defroster in conjunction with the wiper WILL keep the swept area clean. Folks that drive in this kind of crap on a regular basis know this. Also, sometimes a judicious shot of washer fluid (the kind designed for winter use, not the summer crap) will assist in keeping the window clean as well. As far as the front defroster goes, as I've stated before, since my 2014 has thinner glass than the 2016+'s, mine works fine. And I have driven in winter temps approaching -30F. Use the same approach to the front windshield as for the rear window; keep the wipers moving, keep the defroster blowing and use the occasional squirt of the appropriate washer fluid. And the side mirror defrosters work well too, but don't expect instantaneous results (yrwei52, sounds like yours need to be checked out by the dealer). As for the headlights, I use Rain-X on them when I prepare the vehicle for winter. Combined with heat from the HID's (in my opinion, the best headlights ever offered on the CX-5, bar none), I've never had a problem with the headlights being obscured by snow/ice. My headlight lenses look just as good today as the day I picked up my CX-5; crystal clear. Oh, and if you don't want those giant snow boogers building up behind the tires, install mud flaps and your boogers will be much smaller. And be sure to kick 'em off next time you are stopped somewhere to keep your CX-5's clean lines looking good (but not in your garage; bad ju-ju)! The heated seats are adequate; if they're not, you aren't dressed appropriately for the weather you are encountering outside the vehicle. It's not a living room, it's a transportation device. And as always, practice safe driving by ALWAYS cleaning the snow off your vehicle before you start to drive it, even if it's still snowing.
I considered Rain-X on my headlights, but there's a nice warning on the bottle to not use on plastics unless approved by manufacturer . You've had no problem? Good to know.
 
As a winter driver in Minnesota (recently voted to have the worst winters in the USA), I am somewhat amused by all of these comments. Unobtanium, you did not say/specify whether or not you used the rear wiper while driving in the snow. I did. Yes, on almost any vehicle with a near vertical rear window the snow will compact. Except my Grand Jeep Cherokee, which while it did have mechanical issues, was a much better designed SUV than this CX-5, as is becoming clear from all these functional foibles and design quirks I am discovering. But the use of the rear defroster in conjunction with the wiper WILL keep the swept area clean. That's become a matter of opinion, but I've got photos... Folks that drive in this kind of crap on a regular basis know this. Also, sometimes a judicious shot of washer fluid (the kind designed for winter use, not the summer crap) will assist in keeping the window clean as well. As far as the front defroster goes, as I've stated before, since my 2014 has thinner glass than the 2016+'s, mine works fine. And I have driven in winter temps approaching -30F. Use the same approach to the front windshield as for the rear window; keep the wipers moving, keep the defroster blowing and use the occasional squirt of the appropriate washer fluid. And the side mirror defrosters work well too, but don't expect instantaneous results (yrwei52, sounds like yours need to be checked out by the dealer). As for the headlights, I use Rain-X on them when I prepare the vehicle for winter. Combined with heat from the HID's (in my opinion, the best headlights ever offered on the CX-5, bar none), I've never had a problem with the headlights being obscured by snow/ice. My headlight lenses look just as good today as the day I picked up my CX-5; crystal clear. Oh, and if you don't want those giant snow boogers building up behind the tires, install mud flaps and your boogers will be much smaller. And be sure to kick 'em off next time you are stopped somewhere to keep your CX-5's clean lines looking good (but not in your garage; bad ju-ju)! The main issue was ice on the rims. It gave it a nice shimmy at speed...The heated seats are adequate; if they're not, you aren't dressed appropriately for the weather you are encountering outside the vehicle. It's not a living room, it's a transportation device. And as always, practice safe driving by ALWAYS cleaning the snow off your vehicle before you start to drive it, even if it's still snowing.

My vehicle was driven through a snow storm. It had zero on it, and the wipers and defrosters were going constantly. Just couldn't hack it.

I'd be VERY careful with RainX on polymer.
 
The rear window defogger on post 2016 models should stay on as long as the temp is below freezing otherwise it reverts to timer.
 
