AT-38OD Windshield Washer Fluid Heater

I've purchased this washer heater since I almost hit a parked car driving away from my house before having my windows fully defrosted. That and my nozzles where frozen couple of times in the deep freeze. Installation was easy enough, took about half hour. Didn't even need instructions as I have watched the installation video on manufacturer's website along with performance videos. Didn't need any additional parts, only one spot to install on my 2009 2.3L Ranger. Now my washer heats up in about a minute, comes out warm enough to melt the frozen windshield within three to four cycles of three second washes with 20-second wait time, never had frozen nozzle issue since the install. It's really cool to see steam coming out with the washer fluid. It draws about 52 amps upon starting the engine, but it turns off when the engine is off. Windshield wipers work so much better with the warm liquid, keeps my wipers free of snow and ice. Per the manufacturer's website, great for winter and even better for removing bugs and grime in the summer. I would highly recommend the AlphaTherm Windshield Washer Fluid Heater, must have for the mid-west location. No more frozen nozzles and crystal clear windshield and no more iced up wiper blades.

I installed this on a 2016 Jeep Wrangler. It took longer to find a good spot to keep it upright than it did to install it. I've used it daily for the past few weeks. I installed it according to their guidelines: upright and close to the washer nozzles. It gets warm but not hot enough to where it will melt any amount of ice without several applications. I'm going to keep messing around with this to see if I can get better performance out of it, but as-is I'm not happy with it and would not buy it again.

For northern Ohio, this unit really helps in the winter. Installation can be a bit tricky, as the orientation of the unit is critical. The unit is wired directly to the battery, fused of course. The mounting system with often need modification to tour specific vehicle. Make sure to keep the washer fluid full, as a dry heater will fail early in it's designed lifespan. A smell may be noted outside the vehicle at times as the unit comes up to temperature. I initially had concerns from direct battery connection it would draw down the battery over night especially when cold, but it passed the test, no problems noted this season. Washer heater works very well but keep in mind - Professional installation recommended!

Update: 3/15 The thing broke this winter. The plastic housing cracked leaking all fluid. I would think this thing would last longer than 3 years. Old review: The thing works good. I had problems at first, but worked them out. Very easy to install. I installed it on an old Ford Escort. I had to be creative and make a bracket, but if your handy, its easy.

Unit is great, fully automatic. Install easy ! Customer service was excellent, they answer their phone. This is the 2nd unit that I have bought from this maker. The 1st unit has been in operation for years now on my Suburban. Older unit is the manual operation type, works flawlessly. New unit is fully automatic, always hot and ready. On GM vehicles you will have use more fluid than normal, as you have to push the heated fluid through the washer plumbing and heat the tubes. No different than waiting for hot water at home. Works excellent for bug removal too. I am the envy of co-workers in the winter. I don't waste fuel or time waiting for engine warm up. Within 2 minutes the unit is hot. No more frozen hands ! On tall vehicles, a must have. No more climbing to reach the windshield, my wife loves it. Don't waste your money on a remote starter just to clear the windshield anymore. This a better option and cheaper too. Have some fun with it. I live in Michigan, and love it when I stop at a light. Just hit the washer and watch the steam cloud fly. Other drivers just stare. I've had people stop me and ask where they can get one.

I was delighted for a few weeks, during which the product worked very well through a freezing rain and some very low Canadian temperatures. But the satisfaction was very shortly lived. After a few weeks it stopped heating the fluid. I checked the fuse and the feeding voltage, they were OK. I guess the electronic components included were not robust enough for the environment and failed. Another reviewer from Canada had the similar experience. I have contacted Amazon as well as the AlphaTherm on the warranty and replacement issue and awaiting their response.I will update with their response. Amazon has offered me the refund and asked me place a fresh order for product if I need another one.Though the price was increased by 20 dollars between my old order which was refunded and the new order I placed I went ahead and placed new order. AlphaTherm also helped me to troubleshoot as they mentioned that they have zero complaints about failure and pointed towards my battery which I replaced with a new one with higher cold cranking capacity though my old one was only one year old. Second thing they pointed out was the ground connection which was also thoroughly redone by the installer by making sure that there should be no paint on metal surface in contact with the ground connection bolt. Now, after installing the replaced unit, the unit is working fine as of now.Today it was -15 degree celcious here and I could see the steam coming from washer nozzles. It is working fine at -20°C . Will update if there is any concern.

Great little product! The hardest part about the installation is finding a place to mount it. I have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and there is no access to the firewall. I have an aftermarket air intake by AirRaid, and mounted it to the side of it. Probably not the ideal spot, as the heated fluid needs to travel a bit further to the nozzles, but it still produces hot fluid. Maybe not as hot as it could be, but enough where it produced a LOT of steam on a frosty windshield. Install took about 30 minutes. Keep in mind that it won't turn on unless the engine is running, which provides adequate power to the unit. needs about 30-45 seconds of running engine to initially heat the fluid. Comes in handy all year round. Bug guts come off much easier with hot fluid.

I got this hoping it was like the hot shot system i installed in my truck years ago. It was not. This alpha therm AT-38OD worked...sort of...for 2 winter seasons in northern virginia. Stopped working last year. I just started looking for a replacement. This wasnt very hot either. Barely warm enough to almost de-ice the windshield. My old hot shot system was great. I wish they hadnt stopped selling those. The alpha therm gets power. Fuse is good. Just doesnt heat anymore.