auto wipers.

[Why?]

Does anyone have issues with their auto wipers having a life of their own. Mine basically work great sometimes, but others they are really slow to come on, others they seem to come on for no reason. Heavy rain recently has made this more apparent.

For example, I was driving the other day and the windscreen was almost opaque before the wipers decided there was enough rain to come on...yet I have them set on the most sensitive setting. Also when I start the care in heavy rain or the windscreen is covered in water the wipers do not engage until I remind them to or I start driving in a forward direction. In reverse they simply don't come on until I start travelling forward and even then it can take some time for them to engage.

Another issue I am having is the windscreen not demisting very quickly, meaning i have to keep my wipers on to keep it cleared for quite a while.

[Chesterfield313]

There is a very recently started thread already covering this. As recently as today it has been contributed to. You might want to ask for your query to be moved to that thread, rather than having 2 threads open on something so specific.

But, before I go, surely you don't use your windscreen wipers to demist your screen?

[Why?]

There is a very recently started thread already covering this. As recently as today it has been contributed to. You might want to ask for your query to be moved to that thread, rather than having 2 threads open on something so specific.

But, before I go, surely you don't use your windscreen wipers to demist your screen?

that one just seems to be a ramble about all sorts rather than anyone addressing a particular problem.

Not to demist it on the inside which also takes an absolute age, far longer than any other car I've owned, but it keeps misting up on the outside, especially in the mornings and evenings now it's cold and damp.

[Whippy53]

To be sure now, that'll probably be the cold an damp now that's causin that then? :confused:

[daycartes]

The car does need a trigger to operate the wipers, for instance, when I reverse out of my drive and then move forward 20 ft to the end of the road, the wipers do not operate unless I pull on the stalk. I also switch on rear demist and forward demist at the same time, then once on the main drag I switch back to auto a/c. Everything works as normal after this. 2.0 TDI manual.

[johnsimcox]

99% of the time I would say mine operate as planned. When the car is stationary they do reduce wipe frequency, in the same way as they would switch to intermittent if you had selected slow continuous operation, and it takes forward motion for the car to reactivate the system. Have you (or someone else ) treated the windscreen with something like Rain-X, if this is used and it goes over the sensor it can affect the system because the sensor will see less water because it is being dispersed. As to mist, the A6 is no better or worse than any other car I drive and I simply have to manually activate the wipers to clear it until the screen warms up. Such a shame that Ford's initial deal with Pilkington for the Hot Screen meant other manufacturers were unable to adopt the technology.

[Kar Krazy]

Auto wipers are certainly not as good on some days as on others. It could just be that the area in front of the sensor sometimes gets a bit more rain than the area in front of the driver, and sometimes a bit less. But when I drove lower-spec cars with a simple timer controlling the delay wipe, they were far more consistent and reliable, and seemed to need the same amount of juggling to match the delay to the amount of rain.

And I really, really miss the Ford heated front screen at this time of year. Renaults have an electric heating element in the blower, surely it's about time Audi did something like this? It's amusing that Audi can offer you a radar to warn of vehicles in your blind spot (where others just fit a door mirror with an angled part to eliminate the blind spot) but they can't do anything about frozen windscreens!

[M1tchy]

I have just bought and fitted a large dehumidifier bag for the car. It's basically like a bag of silica gel you get with new shoes etc but designed for a car. It absorbs the moisture and tells you when it's full, you then microwave it and it's good to go again. Been in for nearly a week now and there is substantially less condensation in the mornings.


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[kite]

I have just bought and fitted a large dehumidifier bag for the car. It's basically like a bag of silica gel you get with new shoes etc but designed for a car. It absorbs the moisture and tells you when it's full, you then microwave it and it's good to go again. Been in for nearly a week now and there is substantially less condensation in the mornings.


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Gotta link...

[Scott K]

Auto wipers are certainly not as good on some days as on others. It could just be that the area in front of the sensor sometimes gets a bit more rain than the area in front of the driver, and sometimes a bit less. But when I drove lower-spec cars with a simple timer controlling the delay wipe, they were far more consistent and reliable, and seemed to need the same amount of juggling to match the delay to the amount of rain.

And I really, really miss the Ford heated front screen at this time of year. Renaults have an electric heating element in the blower, surely it's about time Audi did something like this? It's amusing that Audi can offer you a radar to warn of vehicles in your blind spot (where others just fit a door mirror with an angled part to eliminate the blind spot) but they can't do anything about frozen windscreens!

Audi have the heated windscreen as an option on the A8. They should really offer it across the range. May not be compatible with HUD but at least you would have a choice.

[Whippy53]

Available on the Passat.

[M1tchy]

Gotta link...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=121438148395

Here you go


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[johnsimcox]

Available on the Passat.
I think the original licensing deal (or patent protection) has come to an end and others are now starting to offer it.

[Kar Krazy]

Audi have the heated windscreen as an option on the A8. They should really offer it across the range. May not be compatible with HUD but at least you would have a choice.

Sounds great - just have to wait for it to filter down the range to us lowly A3 drivers and then for cars with it to enter the 2-year-old used market to avoid the worst of the depreciation. Until then, I'll have to rely on my trusty 12V plug-in fan heater - and one of those silica gel bags sounds good as well!

[Why?]

Thanks for the replies, puts my mind at rest that its just the idiosyncrasies of the wipers rather than a fault. . The silica bag sounds like a plan. I do miss the heated windscreen in my old st220 as well. If the A8 has one then I don't see why its not an option on the A6.

[Kar Krazy]

Thanks for the replies, puts my mind at rest that its just the idiosyncrasies of the wipers rather than a fault. . The silica bag sounds like a plan. I do miss the heated windscreen in my old st220 as well. If the A8 has one then I don't see why its not an option on the A6.

You had an ST220!!! What a great car - and a beautiful engine note. I had the Titanium X with the 2.2 derv engine - same as the ST TDCi.


The manufacturers do tend to put their latest toys on the bigger cars first: Ford had options on the Mondeo that weren't offered on the Focus until a year or two later. Then later on they were offered on the Fiesta.

[M1tchy]

I have just bought and fitted a large dehumidifier bag for the car. It's basically like a bag of silica gel you get with new shoes etc but designed for a car. It absorbs the moisture and tells you when it's full, you then microwave it and it's good to go again. Been in for nearly a week now and there is substantially less condensation in the mornings.


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Well I've had this in for 2 weeks now and the bag had gone pink meaning it needs microwaving to get rid of the moisture it has collected. Ive done it and its back to blue so good to go. Really impressed with it so far, the wifes car can take a good 4-5 mins to demist, whereas mine takes 20-30 seconds. I don't know how much moisture it collects before it needs microwaving but its doing well so far. :D

[fest0r]

Seems to be working for me too since a helpful chap posted a link on here :fing02: