Not sure if I am not understanding how they work or not but when I turn on the wipers in automatic mode they run like intermittent wipers even when there is no rain.

I think I am turning them on right according to the owners manual. I rotate the knob to AUTO and move the stalk to the intermittent position. They seem to run just like they are in the fastest intermittent speed.

Is it my wipers, sensor, or me?

 

Start with the stalk all the way down. Set the rotating part to auto and the push the stalk up one click. They should stay off completely when it's dry out and come on when it rains. Mine work great. I like that they are always ready to go, unlike my 750Li BMW, where I have to hit the auto button every time it starts to rain.

 

Could be a bad stalk switch, had that in mine and it caused the intermittent settings to have a mind of their own...

That said, even after replacing *everything* in the wiper system, the automatic operation is sub-par. I find that strange from a car company in a country where it rains 28 days out of the month...

 

The "Auto wipers" facility is definitely not perfect, and I speak with experience of English weather ! It is least perfect when one has very light rain. I find I have to manually clear the screen in such circumstances as the system waits too long. Other than that, it is a "nice-to-have" and I usually have the switch set to Auto, as it does work most times, just not every time.

 

That's interesting, mine has the opposite problem. In auto it will start wiping at too high speeds when it's just a light drizzle.

I'd be fine using the low intermittent setting for our foggy mornings down here, but even after 3 trips to the dealer for the same complaint, it still decides it wants to occasionally wipe fast. No rhyme or reason. A few times it's worked correctly.

 

I use the auto wipers most of the time. There are times when you just need to turn them off (light misting can make them run like it's a steady rain) and use the delayed option or periodically clear the windshield by pulling the level towards you, but for the most part, they work quite well (at least for me ).

 

Mine work better than the ones on my 750Li and my Mini Cooper S...

 

Thanks for the info. I guess I am turning them on the right way but they run just like they are on the fastest intermittent setting. Is it possible that the car does not have this option? I thought that rain sensing wipers was standard but maybe I am wrong. The stalk does have the auto setting.

 

Do some searches, There are some posts on replacing the sensor
It was noted that removing the backing pad stopped the autowipe going crazy in light rain.

Not sure if all models have this or not

Cheers
34by151