Do you have an IR thermometer you could test with? It sounds like they might not be working. I had solid ice on them a couple weeks back and started to melt within a couple minutes after I turned on rear defroster

This also makes me notice that the "heated" feature of my outside rearview mirrors seems not functioning. The ice on side mirrors had never melted during 30-minute drive yesterday afternoon when I turned the rear window defogger on. I inderstand the heating function will be off automatically after 15 minutes and I reset it a couple of times. This never happened to our VW and BMW. There's an optional setting to override the 15-minute limit if the ambient temperature is low but that change has to be made by Mazda dealer.

"This defogger is not designed for melting snow. If there is an accumulation of snow on the rear window, remove it before using the defogger."
 
The rear window defogger on post 2016 models should stay on as long as the temp is below freezing otherwise it reverts to timer.
At least for US 2016 CX-5, you have setup options to choose between the default 15-minute limit and rear defogger stays on if the ambient temperature is low. But that change has to be made by Mazda dealer.
 
Do you have an IR thermometer you could test with? It sounds like they might not be working. I had solid ice on them a couple weeks back and started to melt within a couple minutes after I turned on rear defroster
Ha I almost bought one at Harbor Freight Tools during holidays but I just couldn't think of any use of an IR thermometer at the time! On my VW Passat or BMW 528i I can feel the warmth of side mirrors with my hand, but definitely felt almost nothing on my CX-5! I though these heated side mirrors may just like weak heated seats and rear defogger and they're not effective. But they may very much likely not functioning! I really hate to think that way as my 2016 CX-5 is getting more and more issues and recalls within less than 2 years and I hate to go to Mazda dealer unless it's really necessary.
 
As a winter driver in Minnesota (recently voted to have the worst winters in the USA), I am somewhat amused by all of these comments. Unobtanium, you did not say/specify whether or not you used the rear wiper while driving in the snow. Yes, on almost any vehicle with a near vertical rear window the snow will compact. But the use of the rear defroster in conjunction with the wiper WILL keep the swept area clean. Folks that drive in this kind of crap on a regular basis know this. Also, sometimes a judicious shot of washer fluid (the kind designed for winter use, not the summer crap) will assist in keeping the window clean as well. As far as the front defroster goes, as I've stated before, since my 2014 has thinner glass than the 2016+'s, mine works fine. And I have driven in winter temps approaching -30F. Use the same approach to the front windshield as for the rear window; keep the wipers moving, keep the defroster blowing and use the occasional squirt of the appropriate washer fluid. And the side mirror defrosters work well too, but don't expect instantaneous results (yrwei52, sounds like yours need to be checked out by the dealer). As for the headlights, I use Rain-X on them when I prepare the vehicle for winter. Combined with heat from the HID's (in my opinion, the best headlights ever offered on the CX-5, bar none), I've never had a problem with the headlights being obscured by snow/ice. My headlight lenses look just as good today as the day I picked up my CX-5; crystal clear. Oh, and if you don't want those giant snow boogers building up behind the tires, install mud flaps and your boogers will be much smaller. And be sure to kick 'em off next time you are stopped somewhere to keep your CX-5's clean lines looking good (but not in your garage; bad ju-ju)! The heated seats are adequate; if they're not, you aren't dressed appropriately for the weather you are encountering outside the vehicle. It's not a living room, it's a transportation device. And as always, practice safe driving by ALWAYS cleaning the snow off your vehicle before you start to drive it, even if it's still snowing.

I couldn't agree with you more.


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I use mine for testing temps on my woodstove at cabin and sometimes the rotors on car after driving to see if any calipers might be starting to drag.

I use my IR thermometer for checking my woodstove too. So many uses for these things.
 
Yeah, except I'm not pulling over every 30min to scrape snow and ice off my vehicle. That's a load of crap.

Have you ever driven thru a blizzard before? Nor'easter? There are times when the snow is so heavy and wet that you will need to pull over and clear off your wipers and windshield, regardless of the vehicle you're driving. Not common, but it does happen every now and then.

I usually try to stay home when its that bad, but its not always the case.
 
Have you ever driven thru a blizzard before? Nor'easter? There are times when the snow is so heavy and wet that you will need to pull over and clear off your wipers and windshield, regardless of the vehicle you're driving. Not common, but it does happen every now and then.

I usually try to stay home when its that bad, but its not always the case.

Nope. Just a little snow storm in Oklahoma last week that I was safely able to drive 60mph through. Iced up the rear window completely with defroster and wiper going. Took a few days to come off (I didn't bother scraping it off,etc. just let it melt off)
 
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