Rear Wiper and Defrost not working- frozen?

Hi guys…
So we are in the middle of getting hammered by snow in Tahoe right now. The 4Runner with new Blizzaks is a beast and so fun to drive. But today after I had been out, had used the back, everything stopped working. My rear defrost doesn’t come on, the back wiper doesn’t work too. These are both things I really need right now. Could they be frozen? Blown fuse? I tried to check the forum to see if this had happened to others. But it seemed like most people had disconnected their batteries when this happened, not my case.
Any help is much appreciated!!

 

Is your rear window all the way up?

 

Yes! I definitely haven’t touched it, because it’s crazy amounts of wind and snow outside. But I guess that’s something I haven’t actually checked. Will do. Thank you!

 

Absolutely check that. Mine quit working a couple of weeks ago and I did a search here and found the same advice. No idea how it came down just a little but it had and that fixed the problems.

 

But something might have. Only has to be a little down for both to not work. Worth the check.

 

Definitely the window. The switch is in a bad spot.

 

Yes!! It was the rear window, was cracked about an inch. Must have accidentally bumped the switch. Thanks guys!! Won’t make that newb mistake again.

 

These kind of threads make me happy, to hear that it wasn’t a serious malfunction.

 

Excellent. Glad I was given that advice and could pass it on.

 

I have to give a big thanks to this forum, I had the exact same problem as the OP. Mine only has 4k miles, so, was thinking it was some factory wiring snafu, but...did a quick search and found this thread. Problem solved, window was a tiny bit down, caused all rear hatch accessories to be dead.

Again, thank you to everyone for sharing!

 

Out of sheer paranoia, I check it weekly to make sure its rolled up lol

 

I think an overhead switch would have been a better idea.

 

The rear window switch on my 3rd Gen was on the dash - I definitely prefer the location on the 5th Gen. Much more convenient than on the dash, or up overhead where the sunroof controls are.

 

The suggestion to check the switch worked for me. Cleaning the interior I did not realize I had hit the switch. Wiper would not work and I was getting ready to take to dealer, then read this post. Thank you, it works after I put the window ALL the way up.

 

this happened to me with my 3rd gen, so i know what to look for if the defroster doesn't seem to be working.

i wonder why the switch isn't illuminated when almost all others are?

 

Has not happened to me - yet. But good to know this for a future instance. Yes, thanks for the responses for this Thread. This Forum has been super helpful.

 

My rear window and side mirrors were extremely fogged up this morning, and when I went to turn on the defrost button, it never turned on. Of course, sheer panic set in because it's brand-new, and I've only had it for about five months. When I was able to do some investigating, I found this thread and went to check if my window was cracked. And what do you know, it was a tiny bit rolled down. Thank you so much for the advice and for supporting the 4Runner community.

I created an account for this forum based on the support provided here.

 

This!!! It worked!
However, the air circulation light is still not coming on(just like the rear defrost wouldnt)
Could this be a fuse?

 

Happened to me once. Wind the back window down then fully close it.

The wiper & defroster won't work if the back window is not tightly closed.

Just passing on what happened to me...

 

Overhead switches are always a better idea. Even better if they’re toggle switches lol