Behind the Scenes of GeckoWiper Development: The Ioniq 5 Rear Wiper Story (Video 17min)
- Tigs Design & Engineering GmbH
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
The Ioniq 5 Rear Wiper Story
When it comes to innovation, the best solutions are often born from a simple but persistent problem. The GeckoWiper, the patent pending Hyundai Ioniq 5 rear wiper kit, is one such innovation — developed & scaled by a passionate engineer who turned a frustration in lack of car rear vision into an aftermarket Ioniq 5 rear wiper retrofit kit. What follows is a deep dive into the milestones, challenges, and thoughtful engineering that were required to bring the GeckoWiper rear windshield wiper into a real world end customer product.
Milestones: From Sketch to Solution
The GeckoWiper evolved from the naive idea to have a working solution within 2-weeks to a finally three years lasting research and development process. Early prototype iterations relied solely on magnets, but high forces led to the development of a custom dual safety system using magnets and vacuum suction — greatly improving ease in mounting performance. A key milestone was creating a tool-free, intuitive installation process for users with no technical background. With initially 3D-printed prototypes tested in extreme winter and summer conditions, each prototype iteration version brought the design closer to production-ready.
About the Inventor
GeckoWiper was invented by Robert, a passionate and persistent engineer. His household became a test lab — freezing motors, batteries, electronics initially in the kitchen freezer, testing adhesives in varied climates — all to turn a practical idea into a reliable working and tested product for globally placed Ioniq 5 owners in harsh environments.
Development Challenges
Creating an external retrofit windshield wiper presented unique challenges. It had to perform in winters with snow and ice, but also under hot summer temperatures.
Attaching securely to glass — without drills, screws, or permanent modifications — also required extensive trial and error with both magnetism and vacuum suction technologies.
Real-World Testing
Testing was hands-on and iterative with dozens of prototypes. Multiple wiper mounting positions & orientations were evaluated for end customer visibility and cleaning performance. Motors were frozen and thawed, and electronics waterproofed through iterative testing. Rather than relying on pure lab simulations, the team tested the GeckoWiper Ioniq 5 rear wiper with support of Beta Testers over three years in Switzerland to ensure real-world reliability.
Design Scope: Tool-Free and Modular
User simplicity was a top design priority. The GeckoWiper can be installed by hand, in seconds, without tools — no screws, no Allen keys, no confusion. It was designed for global accessibility, regardless of a user's technical skill.
FAQ-1: Why not mounted Below the Spoiler?
Initial designs tested mounting dirctly below the spoiler, but this blocked drivers rear visibility. Mounting the wiper system at the bottom of the rear window reduced interference with the driver’s rearview. This bottom mount placement also works naturally with gravity as supporting power, pushing water mostly to side and downwards.
FAQ-2: Wiping Modes?
Car front wipers often run continuously or in interval mode, but rear wipers are typically used only on demand due to drastically reduced water accumulation on the rear window. After analyzing user habits & asking Beta Testers on their needs, the GeckoWiper team excluded continuous or interval wiping to prioritize battery life of typically several months, coming default with a practical, well proven 8-sec dual-wipe period.
Dual Safety System: Magnet + Vacuum
A standout feature of the GeckoWiper is its dual safety mounting system. Strong magnets provide a static hold, while vacuum suction adds extra pressure and fail-safe redundancy. The System comes with a patent pending design, which is practical proofed to work.
FAQ-3: Wiper Blade Replacement?
The blade is modular and user-replaceable, supporting standard sizes, given in the GeckoWiper User Manual.
Retrofit Rear Wiper Compatibility: Tailored not only for Ioniq 5
GeckoWiper was initally intended to use as Ioniq 5 rear wiper aftermarket kit. However, due to end customer requests, the retrofit rear wiper solution was extended to Kia EV6, Tesla Y, Polestar, Ioniq 6 and other car owners. We are open to alternative applications. Just reach out.
Final Thoughts:
The Ioniq 5 Rear Wiper story began as a side project by an engineer and evolved into a globally proofed & end customer reviewed ioniq 5 rear wiper hack that solves a daily frustration in limited rear vision not only for Ioniq 5 drivers. From home lab experiments to a hybrid magnet-vacuum system, the GeckoWiper rear wiper kit shows what focused, user-first innovation can achieve. Below a 3D GeckoWiper design animation for product showcasing.
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