I would never use water cold, warm or otherwise to clear a window. If it does not crack the glass it will eventually re-freeze somewhere else.

Aren't you afraid of cracking the windows by that????

No, I am not afraid of cracking the windows! The water is only luke warm so it is very unlikely that thermal shock would be a problem. Hot water would or could cause thermal shock so I do not advise that. I have used a small 2 gallon plastic watering can for more years than I can remember possibly 20 -25 years and not a single problem even in the coldest mornings. Often of course it does not need that amount but when exceptionally cold it helps prevent the screens from re freezing. I might use the wipers to remove excess water depending. When we drive off in our cars, even in the depth of winter, all glass is absolutely clear, just as if it had been in a garage. Non of that peering through a small hole with all other windows opaque. No need for compromised vision from frost or heated screens.

I would never use water cold, warm or otherwise to clear a window. If it does not crack the glass it will eventually re-freeze somewhere else.

I am sorry, it has never been a problem for me. I have been using a 2 gallon can for 20 -25 years and before that what ever came to hand. Obviously if only a small amount of H2O was used then it might re freeze, as can and does, de-icer on exceptionally cold days but a good quantity, no.

Well my Mazda has a heated screen, and its a world away from the one I had on my 99 Mondeo. The wires are so tiny you have to really try hard to see them, and the scattering of headlights as they approach you is barely noticeable either.

I know that this is slightly OT, but we have the heated windscreens with the very fine wires in the glass on our trains, yes you see them initially but after a while you just defocus and you look straight through them, it works, initially it's not particularly fast but once it starts to work it's quick.

The older ones we chuck water on them to get them going, but again it works. Then again our screens are about ¼" thick!

Edited 31 December, 200916 yr by Indiana Jones

It is not the "seeing" of the wires that that I find a problem. In the jaguar they are very small and in day time I do not notice them, though my wife does. It is at night time when they are a problem, not in seeing the wires but the scattering of light and the fussy night time images which is worse in wet either. Both my wife and I find it dangerous in that it prevents in certain conditions, outlined in one of my earlier posts, at best it is a distraction. I know from contacts else where that we are not the only people having this problem, it has been well reported on in other web sites. I am not sure but I thought that I read somewhere that Volvo also once a subsidiary of Ford stopped using them? Mazda are also subsidiary of Ford so the heated screens are most probably the same as most Fords and jaguars etc..

I think the best thing with the heated windscreens is to test drive/borrow someone's car that has the feature... I had a Focus with the heated windscreen and loved it in winter... So when I had an X-Type as a company vehicle a couple of years later I added it to the options list...

Yes, I could see the elements in the windscreen in daytime if I looked for them, or for a few minutes after someone else pointed them out but I just tuned them out. I also had no problems with them at night, but one of my mates with a Focus hated it at night....

Seems to be a individual thing but unless you can get a car for at least a 24 hour test drive it will be difficult to find out if you can live with them or not as some people seem to hate it day and night, others only at night...

For what it's worth, if it was an option on the Octavia, then I would have ordered it :-)

Oh, and Direct Line don't charge you any extra for the windscreen cover when using their approved windscreen replacement company (well, they didn't in 2002 anyway, and the 2 windscreen replacements on the Jag I just signed the form as it was a company chariot so I never saw the bills...)

We have currently two Focus, me a ST and wife has a Sport 1.6 TDCi. Both have heated screens and ordered from new. We both get on with them and find them very useful, from iced screen to clear in about a minute.

There is a slight sighting of the elements at night with oncoming headlights but you automatically de-focus it.

Our first experience of heated front screen was on a Galaxy in 1996 hence why we ordered them on our present cars.

If it was available on the Octavia VRS, I would have definitely ordered it

I've had 3 different Ford cars with the "QuickClear" feature and never once did they impair night time driving :S

The wires in the glass are so fine it makes no difference with the distance you sit from the screen. So unless you drive like a woman with your nose pressed to the glass then your eyes will ignore the lines in the screen and focus on the objects outside.

I can't comment on other manufacturers attempts but the Ford one was excellent and would de-ice a screen, (so that you could clear it with wipers) even in germany, within 2 minutes. Now im not suggesting it will melt 4 inches of snow. You still have to clear that off no matter what. But for ice and a light dusting of snow it was excellent

Carl