Dipped beams = too bright , auto wipers = arghh, rear saloon wipers = ?!?!

Fully auto wipers would be fun in car washes....


ttaskmaster said:
It's a legal requirement on saloons/sedans in Japan:

Mazda 323
Toyota Corolla
Subaru WRX
Peugeot 307 (optional)
Ford Orion
Mitsubishi Galant VR4
Skoda Octavia... sort of. Technically a hatchback, but the bum is definitely a saloon shape.
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Best stop selling Jags in Japan then?
 
ttaskmaster said:
Oh, so now I have to have a tutorial on how to use windscreen wipers, and when I do and don't have to switch them on and off or use the wash function... as well as remembering to turn the sensor sensitivity setting off and back on every time I start the car up, in the first place??!!

I thought this was supposed to keep my attention on the road, not send me diving into the manual to figure out how the flippin' thing works!!! :p

See, ^this is how people are mucking up when they get cars with loads of automatic functions... Usually I'm the one trying to champion technological advancements among my 'grumpy old man' friends, but for once I totally get what they're grumping about!! :D
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depending on the model, but the bmw system really isn't:

get in
drive
if raining, press anti rain button
forget about everything bar keeping the car on the road
profit

if it's muck spray and you dont want to use the rain sensor (assuming it's already activated but it's no longer raining) just press the button again (like you would to turn off intermittent wipers, the default from a cold start is off), all other wiper based controls are bog standard german (ie identical to VAG etc)

this button to turn it on and off is literally the exact same button that on a non-auto wiper model is the intermittent wipers, and the sensitivity lever is the same lever as the frequency lever (except you don't need to mess with the sensitivity lever every 3 seconds to get the frequency matched to the level of rain)
 
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mrk said:
You forgot one.

d) Turn the wiper system off.

Without d, the automatic rain sensor will not become active when you next start the car and it rains, you will have to nudge the sensitivity dial up and down, or do d.
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In an E46, sure, but I don't have one of those :p

Everything new since the E65 in 2001 has not required that.
 
I know in my Fiesta the auto wipers were engaged by just moving the stalk to position 1 so leaving it there means auto wipers are always on. The positions above that were the regular slow/medium/fast speeds. In my 3 series it works just as mentioned above - it's off when starting the car but just press a stalk button when it starts to rain and that's it dealing with everything until I turn the ignition off.

It's a fairly small thing, but every time I have to drive my poverty spec S-Max which doesn't have auto wipers (or even auto lights for that matter), I do miss having it. The 3 standard speeds never seem to quite be right so having the auto wiper system deal with everything really does help.
 
I can leave my auto wipers on permanently if I wanted to, since it's just the first position upwards. In the mk3 Mondeo I'm sure they give a single wipe when you turn the ignition on if you do, but they don't in the mk4 since I've left them on accidentally before.
 
[TW]Fox;30373866 said:
Every post you make just further highlights that you've got no idea how it works - which is fine but why have such a strong view on something you've limited experience off?

This is how I use my wipers.

a) Get in car and drive car
b) If rain begins to fall, turn wiper system on with single button press
c) Continue driving car until I reach destination

It's that simple. You don't really need to touch the sensitivity adjustment, its just there for your initial preferences.
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In my car:

a) Get in car and drive
b) It starts raining, wipers turn themselves on
c) Continue driving
 
[TW]Fox;30373418 said:
Saloons do not have rear wipers because they are not required due to the way the air moves over the saloon body shape. As a result, rain does not settle on the rear screen whilst the car is in motion and quickly clears once you set off from a standstill. Mud and spray does not accumulate on the rear window of a saloon in the way it does on a hatchback or an estate.
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This is one of my biggest bugbears about saloons (and it's obviously not a major issue as I have one now) but this is all well and good except for when I want to reverse off my driveway first thing in the morning and can't see sodding behind me because I don't have a rear wiper! Saloons shapes are great when moving, useless when at a standstill :D
 
I do think it would be kind of cool to have a castle with a moat :D

In any case, there's no way I'm clearing the rear screen by hand before I go, people will just have to risk their lives.
 
I don't know why the Japanese are the only ones who fit rear wipers on 3-box cars. So handy to clear the window and be able to reverse off the drive being able to see. They do look fairly rubbish though and I removed the one off the S15 for this reason. The MarkX doesn't have one but it does have a camera, and the wiper is an available option.
 
There are lots of things which look worse and people still buy them. Practicality counts for more than aesthetics for many, why not even have the option.
 
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