Gladiator and Defrost

[ACAD_Cowboy]

I've noticed it a bit, and stumbled across heated wiper blades. More curious if they work than anything..

Doesn't help I did tint the window - logic tells me that if it keeps heat out, it will keep heat in.

However, I shall check back in... When it snows again

Yes, yes they do, I've outfitted a number of loaders and plows with them for winter operations and while the initial cost is "high" the performance is approaching heated glass in terms of operator comfort and safety.

I get mine from Susquehanna Motorsports, Will is top notch and if it's a solid buy for PennDOT, it's a solid buy for you.

https://www.rallylights.com/thermalblade-gen3-heated-windshield-wiper-blades-pair-made-in-usa.html

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[Missionsparta]

Im in MA ...I know what you guys are talking about but it's really a non issue..... YOU'RE BEING IMPATIENT.

The defrost setting WILL CLEAR the entire windshield. You have to give it a few minutes to warm up and then set the blower speed to high and the the mode selector to full defrost (full clockwise)
And FYI The push button is only the rear window and mirrors, for the those saying to hit the button....

Yes it begins to clear only the center but once it's warmed up the rest will clear. Once it's cleared initially it will keep it clear and you can change your mode selection and blower speed

No. There is a dedicated button for the defroster and that's what they are talking about. I have let it run and if it's coming down good it just builds up like crazy on the side third of the windows. You can see where the vent goes from side to side and you can't get air out of 2/3 of the vent no matter how hard or how long you run it.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Or just use the caps so the heat is distributed to where it is needed.

This is not a solution, this is moving the problem somewhere else. By blocking airflow in the center to gain airflow on the sides, you still have to lose airflow in the center. CFM like amps is a limited and fixed set, you will never make more CFM than the fan can deliver.

That said, it's a short term workaround that gets you closer but let's be honest, you just dropped anywhere from 40 to 65k on a premium premier lifestyle vehicle, a Jeep halo product and the first thing you need to do is hit up the big box store and buy some piddly bits to correct a glaring as hell issue. I'd be on someones ass for a resolution if only to not hear my wife in angry crow mode getting on my ass about WTF!?!?!?! CAW CAW CAW!

 

[DobaMark]

File a complaint with NHTSA if you feel this is a safety issue. That might force FCA to recall them if appropriate.

 

[johnparjr]

Are you just using the defrost button?

yes heat only no A/C

 

[Missionsparta]

I think he is asking if you are using the defrost button it if you are relying on the auto button for defrost. My issue is with both. I've tried both ways and get the same result.

yes heat only no A/C

 

[Gvsukids]

No. There is a dedicated button for the defroster and that's what they are talking about. I have let it run and if it's coming down good it just builds up like crazy on the side third of the windows. You can see where the vent goes from side to side and you can't get air out of 2/3 of the vent no matter how hard or how long you run it.

The base sport vmodels have a dial for HVAC. The dual climate systems have a button for defrost.

 

[AmishMike]

I just had to see what the complaint was about, so I checked mine this morning. Seemed okay to me. I was actually thinking that with a lot of hot air blowing right where the drivers side wiper parks, that might help keep it from freezing up so bad.
If you are worried about heat, let it warm up. As someone who grew up with carburetors, I leave my coffee cup in the truck the day before go out start my vehicle come in wash my cup fill it with go juice and head out. My own little way of assuring a warmed up engine.
There are no perfect systems out there, my first vehicle had a candle in a mason jar. I have run tractors, rigs, plows etc. from Pa. to the Canadian border and sometimes you have to wipe the inside of the windshield, sometimes you have to get out and scrape. There have been times when it was so cold that your best option was warm feet and a cold windshield where the snow just blows off because if it melts, it immediately freezes.

 

[Missionsparta]

I just had to see what the complaint was about, so I checked mine this morning. Seemed okay to me. I was actually thinking that with a lot of hot air blowing right where the drivers side wiper parks, that might help keep it from freezing up so bad.
If you are worried about heat, let it warm up. As someone who grew up with carburetors, I leave my coffee cup in the truck the day before go out start my vehicle come in wash my cup fill it with go juice and head out. My own little way of assuring a warmed up engine.
There are no perfect systems out there, my first vehicle had a candle in a mason jar. I have run tractors, rigs, plows etc. from Pa. to the Canadian border and sometimes you have to wipe the inside of the windshield, sometimes you have to get out and scrape. There have been times when it was so cold that your best option was warm feet and a cold windshield where the snow just blows off because if it melts, it immediately freezes.

I'm not worried about heat, I am getting enough of that. I'm worried that it only comes out the middle third and it never clears the outside portion (mainly right where you are looking on both sides of the windshield).

 

[AEsco48]

This is not a solution, this is moving the problem somewhere else. By blocking airflow in the center to gain airflow on the sides, you still have to lose airflow in the center. CFM like amps is a limited and fixed set, you will never make more CFM than the fan can deliver.

From what I have read, there is not a shortage of CFM coming out of vent to keep the glass from frosting, the issue is it (all the CFM) all comes out of the central vent and not the sides. So by blocking SOME of the central vent hopes you are redistributing the CFM, total amount of CFM stays the same, it just gets redirected. Problem solved, as in a solution.

