question on wipers

[snowsedan04]

Does anyone know if it's OK to always have your wipers in the intermittent setting when the car is equipped with the infrared rain sensors? There seems no reason to move the wipers to the "off" setting, unless the sensors get tired when activated all the time. Just curious. It is a great feature.

 

[MyHarley]

My salesman told me to always turn the sensor on after starting the car, that it was a good habit, which I do every day. Of course, the only time not to is before entering a car wash. My rule of thumb, use every feature on the car, if it breaks, they will fix it.........

 

[bmwrocks]

I don't leave it on all the time for this reason:

When it is raining and you reach your destination and turn off the car, the wipers can potentially do a wipe at the same time you turn off the key, leaving the wipers somewhere on the windshield. This has happened to me and it drives me crazy. I know I could just turn the key on and try to time the two, but that seems stupid as it could happen multiple times before you got the timing right.

So I just put it in the intermittent setting when it rains. Over the years I have gotten very good at detecting when the rain starts......

 

[snowsedan04]

Thanks for the responses. The only reason I could see to shut off the intermittent setting would be if there is a drain on the infrared unit from constantly being "on". That's my only concern. Having a blade stop in mid-wipe certainly won't keep me up at night, and having to turn the key after the blade goes down really doesn't seem all that challenging.

 

[bmwrocks]

and having to turn the key after the blade goes down really doesn't seem all that challenging.

Did you know that in a good rain the wipers wipe constantly (not intermittently) in the auto mode? They even will run at their highest speed in a severe rain. I would love to watch you trying to time that. I really think you would turn them off at that point.

 

[mallards]

what size wipers does an 03' 325i use?

and whats a good brand?

and how often should they be replaced?

Ben

 

[///M SPEED]

I don't leave it on all the time for this reason:

When it is raining and you reach your destination and turn off the car, the wipers can potentially do a wipe at the same time you turn off the key, leaving the wipers somewhere on the windshield. This has happened to me and it drives me crazy. I know I could just turn the key on and try to time the two, but that seems stupid as it could happen multiple times before you got the timing right.

So I just put it in the intermittent setting when it rains. Over the years I have gotten very good at detecting when the rain starts......

I always leave mine on and have never had the wipers "do a wipe" at the same time I turn off the car. It has never done a "finishing wipe" (if you would call it that) and has performed flawlessly when used. However, it is possible for the wipers to wipe when turned off just as the sensor senses enough rain to activate it. The only thing I have to remember is when it does rain is to turn it off and back on to activate the system.

I love this feature. I don't even know why cars equipped with the rain sensor have the intermittent switch even installed. I never use it. Hell, I never even use the full on, because just as bmwrocks stated "Did you know that in a good rain the wipers wipe constantly (not intermittently) in the auto mode? They even will run at their highest speed in a severe rain.” They work well in all sorts of rain conditions. It is just about the only setting I ever use.

 

[snowsedan04]

//M: I totally agree with you that its a great feature. I don't see any reason to use any other setting, since it covers all conditions.

Is that NSX a sign of things to come for you? I love my new bimmer, but those are real sweet rides.

 

[bmwrocks]

I never use any other setting either. The sensor seems to work in all conditions like you guys state.

According to the manual, the intermittent rotating knob varies the sensitivity of the sensor. I have not been able to detect any diff tho going from one extreme to the other.

Have you guys tried the sensitivity setting?

 

[///M SPEED]

//M: I totally agree with you that its a great feature. I don't see any reason to use any other setting, since it covers all conditions.

Is that NSX a sign of things to come for you? I love my new bimmer, but those are real sweet rides.

I was looking into one for a while. I was looking for one as a toy, but haven't decided what to do. I want to eventually get an ///M3, but not sure when.