Just though I would throw out there that I couldn't be happier with it. At first, I never thought I would use it, but I don't think I go a week without using it. My boy has a 14 and he is actually really bothered by the fact that his doesn't come with it. I wonder what the motivation was to remove that simple yet totally worthwhile feature.
Honestly I had a 2011 Overland and didn't even realized how to open it until I sold it. I will be picking up a 2014 and will probably never think about the glass. I guess it depends on the individual
Yea, I hear that. TBH, my last rig (4th generation 4runner) had auto up/down rear glass which was absolutely awesome. You could either use the key on the rear door to lower/raise it to your desired height, or use the button on the cluster to do the same thing. Now that was ideal, but I still like the feature on our rig.
Sure, i could just open the whole hatch, but since its there I use it.
I think that was the problem, as soon as I brought my 2011. They removed the bottom to remotely unlock the flipper glass and the button was hiding under the panel.
I use mine all the time also, especially when travelling, we are able to get items out of the hatch and not worry about stuff falling out when loaded up.
Would like to trade on a '15 so I am hoping they bring back the flipper glass and add more HP to the engine and install 3:73 gears in the diffs. (Just in case Chrysler is reading this)
I use it. I also use the hard drive (every day) and the CD player. So happy I have a 2012 and a bonus is the frost beige interior has dark frost beige carpet.
Honestly, I don't miss the 2011 at all from the Buggy 730N system to the sluggish transmission. I hope they made the 2012 a lot better. I don't think the flipper will be coming back, maybe putting the button out of site out of mind, was the first step in completely removing it.
I never thought of it and that I would use it more than opening the trunk on my 2012. I had to use it the other day when I bought a box which was slightly larger to fit in the boot, but after opening the flipper glass driving it opened, I thought I couldnt live without it.....
I had a '87 4Runner SR5, '81 Ford Bronco XLT and '00 Explorer XLT (in that order). The 4Runner and Bronco both had glass that wound into the tailgate while the Exploder had flipper glass. The flipper glass gave you access to stuff in the back without raising the whole door but I preferred the glass winding down into the tailgate and felt that it was one of the best things having an SUV. The only problem was exhaust fumes sucking back into the car.
You could have a proper tailgate party and you could run 2x4's, ladders and other long stuff out the back quite easily without having the flipper glass flopping up and down when you're driving.
I don't know how I'll cope with what amounts to a hatchback.
LOL. As to your point, the fumes were the only real negative to the glass winding down into the door. I also had an 84 full size bronco that had that too, so I suppose our interest in vehicles is the same.
As a side note, the fumes from the 4runner smelled like rotten eggs. Go figure
I used the flipper glass as recently as earlier this morning to put a grocery bag in the back as it was raining and the glass is quicker and less messy than the whole tailgate. But, if I get another JGC, I will get used to it not being there, I guess!
I think they removed it to save money. The argument about removing it to improve sight lines/view is complete b.s. because most people who go on vacation or use an SUV have so much crap piled up in the back you can't see the window anyways.
I've never had flipper glass. I won't know what I'm missing, but I can certainly see how it would be useful. I think I'll get by just fine without it.
I hardly think they make design decisions based on a single use case. I would venture to guess that 80% of the time, these vehicles are driven with visibility out of the back window. You can't say a decision is BS because it isn't applicable to all possible uses of a vehicle. I think this decision makes a lot of sense, if true.
Sales guy told me that he asked a factory rep about the switch and the reply was that exhaust circulating back into the cabin was a main driver for the change. People were driving with the window open while carrying long stuff.
Grrr... a simple warning sticker would have been enough. I have never seen a WK2 with stuff sticking out of the rear window and the flipper glass open.
I use mine all the time, especially when I am on a road trip. Leave it open so my dog can get some air and not run away. LOL. On camping trips, it is so much easier to grab something from the cargo area using the flipper glass.
On my 4 Runner the rear window rolled up and down. I used it all of the time. I can't open the tail gate with my garage door down so I just drop the driver side rear seat back and access the storage space that way. It works all right but the '14 should have a rear window you can open.
I just picked up my 2014 and I don't notice any difference in the visibility from the 2011. I wonder if it was something to help increase aerodynamics to get that 1mpg. Now days every little counts to get towards the EPA goals.
the latch, mechanism to unlatch the latch, maybe extra reinforcement and frame for latch, hatch, wiring, connectors and mechanisms? The rear spoiler was different and required extra bolts, supports etc and metal hinges....the metal hinges on the flipper glass probably weighed 2 pounds each. I'm sure there's more.... don't be naive fellas. Its a lot of parts.
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