Wipers on auto

[davesw1]

is mine broken or is the auto sensing wiper feature rubbish on light rain? no matter how high up i put the selector, (usually on max) it doesn't seem to sense light rain until the whole screen is covered and i've already had to manually flick it. anyone else have this?

 

[alohart]

There have been quite a few complaints about the insensitivity of the autowipe feature, so you're not alone, and your i3 isn't any more broken than any other.

The rain in Honolulu is typically trade wind-whipped mist (great for rainbows, but not so great for auto wipers). When the wind(shield/screen) starts to become difficult enough to see through that I would normally manually turn on the wipers, I press the auto activation button which will cause the wipers to wipe once. Then the wipers will occasionally wipe but after the wind(shield/screen) is a bit more difficult to see through than I would like, but not quite to the dangerous level, IMO.

So I've learned to live with it. There are far worse i3 irritations for me.

 

[MikeS]

is mine broken or is the auto sensing wiper feature rubbish on light rain? no matter how high up i put the selector, (usually on max) it doesn't seem to sense light rain until the whole screen is covered and i've already had to manually flick it. anyone else have this?

Yes!

 

[janner]

Sounds like yours is broken. Mine works fine in light rain.

 

[jadnashuanh]

For decades, I've been using either Rain-X or more recently, AquaPel on my windshield. It causes light rain to bead up rather than spread out which, I think, makes the sensor more likely to turn on and wipe. Depending on your speed and the wind, you may not need the wipers at all, since it can just be blown off. Some people love the stuff, some hate it, but from a safety viewpoint, I find it quite handy, especially on a wet, slushy winter day...getting a windshield full of slush, you can still see, whereas, normally, you'd have to rush to turn the wipers on. Even though I've had my i3 over a year, I really haven't been out driving all that much in the rain, but my thoughts are that it is a little slow to respond, but, you can adjust that somewhat with the control on the stalk, if I remember correctly. Check the manual to confirm.

 

[epirali]

is mine broken or is the auto sensing wiper feature rubbish on light rain? no matter how high up i put the selector, (usually on max) it doesn't seem to sense light rain until the whole screen is covered and i've already had to manually flick it. anyone else have this?

No you are not alone. Mine acts very badly, in light rain it won't wipe well when moving, but all of a sudden speeds up when stopped (opposite of a properly implemented rain sensor). It is hit and miss, I find myself using manual or overriding by hand.

Its one of a few badly implemented details in the i3.