{Moved from Technical Matters. DD}
Can anyone tell me what other manufacturers offer quickclear heated front windscreens, other than Ford?
Thanks
Charles
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Here you go:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=9866
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Not sure whether it's mentioned in that thread, but Range Posers come equipped with them.
Speaking of Range Rovers, my mum's engine exploded t'other day after she caught the underbody on a hidden tree stump while reversing in a lane. Oil drained out and engine died with a loud roaring noise clouds of smoke.
Interesting how a car that can remind you that you've left a window open can run out of oil and not notice. :)
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My Range Rover has a heated screen.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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Aren't Landrovers Fords?
Yes, Ford hold the patent for the elements embedded in the glas, so only Fords such as LR, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mazda can have them until the patent runs out which is pretty soon IIRC.
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...but amazingly, not Volvo, the paragon of road safety!
I wouldn't be surprised if somebody told me that the new S40/V50 has a heated screen option - as it has much in common with a Focus underneath anyway - but I have been suprised that the S60/V70/S80 - all of which were designed and signed off long before Ford appeared on the horizon - have not been retrospectively engineered to have heated screens.
BTW, first we had an engine with substantial Pug input in a Jag, and now we're about to have a Volvo five pot turbo in a Focus! Sacriledge! What is the world coming to? (TIC)
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Heated windscreens are great but they can cause visibility problems in certain instances, especially if they are slightly dirty.
I know one driver who holds the IAM badge who won't buy a vehicle fitted with one under any circumstances.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Not being one to shrink from an argument, I'll say that the man is a fool. Having an IAM badge doesn't make him right. Mine certainly causes far fewer visibility problems than it solves.
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I'd go along with that! I've not come across any situation where visibility was restricted by the heating element but endless situations where they were more than useful. Specially keeping the windscreen demisted without having to blow hot air from the vents (I'm talking about a car without aircon).
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Sorry guys but I cant drive with one, Makes my eyes go funny, something to do with the pattern.
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My Focus has one and I haven't noticed it at all. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. However, I think it could have been my uncle who told me (he had a Focus and this affected him quite badly) - he mentioned something about the frequency or some such rubbish which meant some people actually found it very distracting and gave them headaches.
Probably a load of old cobblers though if it is, feel free to attack RF for being a weirdo ;-)
1 - 1 methinks RF ;-)
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Adam
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1 - 1 methinks RF ;-) --
These kiddies have no respect nowadays.
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>> 1 - 1 methinks RF ;-) >> -- These kiddies have no respect nowadays.
Who said that? Was it that young ragamufin Adski again?
< peers at computer monitor though coke bottle lenses >
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Hey hey hey. I resent that comment.
Micreant...maybe. I'll even stretch to scallywag. But ragamufin?
On second thoughts - yes - you're right oh wise master. From now on I shall respect my elderly elders ;-)
2-2.
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Adam
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It is something to do with the pattern and the younger the eyes the worse it can prove it would appear.
I like them but did find that I had to keep the screen spotlessly clean.
Every person is different and I have no quibble with an IAM driver who prefers the straightfoward version.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Is that like those Magic Eye pictures, RF, where you look at 37 Ford Mondeos and see a giraffe coming towards you?
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>>I'll say that the man is a fool>>
As you don't know the person involved this is a rather outrageous statement.
In fact he's a highly intelligent - and highly paid - member of society; certainly the last thing he would be regarded as is a fool.
Best to enter arguments when in full possession of the facts.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I hired a Modeo, and if I wore my glasses which I normally only wear for close-up work, the elements were made sharp enough to be a minor annoyance, especially when the sun was at a certain angle. If I took the glasses off, the veil of diffusion removed the problem!
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My friend has just bought a Puma with one.
The other day we got into it having palyed football in the rain, and the screen started steaming up a little as he started the engine, so he switched on the heated screen, and started pulling out of the car-park.
just as we joined the road, the front screen just went completely opaque.
It was a slightly scary moment. I don't know if it was anything to do with the heated screen, but I've never seen it happen on one that wasn't.
Is the heated screen so valuable anyway? Pointing your air con at the screen on cold gets rid of any fogging in seconds anyway.
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That's never happened to me BB but I can imagine it was scary!
I said the exact same before I got mine. But in winter, pressing it and having the screen clear entirely in seconds is fantastic.
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Adam
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Agreed!!
When we purchased our first new ford 6 years ago, the screen is a god send in winter - throws away the frost and in misty weather, 30 seconds, the screen is clear - you can't beat it.
The mondeo ghia we've got is 6 years old and a coule of years two lines of the element went, but this is no big deal as the remaining 98% is working.
agreed that initially we found it in the way and noticed it - now we can only see it if the car has been washed and we look for it in day light, but soon out of sight.
Regards
LD
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I would happily have parted with some cash for a heated front screen on my V70, had the option been available, and in the cars I have driven with it, have never found the multitude of tiny wires a problem.
Air conditioning is all well and good, but becomes next to useless as temperatures drop through zero. In fact, most cars I have owned with manual air conditioning or automatic climate control have had a little caveat somewhere in the owner's manual warning that they are likely to cease working completely as dehumidifiers when ambient temperature drops below 4 deg C.
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ambient temperature drops below 4 deg C>>
The reason for this is that the windscreen would "fog up" if A/C was used below such temperatures, which is exactly the opposite required.
My VW Bora has the information about the A/C on-screen demisting being cut off past a certain point on the air flow direction dial once a particular low temperature has been reached.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Forgot to say, they're not the best couple at maintaining and cleaning their cars, so I can imagine that the inside of the windscreen was 'greasy', perhaps that makes a difference?
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An 'electrically heated front screen' is a listed option on the Renault Laguna Privilege Sport Tourer, at £275. (When I tried to order one for my car (delivered Dec 2001), I was told it was not actually available at that time. I think the option was then dropped from the website, but is back there now.)
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F reg Orion Ghia had one. I drove it for about 18 months. Dreadful fuel consumption and turning circle, but I hung on to it (company car and they wanted to get rid of it) simply because of the heated front screen. Marvellous idea.
I remember a Merc my father had - an old 280SE with 3.5l V8 engine. The HRW was the same invisible wires embedded in rear screen as the Ford system. Far superior to the stuck on things we have now and clear far quicker as well.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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An engine pre-heater is even better than a heated screen for the cold mornings - you turn it on by timer or using the remote, then come out to a warm car. VW listed one as an option on the new Golf, but then quietly dropped it earlier this year. A great shame - I'd have bought the Golf if I could have specified it.
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Caterham offer one on their 7. I think it's the only way they can get through the regulations of clearing the screen in a certain time.
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My Seat Alhambra 2003 model has a heated windscreen fitted as standard. Although most mechanical parts are VAG there must be Galaxy windscreens available in the manufacturing plant!
Invaluable in winter and only just see the elements in bright sunshine directly on the screen.
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I have a 5 year old Beema Cab and each year I love the sun and hate the winter. Too sensitive to always have the top down ( used to even in driving rain ;o) ) - my back and front are always so so so fogged up its awful - with or without aircon. I cant see a thing for 5-8 minutes ! The rear clearer is some pants 'waft' of air that BMW reckon works !
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A firm in Finland used to make heated windscreens to Volvo and others since 1988. They could make heated windscreen on order to most any car. I have had these installed on three Pajeros/Shoguns, and they worked great.
The company is now bought by Pilkington ltd, and since then they stopped producing these windscreens, as they say; ?they didn?t fit into their new product philosophy?. So if anyone has connections within Pilkington: Please apply pressure.
(Pilkington division in Trondheim Norway still have some for Pajero/Shogun and Volvo 740 / 760).
I want one for Toyota Colorado, any make will do.
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