Question regarding the Windsheld defrost

[citzen z]

i tried my defroster and i have the same issue. definitely a design issue. maybe they will do a recall to fix it but i doubt it. i took a scrap piece of 1/2" wood i had lying around and put it over the center vent and the right and left worked perfect. i will put some felt on it and carry it with me until either jeep fixes it or i sell. i did not try just the piece of felt someone else suggested. i wanted something i over engineered.. keeps me from throwing away the felt also if i forget what its for. i appreciate the original poster. that is a great cheap solution.

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[JeepCares]

@JeepCares , Has there been any information as to the cause of this problem? Any updates?

I believe this defroster vent is a design defect and is a problem that the dealer will not be able to resolve. The defrost duct work needs to have the proper baffles to direct the defrost air flow to the entire defrost vent, not just the center section. I live in Northeast Ohio and this will be a real problem during winter storms.

This is not a problem that a dealer can correct. It is a manufacturing problem.

"Jeep Cares", is this a manufacturing problem that you can report to the factory?

Hi mcolv2 and Mabar,
We are currently requesting that anyone experiencing this send us a private message with your VINs so we can have this documented for the appropriate team and have this looked into a bit further.
Thank you,
Lydia
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[Rhinebeck01]

I' have been using a piece of black computer, mouse pad. The pad is about 1/4" thick. A brand new mouse pad.

I just carefully and cleanly cut a piece off of it. I forget, but it is like 3" x 11" size wise

I placed this cut piece right up on top of the center vent.

Funny, you hardly can see it... unless you are looking for it. It does not move around at all.

Yes, it does make a big difference in regard to defroster air going to the sides of the windshield.

 

[citzen z]

I' have been using a piece of black computer, mouse pad. The pad is about 1/4" thick. A brand new mouse pad.

I just carefully and cleanly cut a piece off of it. I forget, but it is like 3" x 11" size wise

I placed this cut piece right up on top of the center vent.

Funny, you hardly can see it... unless you are looking for it. It does not move around at all.

Yes, it does make a big difference in regard to defroster air going to the sides of the windshield.

great idea. that works better than what i was planning. appreciate it. that would fit better in the console than a block of wood... great work around. genius

 

[Rhinebeck01]

great idea. that works better than what i was planning. appreciate it. that would fit better in the console than a block of wood... great work around. genius

@citzen z

Just be sure to take the mouse pad out to the JL and place it on that position BEFORE you cut the pad. When you have it placed, do note how the pad slips down in the gap. Take this into consideration when you measure. You want the pad to go down into the gap and come all the way out til even with the end of the plastic on the other side. IF you just go and measure, the ruler will not get down into the gap and your pad will be cut to narrow.
When you place the cut pad on the vent, obviously place the cut end toward the windshield and into the gap.

As for cutting the foam spongy mouse pad... I place a piece of clear shipping tape across the pad. Did my measurement ...placed pen marks on the tape. With tape still on, I cut carefully with a decent scissor. Came out real nice.

Mouse pad has a rubberized kinda bottom, so it does not slip around up there. My pad is a 1/4" thick so pretty heavy also.
.

 

[citzen z]

@citzen z

Just be sure to take the mouse pad out to the JL and place it on that position BEFORE you cut the pad. When you have it placed, do note how the pad slips down in the gap. Take this into consideration when you measure. You want the pad to go down into the gap and come all the way out til even with the end of the plastic on the other side. IF you just go and measure, the ruler will not get down into the gap and your pad will be cut to narrow.
When you place the cut pad on the vent, obviously place the cut end toward the windshield and into the gap.

As for cutting the foam spongy mouse pad... I place a piece of clear shipping tape across the pad. Did my measurement ...placed pen marks on the tape. With tape still on, I cut carefully with a decent scissor. Came out real nice.

Mouse pad has a rubberized kinda bottom, so it does not slip around up there. My pad is a 1/4" thick so pretty heavy also.
.

great project for a rainy weekend like the one coming up tomorrow. really appreciate the advice. i see mopar coming out with this. you had better patent the idea soon

 

[Gemball2018]

Thats great but this is ridiculous is it not. When you do this does the middle of the windsheild still defrost or now just the sides? Jeep should really do a recall on this.

 

[citzen z]

Thats great but this is ridiculous is it not. When you do this does the middle of the windsheild still defrost or now just the sides? Jeep should really do a recall on this.

my short experience with my solution revealed that noting comes out of the center vent. Maybe a few holes in the mousepad would let just a little air up without getting rid of the integrity of clearing the right and left side.

agree jeep should do something

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@Gemball2018

Yes, I agree kinda ridiculous, but it is a work around. I found that with the pad in place, I get decent windshield defrosting.

My pad only covers part of the center vent... the center part of the center vent.

I would seriously doubt you will see a recall on this. Yes, you will eventually see FCA fix the issue on future JL's.

I felt it in my best interests to find a work around that would assure the windshield gets defrosted.

 

[Gemball2018]

@Gemball2018

Yes, I agree kinda ridiculous, but it is a work around. I found that with the pad in place, I get decent windshield defrosting.

I would seriously doubt you will see a recall on this. Yes, you will eventually see FCA fix the issue on future JL's.

I felt it in my best interests to find a work around that would assure the windshield gets defrosted.

I agree and its a reasonable fix which I will use. There will be a recall as soon as someone crashes unfortunately. Money speaks.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@citzen z
@Gemball2018

It has been months since I made up that pad.

I just went and actually eyeballed it again and yes, I did place one circular hole in the center of it. The hole is about a 1/4" in diameter and is directly over the vent itself.

Sucks to get old... forgot that I had added a hole to the thing, as I wanted a bit of air forced up the center.

Anyway,the pad does work decently .... but .... truth is it has not been up against a real Winter yet.

 

[Gemball2018]

Btt. Went to my dealership this morning and it seems that this is how it is supposed to work. We compared against other JL wranglers on the lot.

2018 or 2019?

 

[citzen z]

According to the dealer this is not a safety issue but should be covered under my warrenty and that i should schedule something for the service people to look at. i will do that the next time i take it in for my free oil change but for now i will use a modified mouse pad

 

[Scipax]

I had this same issue when I first started using the defroster with the cooler weather. The air would only come out of the center defroster vent as the OP shows. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was not supposed to happen as the driver side was fogging over badly. I took it to the dealer immediately. They quickly fixed it by removing the dash and removing what they called "factory debris" from the driver side vent. They had several JL owners come in for the same issue. They popped the dash back on and I tested the vents, it all worked beautifully from there. Now I've got good air flow coming out of all the defroster vents.

 

[Jeepsterfreak]

I had this same issue when I first started using the defroster with the cooler weather. The air would only come out of the center defroster vent as the OP shows. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was not supposed to happen as the driver side was fogging over badly. I took it to the dealer immediately. They quickly fixed it by removing the dash and removing what they called "factory debris" from the driver side vent. They had several JL owners come in for the same issue. They popped the dash back on and I tested the vents, it all worked beautifully from there. Now I've got good air flow coming out of all the defroster vents.

Interesting. Wonder if we’ll see a TSB to fix the problem.

Hopefully it doesn’t involve removing the dash, as I don’t see how that’s a quick fix. Are you referring to “dash vents” that were popped on and off?

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