A better way to keep the rear window clear?

[skiph]

So, it's 'winter' here on the Oregon Coast, been raining for the last 5 days, more to come.

When I got my 5 back at the end of May and it rained some, I noticed the 'rear liftgate spoiler' doesn't do a very good job of keeping crud off the rear window, nowhere near as good as my old '92 Plymouth Colt Vista was with no 'spoiler'.

Now that I'm back in the rain for the next 6 months, I'm not keen on having to run the rear wiper on intermittent all the time.

Has anybody come up with something to keep the rear window clear with out wiping it constantly?

I thought I had an old bottle of 'Rain X' that was supposed to make rain sheet and blow off the windshield and other windows. I can't find it and was wondering if anybody has heard of it or tried it.

I vaguely remember trying it on a windshield years ago and it was marginal at best so didn't use it again, but maybe it would work for the back, cause the crud to sheet and run off better.

Anybody tried it or something similar on the back window?

 

[jimp]

I have used rain-x for years, good stuff, but the design of the 5 creates a vaccumm of sorts and rain/road grime just gets sucked right back on the rear bumper/door/glass of the 5 IMO when going down the road. I own a Mz3 & Mz5, both rear hatch doors/glass get very dirty in bad weather, and both have the same similar design. Use some rain-x but it will NOT prevent the rear glass from getting dirty. just run the wiper.

 

[thaxman]

A few years back I remember buying a greenish wax brick. It looked like a bar of glycerin soap. Did a better job than Rain-X if I remember, but in my part of the world, we are more concerned about the sun destrying our interiors than rain affecting rear-view visibility, so the bar got lost somewhere some time ago.

 

[Tsuru]

I use Rain-X on my windshield and front driver/passenger windows. Does a great job there. I've used it in past on the rear window but as others mentioned it'll only help with rain, not any of the crud that the rear of these vehicles like to attract.
Since we're mentioning the rear wiper, make sure you check out the post in the how-to section before you replace the blade. Not all replacements will wipe the whole height of the window.

edit: I remember someone talking about putting a wind deflector on the back where the spoiler is. The idea being that it takes the air flowing over the top of the vehicle and forces it down over the rear window, preventing anything from sticking there. I can't find any more information than that though.

 

[Dyx]

I use Rain-X on my windshield and front driver/passenger windows. Does a great job there. I've used it in past on the rear window but as others mentioned it'll only help with rain, not any of the crud that the rear of these vehicles like to attract.
Since we're mentioning the rear wiper, make sure you check out the post in the how-to section before you replace the blade. Not all replacements will wipe the whole height of the window.

edit: I remember someone talking about putting a wind deflector on the back where the spoiler is. The idea being that it takes the air flowing over the top of the vehicle and forces it down over the rear window, preventing anything from sticking there. I can't find any more information than that though.

Speaking of wipers for the rear hatch, I found the OEM Mazda wipers to be the best of the ones I tried so far. I bought a replacement one from Canadian Tire, looked liked a perfect fit but couldn't wipe either the top or the bottom part of the window. The OEM is cheaper too!!! Unfortunately I forgot the price! hehe

 

[Tsuru]

The last time I replaced the rear wiper I was in a bit of a pinch so I bought the 12A replacement assembly from Canuck Tire. I pulled the blade out, replaced just the rubber portion on the car and tossed the rest (including the metal stiffeners)

I seem to recall there being a post somewhere where someone just bought 26+" replacement rubber and cut them to fit the rear wiper length. Even cheaper that way.

 

[flcruising]

^ That's actually how the owner's manual describes replacing them.

 

[wmzda5]

The last time I replaced the rear wiper I was in a bit of a pinch so I bought the 12A replacement assembly from Canuck Tire. I pulled the blade out, replaced just the rubber portion on the car and tossed the rest (including the metal stiffeners)

I seem to recall there being a post somewhere where someone just bought 26+" replacement rubber and cut them to fit the rear wiper length. Even cheaper that way.

This is somewhat same as I did. Being cheap, I decided to trim the bad part of the front wiper and get the size for the raers and replace the fronts with new ones from the dealer for $9 each.