Only once so far have I found that when I put the car in reverse, the camera doesn't do me a bit of good. It was frosted over. And the first thing I do is put the car in reverse.

Well, winter is upon us, now. Where do you draw the line and what do you do?

Can I spray that alcohol mixture that is used on windshields on the camera lens? (I was disappointed with how long the FFH rear window heater took to dry up a dew-wet window, but surprised at how quickly it worked on a frosted window. Again, my comparison is with a 19-year-old Olds Cutlass Ciera. The heat in the rear window was better in the Olds.)

There doesn't seem to be anything that heats up the camera lens.

If there's snow or sleet or freezing rain, how much of a chance do you take to clean off the camera lens? I live in an apartment complex, and park my car in shade, or I have to walk across the two-lane road to get to my car in sunshine, if there's any sunshine at all.) Last winter was very cold and wet, so I'm hoping this winter will be nicer, but I still need to know how do deal with the camera lens prob.

I don't want to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance with a broken (whatever) because I tried to walk to the back of my car, but I also don't want to hit a car also driving through the parking lot while I own a car with a camera in the back!

Thanks.

 

The camera should never be your first line of defense in backing up. Nothing beats the tried and true good driving habits.

 

But I bought this car because of the camera. I'm 64 years old and I have five deteriorated discs in my neck that date back to 1964. It has become increasingly difficult for me to turn my head to the left. Turning my head to the right is not usually a problem, unless my neck is in really bad shape. It often is.

My concern is where you draw the line between walking over ice (we never have just snow, it's either got ice under it or on top of it) to the back of the car to clear the camera lens of ice, and if that alcohol spray stuff will damage the lens, compared to putting the car in reverse and moving slowly enough that I hope the other people in the apartment complex see me coming and either honk their horns or stop. (Which I could do in my 19-year-old Olds Cutlass Ciera!)

I was very pleased today when I turned the heat up to 90 degrees, set the heat/air system on the highest fan level, and found that all of the frost on the windshield melted almost at the same moment. Much better than sitting in a car watching the windshield ice melt minute by minute. And the temperature was 36 degrees. I don't know what will happen when it's colder than that.

I also have an "issue" with the fact that there's no heat coming to the floor vents on the driver's side, even though I can feel it on the passenger side, but the dealer says everything's working correctly. So, Ford thinks that the driver's feet and legs should be really cold for the first 20 miles?? I've aimed all of the vents toward the floor to make more air go down there. Is this a defect in the car's design or should I go back to the dealer and demand that they make it right?? Being a woman, it's hard to tell whether or not the dealer is being honest with me or treating me like a second class person who's complaints they can blow off. I'm tempted to go there Saturday and talk to the sales people, whom I really like. I've owned Fords, and I can't believe that no feet heat for the driver is deliberately designed. And I don't believe that I have to set the thermostat to 90 degrees at the highest fan level to get feet heat. And why, when I do that, do I get windshield heat flow even if I haven't chosen it??

Either something is designed in a weird way, or there's some problem with my car. I like Ford and I prefer to believe that there's something wrong with my car, but the service crew tell me it's fine. <frustrated>

 

I haven't had an issue with frost on the camera, but I have had some problems with road salt obscuring it. The best thing to do is keep a clean cloth in the trunk and just give it a good wiping each time you use the car in the winter. Usually, the camera should stay clear because it is sheltered by the edge of the trunk, but I don't doubt wind could blow some snow up there.

 

I find frost on the camera lens anytime I have frost on either of the windshields.

I bought some cheap, pink, windshield washer/deicer. I mixed it half and half with rubbing alcohol and poured it into an empty pump spray bottle. One spritz of that and the camera lens is deiced.

Phalbe