Frozen Wiper Blades

Last winter, I had serious issues with ice buildup on my wiper blades. Defrost "worked" on rest of windshield but the melting snow would accumulate as ice on the blades. Anyone else have this issue and have a solution? Several things I've thought about:

1. Heater core - it's an 11 year old car, heat doesn't seem to be as strong as it once was... expensive to replace $1000+
2. 12v cigarette lighter windshield defroster fan... probably not worth the money as they are max 200W
3. Heated wipers - anyone go this route and try out something like everblades.com wipers?
4. Defroster strips located under wiper park location - I've seen these on Subaru's and wish I could find a simple DYI kit for applying my own. Even better if I could tie it into the heater mirrors wiring or at worst something like a mirror lite northwind strip with 12v cigarette lighter plug... can't seem to find anything like this though...

Thoughts?

Change the thermostat.

imo000 said:

Change the thermostat.

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Hmm, seeing how simple and inexpensive this seems to be, I shall try that first! The idiot gauge on the dash seems to constantly move up and down and not stay steady which I understand may be indicative of a faulty thermostat.

Thanks for the suggestion.

also de-ice or anti ice formulas in your window wash bottle. I do this every winter on all my cars and am pleased with the results. I know.....Seattle is not real winter, but I do drive over the mountain passes many times each winter.

jbrill said:

Hmm, seeing how simple and inexpensive this seems to be, I shall try that first! The idiot gauge on the dash seems to constantly move up and down and not stay steady which I understand may be indicative of a faulty thermostat.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the thermostat.

imo000 said:

Sounds like the thermostat.

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And it was

Replaced it yesterday (finally had the time) and bingo, blasting hot air to the point where I had to turn it down.

Thanks for the quick and correct response.

Out of curiosity how long does it take you to get warm air?
I have been contemplating a frost heater, as it usually takes 10+ minutes to get warm air, which as mentioned can be a problem when trying to defrost windows at below freezing temperatures

Spring1898 said:

Out of curiosity how long does it take you to get warm air?
I have been contemplating a frost heater, as it usually takes 10+ minutes to get warm air, which as mentioned can be a problem when trying to defrost windows at below freezing temperatures

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Before the thermostat fix - it would take forever to almost never at highway speeds. Air would get warm but not hot.

Now, easily under 5 minutes and I'm turning the heat down.

Ok, last year around this time I replaced the thermostat to fix a no heat issue. Well, it's October again and I've lost heat one more time! Is it possible the replacement thermostat failed after only one year?

Checking the idiot gauge, the needle did seem to fluctuate up and down for a while until it finally settled on 90 (after about 15 minutes of driving).

I'm hoping that it's only a faulty thermostat again but the dealership (please, no jokes) is adamant it's a heater core issue. I took temperature readings of the two pipes next to the battery, one was reading 65 while the other read 45.

Any other way to determine if it really is the heater core (and $$$ repairs!)

Did the heater function normally when you replaced the thermostat?

imo000 said:

Did the heater function normally when you replaced the thermostat?

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Yes it did.

Wondering if I should simply try replacing it again before doing a heater core flush (with CLR?) or an even more expensive replace. I know the dealership wants to replace.

Last winter i had no heat problem
Guru back flushed heater core and refilled with vacuum
Plenty of heat and bonus no more heater core gurgling

truman said:

Last winter i had no heat problem
Guru back flushed heater core and refilled with vacuum
Plenty of heat and bonus no more heater core gurgling

Click to expand...

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning in that direction as well. I'm going to check coolant levels first to make sure it's not a leak and if levels are good, I'll get someone to back flush the heater core and see if that work.

Grinding noise behind dash

I'm having another garage do a diagnostic on Monday and do a core flush if necessary.

HOWEVER, today, while driving around, I heard a squeaking/grinding noise behind the dash (not gurgling, more like twisting two wet plastic pipes that fit into each other) and then I got ~60%-70% heat back. It's not the blower behind the glove box, this noise was in behind the Monsoon radio. I also notice that the left side vents don't blow as hard as right side? Possible I have blocked vents that create this no head problem?

JB

jbrill said:

...... Possible I have blocked vents that create this no head problem?

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That's a possibility too.

Oh well, diagnostic from a trusted mechanic confirmed worst fear, heater core is plugged up and beyond salvation for a flush. What I estimated as 60% heat, he measured as less than 30%, not enough to melt accumulating snow in the near future.

Oh well, out comes the dash to replace the core $$$

Heater core replace is a tedious and time consuming job, but if you have a garage to work in and the car isn't your daily driver, there is no reason you can't DIY. Aftermarket heater core is less than $100.

When I was in the middle of replacing the heater core on my Mazda MPV a few years back, a mechanic buddy of mine joked that in the auto assembly plant, they put the heater core in first, and then build the rest of the car around it. Funny but has some basis in reality.

my son has a 2005 Passat wagon, first owner may have used wrong coolant.

The heater core has been plugged twice and successfully flushed by an auto air shop in town. I had tried it myself with no luck.

So, considering the low cost of one more try versus pulling the dash headache, I would consider one more try at a different shop. You might get lucky!

Nah, bit the bullet

Heater core was completely gummed up. Felt like it weighted nearly 3 times the new one. The problem with VW heater cores seems to be a wire spindle inside them to reduce noise(?).

Job is done, wallet is lighter, and I'm toasty warm (ok, HOT!)

jbrill said:

Nah, bit the bullet

Heater core was completely gummed up. Felt like it weighted nearly 3 times the new one. The problem with VW heater cores seems to be a wire spindle inside them to reduce noise(?).

Job is done, wallet is lighter, and I'm toasty warm (ok, HOT!)

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Is the replacement core an original VW part?

To help us think about the future a little better, can you say how many hours you were billed? Thanks.

I was billed 6.5 hours labour as per the initial estimate. However, it took them way longer forcing them to provide me with a loaner as they couldn't get it to me in the time promised.

I don't know how long it actually took them as I'm sure they worked on it on and off but I was without my car for almost 3 days during which time I got to drive around in a Tiguan with the optional 3rd row seats. Maybe it was a sales tactic as I did enjoy it and would seriously consider it to replace my wife's Honda Odyssey. Unfortunately, it's not a great replacement for my TDI Wagon. Why can't they bring over the Passat Alltrack?