The short story:
Here’s a video of my AP2 MS with release 50.3 testing auto wipers and Auto Steering in various road, speeds and rain conditions, on both highways and local roads. The rain ranged from heavy to light. Bottom line, as you’ll see if you watch to the end, auto wipers are not necessary if the windshield is properly cleaned and treated. Apologies for the length, but I wanted to get a mix of conditions in. I did speed things up though, so go by the speedometer. The example in this video is using Rain-X.
Watch this space. With the mantra of, “Friends don’t let friends drive without Rain-X” I’ve adopted over the years, going forward I plan to test various coatings. Historically, I’ve only used Rain-X or Aquapel, sometimes in combination. There are many hydrophobic coatings on the market, and weather and time permitting I will test a few and post videos to this thread as they’re completed.
One caveat: I’m not happy with the results I see with Rain-X on my MS. I’ve never had such small rain droplets on any car I’ve owned before. It’s not clear if it’s this new bottle of Rain-X, or a less polished windshield issue. More to come as this issue is investigated.
The long story:
While firmware release 50.3 has finally provided the long awaited rain sensing wipers, it has debuted to mixed reviews.
Watching the videos our fellow Tesla owners have posted in the rain has highlighted a common problem that I believe many have, that being, rain being ineffectively removed, leaving the windshield smeared rather than cleared. This is easily seen in videos, especially those shot at night.
This problem can be caused by several issues. One obviously being worn wiper blades, and in more severe cases, improper wiper arm pressure due to worn, stretched springs in the arm. Some people raise their wipers off of the windshield to avoid having them encased in snow and ice. This act is the direct cause of stretched springs. While it makes it easier to clear the windshield of winters woes, you will be rewarded with less effective wipers due to the decreased pressure holding the blades against the windshield. And, in a recently revived thread, can lead to broken springs on a MS.
One of the most important things one can do to improve wiper action is to properly clean the windshield as well as periodically clean the blades as well. However, cleaning the windshield entails more than just using the windshield washer spray. Various contaminants, oil from cars, diesel fuel that tractors sometimes spray due to mechanical problems, and hard water spots to name a few, all can contaminate your windshield, and oil and water does not mix.
Deep cleaning is a multi step process using lint free rags, spray cleaners, hard water spot remover, and finishing with more passes with a quality reside free spray cleaner to remove all traces of the mildly abrasive deep cleaner. The phrase “squeaky clean” is what you’re looking for.
After proper cleaning, you’ll find your vision in rainy weather will be vastly improved.
But there’s one final step that will improve your ability to see clearly in the heaviest of rain storms: Coating your windshield with a hydrophobic product which can even eliminate the need for turning the wipers on at all.
I’m sure you’ve seen cars pulled over with their hazard flashers on in blinding rain on the highway. Perhaps you’ve had to do this as well. With a properly cleaned and treated windshield, you’ll never have to do that again. Blinding rain storms will be a thing of the past. You’ll be ables to not only see well without wipers, you’ll be able to drive safer as you will be able to see water ponding on the road, and that alone can help to reduce the problem of hydroplaning as you can safely steer around it, or slow down as needed.
Here’s a video of my AP2 MS with release 50.3 testing auto wipers and Auto Steering in various road, speeds and rain conditions, on both highways and local roads. The rain ranged from heavy to light. Bottom line, as you’ll see if you watch to the end, auto wipers are not necessary if the windshield is properly cleaned and treated. Apologies for the length, but I wanted to get a mix of conditions in. I did speed things up though, so go by the speedometer. The example in this video is using Rain-X.
Watch this space. With the mantra of, “Friends don’t let friends drive without Rain-X” I’ve adopted over the years, going forward I plan to test various coatings. Historically, I’ve only used Rain-X or Aquapel, sometimes in combination. There are many hydrophobic coatings on the market, and weather and time permitting I will test a few and post videos to this thread as they’re completed.
One caveat: I’m not happy with the results I see with Rain-X on my MS. I’ve never had such small rain droplets on any car I’ve owned before. It’s not clear if it’s this new bottle of Rain-X, or a less polished windshield issue. More to come as this issue is investigated.
The long story:
While firmware release 50.3 has finally provided the long awaited rain sensing wipers, it has debuted to mixed reviews.
Watching the videos our fellow Tesla owners have posted in the rain has highlighted a common problem that I believe many have, that being, rain being ineffectively removed, leaving the windshield smeared rather than cleared. This is easily seen in videos, especially those shot at night.
This problem can be caused by several issues. One obviously being worn wiper blades, and in more severe cases, improper wiper arm pressure due to worn, stretched springs in the arm. Some people raise their wipers off of the windshield to avoid having them encased in snow and ice. This act is the direct cause of stretched springs. While it makes it easier to clear the windshield of winters woes, you will be rewarded with less effective wipers due to the decreased pressure holding the blades against the windshield. And, in a recently revived thread, can lead to broken springs on a MS.
One of the most important things one can do to improve wiper action is to properly clean the windshield as well as periodically clean the blades as well. However, cleaning the windshield entails more than just using the windshield washer spray. Various contaminants, oil from cars, diesel fuel that tractors sometimes spray due to mechanical problems, and hard water spots to name a few, all can contaminate your windshield, and oil and water does not mix.
Deep cleaning is a multi step process using lint free rags, spray cleaners, hard water spot remover, and finishing with more passes with a quality reside free spray cleaner to remove all traces of the mildly abrasive deep cleaner. The phrase “squeaky clean” is what you’re looking for.
After proper cleaning, you’ll find your vision in rainy weather will be vastly improved.
But there’s one final step that will improve your ability to see clearly in the heaviest of rain storms: Coating your windshield with a hydrophobic product which can even eliminate the need for turning the wipers on at all.
I’m sure you’ve seen cars pulled over with their hazard flashers on in blinding rain on the highway. Perhaps you’ve had to do this as well. With a properly cleaned and treated windshield, you’ll never have to do that again. Blinding rain storms will be a thing of the past. You’ll be ables to not only see well without wipers, you’ll be able to drive safer as you will be able to see water ponding on the road, and that alone can help to reduce the problem of hydroplaning as you can safely steer around it, or slow down as needed.
