it snowed for the first time in Boston this year and as I removed the fresh flakes from the windshield (and with some excitement to try the awd system in the deep snow - which is amazing after 7 years of RWD BMW ownership) I tried to stand the wipers up to better clear out the snow that had fallen at the base of the windshield and under the hood. lo and behold, XE wipers don't stand up! They are too "buried" under the hood???!!!

 

Agreed! It is dumb. It also makes it nearly impossible to clean road oil off of the wipers...

 

Yes, it also means that you can't easily replace the wiper blades. You either have to put the wipers into "service mode" or try to stop them in mid sweep by turning off the ignition quickly (and I'm not sure if then they'll still self park).
I've also heard that at least one owner was changing wiper blades with the wipers in service mode when the car decided to come out of this mode and a temporarily bladeless wiper arm scratched the windscreen.
I think this is all to "encourage" owners to go to a dealership to get wiper blades changes - no doubt at vast expense!

 

The owner's manual tells how to do this. I admit it's a nuisance and I have never tried it.

 

you can and i did replace wipers in normal parked position, But i would advise placing a towel or thick cloth between wiper and screen. Cos its possible for the arm to contact the glass and break or scratch screen

 

Speaking from experience, they will indeed park themselves while in "service mode".