Night driving in rain: awful film won't go away!

[Noel]

This is a repeat query from last year, about this time when the rains come and I find myself occasionally driving at night. I have a 2010 FFH, and this time last year I went on a quest to fix this annoyance which makes driving against traffic as in 2 lane highways downright dangerous! I bought and tried every conceivable glass cleaning product known to man, including clay, and finally went to the dealer, who said they would try acid next. I tried acid wash, it seemed to help slightly, and then it's right back to square one. I even contacted the dealer from where I bought the car to see if maybe they pre-treated it w/ RainX or equivalent to see if maybe that was the culprit which they denied. I bought two types of wiper blades touted superior. None of this helped.

 

When the wiper move back and forth, a thin film remains that diffuses oncoming headlight glare and it is very distracting. I've never had a car windshield that did this. The glass looks perfect in daylight, and even in the rain during the day, it's only against headlights at night in the rain that the issue appears.

 

So, is it defective glass? It's yours doing this? I talked to the dealer yesterday and they said they could replace it with OEM Ford windshield under the warranty. I'm just not interested in doing this if the same result will happen.

 

Noel

 

Thanks on the tip for my headlight aiming! It's fine now!

Edited December 23, 2010 by Noel

[xmech2k]

I tried a couple of wiper blades and found the 'no-name' brand at O'Rielly worked the best for me, even better than the high-class ones. I admit, I didn't find my old favorite, Bosch Micro-edge.

 

Just a thought, how are you washing your car? Car wash that gives a wax coat all over the car? A possible source of that mystery coating. Good luck!

[rfruth]

park outside near a tree ? (tree sap) - I like to car wash hot wax idea

[DaveM]

Since you have tried everything on the windshield my suggestion would be to replace the wipers as they are most likely the problem. Be sure to clean windshield again before using them as ours works great without a problem.. As far as the wax from car washes, I doubt it as if so there would be millions of people all over the country complaining about that. I have had many vehicles and all have gone through car washes weekly for more than 25 years without a problem.

[Noel]

Since you have tried everything on the windshield my suggestion would be to replace the wipers as they are most likely the problem. Be sure to clean windshield again before using them as ours works great without a problem.. As far as the wax from car washes, I doubt it as if so there would be millions of people all over the country complaining about that. I have had many vehicles and all have gone through car washes weekly for more than 25 years without a problem.

 

Thank you Dave. If you know, what brand of wiper blades are you using? As mentioned in my post above, I did try two of the top-recommended brands of blades but to no avail whatsoever. I have to think at this point the glass must be defective, and the reason I am concluding this is because you have mentioned you are not experiencing this issue plus I have tried two new brands of blades and done maximum cleaning. I also did talk w/ the dealer the other day and they said they would cover replacement under a the warranty, however if new blades would resolve this I would choose this solution over replacing the windshield.

 

Cheers,

 

Noel

Edited December 25, 2010 by Noel

[awdpath]

Tried No Touch GS8 Auto Glass Stripper?

 

It appears to have 'Cerium Oxide' in the mixture.

 

[Noel]

Tried No Touch GS8 Auto Glass Stripper?

 

It appears to have 'Cerium Oxide' in the mixture.

 

 

I don't think I have. Looks like it could be worth a try. It's such a new car (it did it on the first rainy season after purchasing) but who knows, perhaps the other cleaners and clay and acid did not affect whatever it is that is causing this. Thanks and I'll let you know if it was effective.

 

Noel

[DaveM]

Thank you Dave. If you know, what brand of wiper blades are you using? As mentioned in my post above, I did try two of the top-recommended brands of blades but to no avail whatsoever. I have to think at this point the glass must be defective, and the reason I am concluding this is because you have mentioned you are not experiencing this issue plus I have tried two new brands of blades and done maximum cleaning. I also did talk w/ the dealer the other day and they said they would cover replacement under a the warranty, however if new blades would resolve this I would choose this solution over replacing the windshield.

 

Cheers,

 

Noel

 

I still have the orginals that came on the car. Never had a problem so I wonder if you haven't picked up something that have stuck to the blades or what. I'd just get some at Wally World name brands and give them a try. Shouldn't cost over about $10 and if they work fine, if not you can then cross the blades off your list of what would be causing your problem.

[Noel]

I still have the orginals that came on the car. Never had a problem so I wonder if you haven't picked up something that have stuck to the blades or what. I'd just get some at Wally World name brands and give them a try. Shouldn't cost over about $10 and if they work fine, if not you can then cross the blades off your list of what would be causing your problem.

 

Hmm, as I say Dave, I've already replaced them twice w/ recommended brand of blades . . .

[lolder]

Be sure that none of the cleaning products are abrasive, that "Cerium Oxide" looks questionable.

[Zzyzx]

Noel,

You must be at your wits end about this problem. I would just go ahead and replace the windshield. I know that this is probably a "last resort" type of solution but I think you're there.

[georgeny]

Since you have tried everything on the windshield my suggestion would be to replace the wipers as they are most likely the problem. Be sure to clean windshield again before using them as ours works great without a problem.. As far as the wax from car washes, I doubt it as if so there would be millions of people all over the country complaining about that. I have had many vehicles and all have gone through car washes weekly for more than 25 years without a problem.

 

Dave, You might be surprised about hot wax from car wash. 25 years ago has similar problem with a Nissan Pulsar I picked up new from dealer. Dealer ran it through a local car wash before delivery. I believe hot wax was being improperly diluted when my car went through. TWO years could not remove the coating, tried everything noting worked. Normally you could not see it but in certain conditions lighting wise you could once in a while see the drip and run marks on the glass. NO I never was able to fix it. I traded car with dealer and therefore handed off problem to them. I think that changing the windshield would have been the only solution. And yes side windows also effected but not as noticable since not driving from behind them.

 

Good luck!

 

George in NY

[Howie411]

So I know this is an old topic but last week I was driving for the first time with my new FFH during a light rain storm at night and I could barely see out my window. I literally was going like 5-10 mph and half the time I couldn't tell if I was in the lane. I dunno if the wipers just suck, or the angle of the window or the carwash I got a few days ago with their "clear coat" on the window. I'd never had this issue during a drive before and the area I was in I've been on 100's of times in the rain and snow.

[hybridbear]

So I know this is an old topic but last week I was driving for the first time with my new FFH during a light rain storm at night and I could barely see out my window. I literally was going like 5-10 mph and half the time I couldn't tell if I was in the lane. I dunno if the wipers just suck, or the angle of the window or the carwash I got a few days ago with their "clear coat" on the window. I'd never had this issue during a drive before and the area I was in I've been on 100's of times in the rain and snow.

Have you cleaned the inside of your windows? If they weren't cleaned well when the dealer prepped the car you may have a film on them. Invisible Glass is available on Amazon at a very affordable price and works great for us on both the inside and outside of our windows.

[B25Nut]

Cleaning the inside of the front and back windows is something that has to be done every few months on the FFH. I just use a damp rag and a dry cloth. I did mine this past weekend, but forgot to do the passenger side. Each morning since, while driving into the sun, I can see a fairly heavy grey film on the passenger side but the driver's side is crystal clear. Later in the day there is no evidence of a film on the window. It is difficult to clean the last 6" inside the rear window.

[acdii]

Yep, time to clean my windshield too.