Why can't the rear window on some cars go all the way down?
The side windows of a car are designed to allow users to adjust up and down; however, on some car models, especially sedans and hatchbacks, the rear window cannot be lowered all the way.
Unlike the front and rear windshields of a car which are designed to be fixed, the side windows of a car allow users to adjust up and down flexibly to create ventilation for the interior compartment and visibility for the driver and passengers.
On some car models, especially sedans and hatchbacks, the rear window cannot be lowered all the way. Photo: Ba Hung
However, during the process of using a car, especially some sedans, hatchbacks... if you pay attention to observe and adjust... users will notice that the rear window cannot be lowered completely. This makes many users feel inconvenient, and at the same time wonder whether it is due to a fault in the car's rear window adjustment system or due to the design (!?)
In fact, on many car models the rear window cannot be lowered completely. However, this is not an abnormality or a fault of the window control system, but mainly comes from the design of the car.
Some B and C class sedans cannot lower the rear windows completely. Photo: Ba Hung
On some small cars of class A, B, C sedans, even small SUVs and Crossovers... the wheelbase of the car is short, so the shape of the rear door is not as wide as the front door, instead it is curved to make space for the rear wheel arches. Meanwhile, the rear window is often rectangular or trapezoidal, so when the window is lowered, it will get in the way of the wheel arch curve and cannot be lowered completely.
The curved shape of the rear doors to accommodate the rear wheel arches is the main reason why the rear window cannot be lowered all the way.
This feature depends on each car model as well as the design of each car manufacturer. Some long wheelbase cars such as D-class sedans, luxury sedans or SUVs, large Crossovers, MPVs... have wide rear doors that can be adjusted to completely lower the rear window glass, but some cars cannot.
