Lousey front window defrosters!! W220, W126
 

I haven't been able to find any threads on this but I can't be the only one.
Does anyone else out here feel that the Benz front windshield defrosting is horrible?
I've owned several W126, a W220 and a W215 and every one of them couldn't keep the front windshield clear in a snow storm if my life depended on it.
It's always the same scenario- It's cold and it's snowing and the front defroster is full-on yet the windshield can only keep a small area clear (right above the dash) and the wipers ice up so badly that I need to break the ice off by hand every few minutes.
I've never had such issues with any US or Asian built car-
Benz is so over the top in engineering everything else, I can't believe the defogger systems are so below average over several series of cars.

Has anyone else run into this issue and if so, was there anything you did to resolve it? And yes, the cars were all in 100% operating condition- Blowers worked on Hi, cabin filters clean, heater core/engine were providing proper air temperature, dampers were on full defrost etc..

Thanks in advance!
Elm

your cars are broken. Mine clears the windshield quickly and maintains it easily

If they were broken then I could fix them-
They've behaved this way since they rolled off the assembly line and the various dealers that have looked at them have no answer.
Either you were lucky or you don't live in the Midwest.
Elm

Same here, and I live in New England..

I've posted this on several sites and it seems that most people don't run into this issue that live outside of the Midwest for some reason (at least anyone that has the same issue seem to live in my general region).

The issue occurs when the outside temps are below freezing and it's snowing.
Last week, it was in the low 20's and the snow was blowing so the windshield freezes up on the outside so I end up only having 2 small holes about 6-8" about the dash that I can see out of. The center, both sides and the top of the windshield totally ice up as well as the wiper blades.
The issue seems to be with the defroster vents in general-
They are too narrow and don't go the full width of the windshield.
The spot where the air hits (6-8") up, is clear but there isn't enough air covering the entire windshield so everything else freezes up.
My W220, W215 and W126 all behave this way in these conditions.

The air temp coming out is hot and the blower is on full blast but it's only covering a VERY small area.

Elm

Having the same issue in Indiana. 20 F, moderate snow fall, the upper half of the windshield is all ice, wipers cannot properly work being a bit lifted away from the glass. The rear window is also a disappointment, the horizontal midsection stayed frosted all over.

Exactly!
Have you had a shop look at it?
Every place I've gone (dealer and independent) tells me everything is working as designed. Very frustrating...
Elm

I did not have any time yet, but in a few days I'll see my mechanic. If we can find something I'll get back with the news.

Never had any problem with my s350, had down to -35c here last winter and no problems at all, in fact one of the best cars I've had regarding this.

I'm in the UK, the "defrost" button is quite useless and keeps turning my fan down.
I shut the dash vents, so that i'm sure it's all going at the screen, then manually turn everything up to max...works like a charm.