jmueller065
Well-known member
Here is another useful winter driving tip when using preconditioning:
After your last drive the night before pull your windshield wipers out about 4-6". I'm not saying bend them up I'm just saying lift them up so that they look like they are at about a "1/4 wipe" position (you should be able to carefully pull them up--they will offer just a little bit of resistance but they will pull up: This is a feature on all the new Focuses so that you can change the wiper blades).
I try to leave the wipers just above the defrost vents on the inside.
What this does: When the car preconditions (especially when set to 85F) it blasts the heated air out the defrost vents just below the wipers. Thus not only is the window getting cleared but the wiper blades are also slightly warmed up.
The ICE Focus has a nice and toasty warm engine: Forward motion causes warm air to ride up over the windshield melting any snow and/or ice that forms on the wiper blades. Our FFE doesn't have this so I'm constantly digging snow/ice out of the "pocket" where the wiper blades are stored when off. The trick above helps the blades, if only briefly, to warm up above freezing.
After your last drive the night before pull your windshield wipers out about 4-6". I'm not saying bend them up I'm just saying lift them up so that they look like they are at about a "1/4 wipe" position (you should be able to carefully pull them up--they will offer just a little bit of resistance but they will pull up: This is a feature on all the new Focuses so that you can change the wiper blades).
I try to leave the wipers just above the defrost vents on the inside.
What this does: When the car preconditions (especially when set to 85F) it blasts the heated air out the defrost vents just below the wipers. Thus not only is the window getting cleared but the wiper blades are also slightly warmed up.
The ICE Focus has a nice and toasty warm engine: Forward motion causes warm air to ride up over the windshield melting any snow and/or ice that forms on the wiper blades. Our FFE doesn't have this so I'm constantly digging snow/ice out of the "pocket" where the wiper blades are stored when off. The trick above helps the blades, if only briefly, to warm up above freezing.
