Now that winter is here and being a newbie jeep owner a couple questions. With salt on the roads do most people wash weekly or sooner then that to get the salt off? Another is the rear windshield wiper is there any good wipers I used mine like 3 times and the blade is torn already! Does anyone cover the grill to help warm up better and keep the cold out of the engine??

Thanks for the help

 

In snow states, it's always a good idea to rinse when you can to dilute and wash off the salt and other corrosive de-icers from the undercarriage, which is vulerable to a point, although the stock corrosion protection is pretty good.

About your rear wiper-- My guess is that the issue had more to do with ice and the blade being frozen than it did with the quality of the wiper blade. There's a thread on here about where to purchase replacement blades (and how to finagle the arm to get the sucker out, and reinstalled). For any vehicle I've had with a rear wiper, if the rear window freezes, I'll free the blade when I'm walking up to the vehicle just to make sure it's not frozen to the window and can still move. Running it on an icy rear window could also contribute to tearing the rubber. Make sure that sucker is defrosted or the path of the wiper is completely scraped before you turn on the wiper.

I don't know about covering the grill to keep the engine temp up. I've run plenty of rental cars (not plugged in overnight) in -10 degree weather without covering part of the grille, and they were all able to reach operating temperature and stay there, even on the highway. Hopefully other snow-state Jeep owners will chime in on this one.

 

Cleveland Ohio here. I never cover the grill. And I have the original rear wiper on my '08 and it works great. Just keep on mind what the road surface looks like and whether you should be in 2 wheel vs 4 wheel.

 

No need to cover the grille. It warms up pretty quick.

Make sure you wipers aren't stuck frozen to the window before you use them.

Yes, it's a good idea to frequent up on car washes during winter, if you have salt in your area.

 

I hit up the quarter car wash a few times each week to de salt. Then spring time I touch it up under neath with rattle can. I dont use the rear wiper that much, but did replace it once so far on my 08. I keep my grill standard. It does get steamy after a car wash in the cold, freaked me out at first, Lol.

 

I wash when the weather is a bit warm. So far, have not noticed any issues with salt, but that could be because the road crews use gravel in my neck of the woods.
Windshields need to be replaced quite often.