NH_HRLady

Hi - Got my 2018 SQ5 3 months ago & can't believe how dirty the rear window gets - SO QUICKLY! Granted, I'm in New Hampshire and it's winter.... but this is surprising.
It's so bad that I won't use the rear wiper, as I feel like it's just going to scratch the window. Would new rear splash-guards help? I can't tell exactly where it's coming from, so not sure what to address. Thanks!

turbophreak

Same! There been a considerable amount of rain here lately so I get there's some rooster tailing throwing up water on to the window but even on dry days the window is covered in dust quickly.

RainX worked for a little while with rain but it doesn't hold up longer than a couple days with water, road grime and pollen.

Not sure what we can do. Bigger rear flaps? Curious what others are doing as well.

plat27265

Dirty rear hatch windows or the rear hatch in general is a characteristic of cars with a hatchback design. I used to own a 2011 VW GTI which is a hatchback. The very first panel that gets dirty is the rear hatch. When I was growing up, our family owned a Toyota Hi Ace commuter van (not available in North America). While not a hatchback, it had a rear door hatch that's vertical (not sloped at an angle like hatchbacks). That one gets very dirty too. That's part of the hatchback ownership experience.

To help you manage the removal of dirt and mud on your car especially the hatch, spend some money on having a ceramic coating applied to it. It will be much easier to spray most of the dirt off when you don't have the time to clean it thoroughly. The key is not to allow the dirt to accumulate so it will be easier to wash it when the next washing opportunity comes. For the windows, there is a solution that is available that makes water slide off it easily.

spindlewood

I posted about this previously. Aerodynamics make it as bad as it is. Only changing that will do anything real. I think it's both the air flow over as well as under the car that causes this based on previous responses.

Very frustrating for me since I have 600 ft of gravel / dirt from the road to my house. I have to regularly take a wet cloth (and dry) to the back window before leaving the house for work. It probably needs this 2x per week to make the windshield wiper useable.

The rest of the back just gets a weekly washing or rinse when I can. But 1x down the drive and a layer of dirt covers it again.

ribeye

I have to use a q tip each time I wash the car to get the dirt our of the space between the rear window and the door. It's a pain.

Chawski

Spot on. In back of a hatch is a big high pressure zone. Air coming from under the car is fast moving and low pressure. As soon as it exits the rear of the car, it rapidly returns to atmospheric pressure, creating butt loads of drag. All the dirty air and liquid/dirt is sucked up, onto the rear of the car.

Ceramic coating will definitely help cleaning it, but nothing short of going full on aero engineer is gonna change it. Learn to embrace it! Haha

patmurphey

The back is actually a low pressure zone, with air and dirt sucked in to fill the space the car vacated.

edwyun

It wasn't so bad on the Mk1 Q5s, which had a bumper that extended out much further from the rear hatch. My sense is that the shortened/stub bumper on the Mk2 Q5s is what causes it.

Also concerned that the shortened/stub bumper on the Mk2 Q5s means that any small rear end collision would mean tweaking the hatch and likely a totalled car.

Chawski

Correct! Sorry, first warm Saturday, hitting the beer early today!

NH_HRLady

So between the shortened bumper & the hatch randomly opening, probably should reconsider keeping my dog in that cargo area?