4 ms·

That seems so obvious I wonder why it hasn't been done before. I suppose those wipers costs a bit more since it must include some kind of conducts for liquid an

That seems so obvious I wonder why it hasn't been done before. I suppose those wipers costs a bit more since it must include some kind of conducts for liquid and multiple hoses(?).

dogma1138 10y ago
Because these windshield wipers get clogged all the time and most people at best just use water and windex which doesn't bode well for precision made spray nozzles. They also tend to leave a mess at any point where you actually need to use the liquid e.g. when you are driving through sand/dirt or mud but then again most people won't drive their CLX through a swamp or a sandstorm.
- SteveNuts 10y ago
  > most people at best just use water and windex Who does that? I've never heard of anyone doing that.
  - dogma1138 10y ago
    Myself and pretty much anyone I know, could be worse seen people use the shitty soap water buckets at gas stations to refill their wiper fluid...
    - jessaustin 10y ago
      Wiper fluid $2.84 / gal [0] Windex $2.72 / L [1] That is, Windex is roughly 4x as expensive. Granted, you could be diluting the Windex, but it's already mostly water, and it doesn't have any freeze-proof guarantees to begin with, which wiper fluid does. I think you folks are doing this odd thing to entertain yourselves... [0] https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rain-X-20F-2-In-1-All-Season-Washer-Fluid/33694037 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rain-X-20F-2-In-1-All-Season-Wash... [1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/Windex-Original-Glass-More-Cleaner-with-Ammonia-D-Refill-67.6-fl-oz/11027259 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Windex-Original-Glass-More-Cleane...
      - dogma1138 10y ago
        US prices in Europe and in the ME wiper fluid tends to be more expensive, but in all cases it's not the actual cost but the perceived cost (gas station/service center pricing rather than bigbox stores ala walmart) and laziness.
  - JumpCrisscross 10y ago
    Is Windex worse for the environment than wiper fluid?
fossuser 10y ago
I think the Tesla Model X does this too. One major downside is needing the service center to replace the windshield wipers. Since the advantage is minimal this overhead makes them generally more annoying than useful.
j3097736 10y ago
It's just a nozzle integrated in the arm, not part of the wiper blade.
sandworm101 10y ago
More parts. Fluid needs travel through flexible and/or hinged parts. Longer hose. Cannot spray fluid without wipe (a big deal in cold weather). Fluid in hoses can be blocked (again, ice) whereas parts in engine compartment are kept warmer. No overspray beyond wiped area. No cross-coverage by multiple sprays in case one becomes blocked. Can the tesla sprays be aimed/adjusted by hand? It's one of the many tesla features i just shake my head about. It sounds cool but there is good reason the other billion cars on the road went with the simple solutions. Water and wipers are cheap. Dont mess with a good thing.
jloughry 10y ago
Very old Volkswagen beetles used air pressure from the spare tyre instead of an electric washer fluid pump. I remember laughing so hard when I discovered that... I was a teenager. Now that I'm an engineer, it's not so funny; it's an interesting design trade-off.

That seems so obvious I wonder why it hasn't been done before. I suppose those wipers costs a bit more since it must include some kind of conducts for liquid and multiple hoses(?).

dogma1138 10y ago

Because these windshield wipers get clogged all the time and most people at best just use water and windex which doesn't bode well for precision made spray nozzles. They also tend to leave a mess at any point where you actually need to use the liquid e.g. when you are driving through sand/dirt or mud but then again most people won't drive their CLX through a swamp or a sandstorm.

SteveNuts 10y ago
> most people at best just use water and windex Who does that? I've never heard of anyone doing that.
- dogma1138 10y ago
  Myself and pretty much anyone I know, could be worse seen people use the shitty soap water buckets at gas stations to refill their wiper fluid...
  - jessaustin 10y ago
    Wiper fluid $2.84 / gal [0] Windex $2.72 / L [1] That is, Windex is roughly 4x as expensive. Granted, you could be diluting the Windex, but it's already mostly water, and it doesn't have any freeze-proof guarantees to begin with, which wiper fluid does. I think you folks are doing this odd thing to entertain yourselves... [0] https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rain-X-20F-2-In-1-All-Season-Washer-Fluid/33694037 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rain-X-20F-2-In-1-All-Season-Wash... [1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/Windex-Original-Glass-More-Cleaner-with-Ammonia-D-Refill-67.6-fl-oz/11027259 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Windex-Original-Glass-More-Cleane...
    - dogma1138 10y ago
      US prices in Europe and in the ME wiper fluid tends to be more expensive, but in all cases it's not the actual cost but the perceived cost (gas station/service center pricing rather than bigbox stores ala walmart) and laziness.
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago
  Is Windex worse for the environment than wiper fluid?

fossuser 10y ago

I think the Tesla Model X does this too. One major downside is needing the service center to replace the windshield wipers. Since the advantage is minimal this overhead makes them generally more annoying than useful.

j3097736 10y ago

It's just a nozzle integrated in the arm, not part of the wiper blade.

sandworm101 10y ago

More parts. Fluid needs travel through flexible and/or hinged parts. Longer hose. Cannot spray fluid without wipe (a big deal in cold weather). Fluid in hoses can be blocked (again, ice) whereas parts in engine compartment are kept warmer. No overspray beyond wiped area. No cross-coverage by multiple sprays in case one becomes blocked. Can the tesla sprays be aimed/adjusted by hand? It's one of the many tesla features i just shake my head about. It sounds cool but there is good reason the other billion cars on the road went with the simple solutions. Water and wipers are cheap. Dont mess with a good thing.

jloughry 10y ago

Very old Volkswagen beetles used air pressure from the spare tyre instead of an electric washer fluid pump. I remember laughing so hard when I discovered that... I was a teenager. Now that I'm an engineer, it's not so funny; it's an interesting design trade-off.