Quickclear

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Quickclear is a European trademark used by the Ford Motor Company for its electrically heated windshield technology. Instaclear was the name used in the United States.

First seen on the 1985 Ford Scorpio/Granada Mk.III in Europe and the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable in the U.S., the system uses a mesh of very thin heating wires, or a silver/zinc oxide coated film [1], embedded between the two layers of glass. Owing to the high current draw, the system is engineered to operate only when the engine is running, and normally switches off after 10 minutes of operation. The metallic content of the glass has been shown to degrade the performance of certain windshield-mounted accessories, such as telephone antennas and radar detectors.

"Instaclear" was the introductory name on American models. In early promotional Ford sales literature for Europe, the feature was referred to simply as "Rapid Windscreen De-ice", but the "Quickclear" name began to appear from around 1989 onwards. The system can now be found as either standard equipment or an optional extra on most vehicles produced by Ford or its subsidiaries around the world, but in the U.S. market it was never popular. Besides the original Taurus/Sable, it appeared briefly in the Lincoln line in the early 1990s, and in some Land Rovers as well. GM has produced a somewhat similar system called Electriclear.

One problem with the system is that the heating elements can sometimes burn out, leaving one side of the screen uncleared. As the wires are actually embedded in the glass, total replacement of the screen is the only remedy (as opposed to a rear defogger, which can usually be repaired with conductive paint). Some owners have been known to smash the screen and submit a fraudulent insurance claim for stone damage, as Quickclear screens are expensive replacement parts and many insurance policies offer a low excess (deductible) for windscreen damage.