Poor Windshield Defrost performance

[Brutal_HO]

Today in CO we had freezing rain.

The windshield defroster was unable to keep the sides of the windshield from freezing, even where there was wiper coverage. Seems the air movement at the outside of the vents is pretty weak. There was one point that even the upper third center had some ice stuck to it.

In fact I would go so far as to say it sucked. Dangerously insufficient.

Has anyone else had issues?

I also noticed that if I selected the split Defrost/foot in the climate control screen, I couldn't then get back to full defrost without switching it to something else first, then pressing the windshield defrost again. Obviously with a new toy I still have some learning to do, but the operation just seems a little counter intuitive.

I hope this isn't a sign of summer AC problems to come. We camp at a few lakes where daytime summer temp can see as much as 115F and I simply won't tolerate a poorly performing AC system.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

Freezing rain can be a challenge for the best HVAC systems. The 4th gen cabins (includes current HD trucks) struggle to keep the windshield clear at highway speeds in bitter cold conditions when set to auto or blend. The upper corners of the windshield, especially if you're tall, will constantly frost up. Under performing AC has been one of the top complaints for the new HDs. Mine was working ok but that was seven months ago when we still had some semblance of warm weather. There are some threads herein that detail some forum member's pain in attempts at a fix.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Thanks, I've seen the AC threads, but didn't find anything on defroster performance. Still seems pretty girly man weak for such a big manly burly truck. Never had an issue with my 04.5 and it's just as big considering it has larger (24") wipers - which apparently are too large for the new trucks now? Arrgg, I still have 2 sets of 24" Bosch Icons.

To be clear, I had it on full defrost and the fan speed cranked.

 

[Deleted member 80]

I have owned 3rd, 4th, and now 4.5 Gen Dodges/Rams, and the HVAC has always been marginal, at best. Blend door issues, A/C that can't keep up goes with the territory. It is utterly amazing to me that they can never seem to get it right. My 2015 was better than my 2005, and much better than my 2019, whose HVAC is pretty much pitiful. My wife's old 2006 Charger was pretty lousy, too. Come on FCA, hire some new talent!

 

[DontSlamMyRam]

My 60s C body Chryslers had the same temp control problems. Now its more complicated and works the same. Dads old '49 Plymouth was really bad. Mom had a towel in the car and we would take turns crawling around wiping down glass.