Recessed windshield wipers are making a comeback

[peteski]

In the early to mid-20th Century windshield wipers were fully exposed. Either mounted above the windshields, or later mounted on the cowl, under the windshield.  But I believe around mid-60s the manufacturers started hiding the wipers by lowering the cowling and leaving the back edge of the hood over the cowl.  That way, when in the parked position, the wipers were totally hidden, giving the windshield a clean look.  At first this feature was limited to upper-end cars, but as the time went on, most non-compact cars received recessed wipers.  This lasted into mid '80s (My 1985 Cadillac has those).  However most foreign-made cars (like Japanese or German) still had exposed wipers on the cowl.  Also in the '80s more and more American (soap-bar style bodies) cars reverted to exposed wipers.

I recently started noticing that  more and more contemporary cars have recessed wipers. Well, it has probably been going on for some years, but I just recently started paying more attention to this.  More expensive cars often have fully hidden wipers, wile most other cars have them exposed but still recessed, with the wipers and the recessed area painted black to "hide" them.

I just found it interesting that what was once old is new again.

[NOBLNG]

Those hidden ones were a real PIA in the snow belt. You can’t lift them while they are parked to clean the snow and ice from around them.🤨

[Ctmodeler]

51 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Those hidden ones were a real PIA in the snow belt. You can’t lift them while they are parked to clean the snow and ice from around them.🤨

Turn the car off with them on and they'll be stuck somewhere on the windshield. 

[keyser]

Some have heated park areas for them. Benz, others. 

[THarrison351]

11 hours ago, keyser said:

Some have heated park areas for them. Benz, others.

2006 Hyundai, yes Hyundai Azera has this feature. Also, rain sense wipers. Ask me how I know. Windshield is four times more expensive when you replace it.

[espo]

peteski makes a good point about the wipers position on American cars. My '66 Impala SS and '67 El Camino had exposed wipers. My '68 Bel Air had them hidden. NOBLNG's comment on problems in snowy areas was so true. At that time I lived in the San Bernardino mountains in Southern California and during the winter months I would place a large sheet of card board over the lower portion of the windshield to keep the snow from building up over night in that area. Even exposed wipers during really cold and snowy or sleet driving conditions are a real problem keeping the wipers from freezing into a solid block. Something I noticed a few years ago was some Chrysler Vans had heating elements along the bottom edge of their windshields much like a rear window defroster. Always wondered why this wasn't offered on more cars and trucks long ago. My wife's '21 Jeep Cherokee has these heaters on the windshield so maybe manufactures are finally paying attention to something that really can be a safety feature if you live in places with winter weather. How much could this really have cost them to produce ?? 

[NOBLNG]

You can apparently get heated wiper blades which might help?😕 I remember having to open the hood so I could get all the snow and ice cleared out satisfactorily. Some folks here with exposed wipers will flip them up if they know it’s going to snow while they’re parked overnight or at work.

[Rob Hall]

1 minute ago, NOBLNG said:

 Some folks here with exposed wipers will flip them up if they know it’s going to snow while they’re parked overnight or at work.

I used to do that when I lived in Colorado w/ my Jeep, because inevitably storms would come in during the afternoon when I was at work. 

[1930fordpickup]

I flip up my wipers and I get grief at work. I respond I am too short to free them up.  It helps to make sure my  heat is turned on high so when I push the auto start I am going to a warmer truck than freezing cold. 

[peteski]

I live in Northeast USA, where snow and ice is plentiful.  I have owned cars with recessed and exposed wipers.  Leaving the recessed wipers in deployed position (on the windshield) was a way to make the snow cleanup easier, but those wipers were not designed to flip them up off the windshield. On exposed wipers, flipping them up is a also very common around here. Many people here do that before the snow storm. 

[BlackSheep214]

On 11/8/2021 at 12:57 AM, peteski said:

I live in Northeast USA, where snow and ice is plentiful.  I have owned cars with recessed and exposed wipers.  Leaving the recessed wipers in deployed position (on the windshield) was a way to make the snow cleanup easier, but those wipers were not designed to flip them up off the windshield. On exposed wipers, flipping them up is a also very common around here. Many people here do that before the snow storm. 

Yup. Same here. Not everyone think of leaving the upright at work/home. It’s a matter of habit 99% drivers leave them down. 

As far as heated wiper blades.... only available for semis, buses, plow trucks, municipalities, farm implements. None for cars. Basically an add-onset up.

https://www.everblades.com/about-wipers/

[espo]

Looks like a great way to retro fit any car or truck. 

[Rodent]

I once had a 77 "squarebody" GMC with semi-recessed wipers. I drove it a few times in pretty heavy snow (western Sierra Nevada snow is usually pretty wet) and found that the wipers would scoop the snow under the rear edge of the hood. I had to stop and clean it out occasionally for fear of breaking the drive gears in the wiper motor. Looks like they lost that feature in the 1981 restyle, going to exposed wipers.