This could also be looked at from a BTU stand point. the Jeep produces sufficient BTU to keep the windshield frost free, its just that the BTU is not being distributed appropriately.

 

[Gatorized]

From what I have read, there is not a shortage of CFM coming out of vent to keep the glass from frosting, the issue is it (all the CFM) all comes out of the central vent and not the sides. So by blocking SOME of the central vent hopes you are redistributing the CFM, total amount of CFM stays the same, it just gets redirected. Problem solved, as in a solution.

This could also be looked at from a BTU stand point. the Jeep produces sufficient BTU to keep the windshield frost free, its just that the BTU is not being distributed appropriately.

There is a picture of the hvac unit on another thread that shows the problem... no angle to the ribs in the defroster ductwork so it blows straight up the center of the windshield. You can live with it, or complain about it and hope FCA does something about it, or you can put in the plugs to get decent defrosting until the FCA fix arrives. They are cheaper than the stubby antenna that everyone wants because it looks better and they actually do something that you can appreciate.
Everyone says that now that the steering box is fixed, the next TSB will be the defroster... naw - just fake news!

 

[Delhux]

Im in MA ...I know what you guys are talking about but it's really a non issue..... YOU'RE BEING IMPATIENT.

I’m also from MA and I refuse to believe anyone from the commonwealth would argue in favor of patience. Who the $&@! has time for that $&!+?

Seriously, though, last winter I could leave it warming up for 10-15 minutes and still not have ANY of the passenger side 1/3 of the windshield defrost.

As soon as I covered the center defrost vents with speeding tickets, Dunkin’ Donut receipts, and championship trophies, the passenger side would defrost in seconds.

I can wait seconds (or a minute or two) for defrosting, but I can’t wait 10-15 min without any progress.

You can keep your patience for wherever you’re really from, cause I’ve got places to be, people to cut off, and a bowl of chowda waiting’ that ain’t gonna savor itself.

 

[Missionsparta]

I’m also from MA and I refuse to believe anyone from the commonwealth would argue in favor of patience. Who the $&@! has time for that $&!+?

Seriously, though, last winter I could leave it warming up for 10-15 minutes and still not have ANY of the passenger side 1/3 of the windshield defrost.

As soon as I covered the center defrost vents with speeding tickets, Dunkin’ Donut receipts, and championship trophies, the passenger side would defrost in seconds.

I can wait seconds (or a minute or two) for defrosting, but I can’t wait 10-15 min without any progress.

You can keep your patience for wherever you’re really from, cause I’ve got places to be, people to cut off, and a bowl of chowda waiting’ that ain’t gonna savor itself.

LMAO

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Have now dealt with one full winter and the beginning of this one with a gladiator and the ice forming on the windows in a snow storm is awful. I just realized that the defroster is only blowing out of the middle of the vent and not where near the left and right side..I now have watch a bunch of videos and it appears this is how they all are. THIS IS A MASSIVE SAFETY HAZARD. @JeepCares @JeepCare how do we initiate and emergency safety recall for this. I'll be using this forum as well as many of the videos as documentation in my legal case if this is fixed immediately and I end up in a wreck.

That's odd - mine isn't really all that bad. A pair of gloves tossed up there, or those square plastic plugs stuck in 2 or 4 of the center vent areas, and it's perfect. But I drove it for a while in Iowa's winter with none of those plugs in place and it's just fine.
I've driven cars and trucks a hell of a lot worse than this thing ever was.
In fact, if I had a choice of driving any of my vehicles past or present in the winter, it would be our Jeeps.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Im in MA ...I know what you guys are talking about but it's really a non issue..... YOU'RE BEING IMPATIENT.

The defrost setting WILL CLEAR the entire windshield. You have to give it a few minutes to warm up and then set the blower speed to high and the the mode selector to full defrost (full clockwise)
And FYI The push button is only the rear window and mirrors, for the those saying to hit the button....

Yes it begins to clear only the center but once it's warmed up the rest will clear. Once it's cleared initially it will keep it clear and you can change your mode selection and blower speed

I have a post somewhere in the forum about my experiences with it - and decided it's really not any worse than anything else I've owned, and better than many.
I do what you suggest - I set heat way up, turn off AUTO mode and change to windshield defrost mode, turn the fan up - and it works.
Like many other cars and trucks, the trick is turning the heat temp up and the fan high.
Further - a trick I learned years ago on other vehicles, lower the visors. It traps that warmer air against the windshield. Years ago my wife asked me why I kept lowering the visors each time I hit defrost. I told her next time she needed defrost in her vehicle, lower the visors. She reported back -I see, the windshield seems to clear a bit faster.
Maybe it just feels that way but it sure feels like it works.

This is the worst mine ever got in the middle of one of Iowa's frequent ice storms. It was moments after turning up the heat and fan speed. And before I put those plastic plugs in. If this was as bad as it got - it's at least as good as many other vehicles I've owned.

Most other things I've owned over the years, I got in and my gloves went up onto the center defrost section. I guess I was just used to it.

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