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Question regarding the Windsheld defrost

DanW

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If that's the only solution for a 2019 vehicle, if it irritates me enough and Jeep doesn't have a proper fix, it's not staying in my driveway.
So you'll give up on doors off, top down, windshield folded fun in the sun and mud because of that? Ok.

The plugs fix it, so no biggie. My JK has the same issue, as did my old YJ, too. Only the JL had just the right sized holes for an easy fix. Just another Jeep thing!

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MacJack

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I think my vent cover is in its final form. We had some freezing rain recently and with one notch in the middle there were two spots of ice at about 10:30 and 1:30 near the top of the windshield, each about 6 inches in diameter. I cut two more notches near the ends of the cover and I'm getting good airflow at 10:30 and 1:30. I'm calling it good.

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Are you making this for sale to other JL owners.
 

JeepDave

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"Our high defrost setting only works on the center 12" of our jeep windshield. The 1/3 on both sides, driver side and passenger side are getting zero defrosting air. My brothers 2019 and hundreds of other 2018 and 2019 jeeps also have this problem according to blogs. The dealership stated that our defrost is working the same as other new jeeps on the lot and refused to acknowledge the dangerous design flaw. I have installed duct tape on the center portion of the defrost vent to redirect the air to the drivers and passengers side windshield. I plan to make a patial perminant block from plastic and install it today. We live in the Rocky Mountains and this jeep would be undrivable in the winter without defrost air flow aftermarket redirection. Zero defrost air hits the driver and passenger side without the aftermarket fix. Jeep owners are in real danger if their windsheild fogs up. We turned on our defrost to high heat and airflow to remove ice from an ice storm a few days ago. Only the center 12-14" were melted. "

Below is the dealer excuse.

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The dealer write up pictured in this post states they found no Star cases but earlier in the thread, and I believe it was Jeep Cares that said it, there is a Star Case that may pertain. The number is S1924000008. I was going to bring it up to my dealer soon as I only have center airflow.
 

imperial4ever

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Of course this issue will be quietly remedied with the 2023 mid cycle refit.
 

DanW

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Of course this issue will be quietly remedied with the 2023 mid cycle refit.
Lol, don't bank on it. Like I said, YJ, JK, JL. I didn't have a TJ, so someone else will have to chime in. That's a nearly 30 year span of Jeeps that have this quirk.
 

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imperial4ever

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Lol, don't bank on it. Like I said, YJ, JK, JL. I didn't have a TJ, so someone else will have to chime in. That's a nearly 30 year span of Jeeps that have this quirk.
I had a 1997 TJ wrangler that was never garaged and I don’t ever recall this Issue with the windshield defroster.
 

imperial4ever

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I had a 1997 TJ wrangler new from the factory that was never garaged and I don’t ever recall this Issue with the windshield defroster. One of the nicest things that I liked about the wrangler was the fact that the windshield was so small the defroster worked incredibly effective
 

00Sebby

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Yeah, my TJs never had this issue and I don't really remember it on the JK either... all of them seen significant freezing snow conditions. In fact, I was kind of surprised to see the JL not clearing the snow across a lot of the window. As for the wiper warmer idea previously mentioned, my 4Runner had those built into the windshield and they were fantastic when ice was freezing to the blades. I don't understand why Jeep and other manufacturers cheap out on stuff like this.
 

Lou_JLU

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Heated wiper blades are pretty common. I was suggesting something that's just a small strip of the same electric resistance/wire defroster found on back glass. Not tall enough to be distracting
The attached pictures are what I'm working on at the moment in the way of wiper area heaters. I used the wattage output from the wife's car as my baseline. I'm presently only at 50% power (18watts each side) as wanted to experiment first and not crack the windshield. The heaters are easily removed In the case of needing windshield replacement due to stone hits. As for now it's a work in progress.

heaters.jpg


heater table.jpg
 

dapipp

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Getting psyched up for the inevitable defrost failure.

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dapipp

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And I have a TJ and LJ and neither has a defrost issue.
 

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I think my vent cover is in its final form. We had some freezing rain recently and with one notch in the middle there were two spots of ice at about 10:30 and 1:30 near the top of the windshield, each about 6 inches in diameter. I cut two more notches near the ends of the cover and I'm getting good airflow at 10:30 and 1:30. I'm calling it good.

20190307_144059.jpg
Yeah can confirm about this much airflow is all you need in the middle. The rest then gets pushed to defrost the sides - down all the way to the lower corners. Is a silly FCA design oversight - but is fortunately fixable. We just used 4 HD hook and loop adhesive squares to cover the slots and works a charm. Fast and low cost but a tad ghetto. Def play with the placement to get the airflow exactly where you want.
 
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I experienced this Jeep quirk here in Chicago last week during a proper snowstorm. The snow and ice just stuck to the blades and only the center of the windshield was getting heat. As a quick and dirty fix I pulled up the rubber insert from the dash tray and placed it over the center defroster vent to divert the hot air to the sides of the windshield. Worked like a charm.
 

beaups

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Yeah, my TJs never had this issue and I don't really remember it on the JK either... all of them seen significant freezing snow conditions. In fact, I was kind of surprised to see the JL not clearing the snow across a lot of the window. As for the wiper warmer idea previously mentioned, my 4Runner had those built into the windshield and they were fantastic when ice was freezing to the blades. I don't understand why Jeep and other manufacturers cheap out on stuff like this.
Where would they run the wires to the windshield?
 
 



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