I generally just use my mine manually all the time, they are so bad, sure they have got worse over time.
Rather like High Beam assist as well, use it manually now.
Rather like High Beam assist as well, use it manually now.
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Auto Wipers are awful
- Thread starter DanAndTheBeard
- Start date
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
Same here, both wipers and headlights have been on manual for months now, as auto simply doesn't work. The wipers definitely seem a great deal worse at night, for some reason, unless their behaviour changed as a consequence of an update last year. Last summer they were working reasonably well for a time, but they got a great deal worse in the autumn. Might be because I'm doing more night driving now, though, maybe they have always been bad at night.
Yes you see it a lot, and I've wondered if Tesla has social media engineering going on where people are paid to post such positive stuff? There are a few forums I'm on and the most outspoken Tesla supporters only post Monday to Friday, maybe they have a really boring job so they just do it from there but it seems to be too much of a coincidence at times. #tinfoilhat
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
I think it's just the same sort of thing that goes on with brands like Apple. There are a lot of people around who desperately need to be within an "exclusive" group, and become almost worshippers of the brand, with something akin to religious fervour. Trying to get some of these people to accept that the manufacturer they worship is anything other than perfect is a real uphill struggle, as it seems that, in general, people like this just lack any critical thinking capability.
Certainly Apple set out to create just this sort of culture, but I'm not convinced that Tesla has. However, I don't think it's coincidence that Tesla cars have so many design similarities with Apple products. Leaving things out has become a trend with Apple products, and it seems that Tesla is treading the same path.
FWIW, I'm pretty much device agnostic, I have an iPhone, a (de-Googled) Android tablet, a Macbook, a Windows PC and a couple of Linux PCs. I don't have a favourite, TBH, although I do dislike Google with a passion (and for that reason alone would never buy a Polestar II).
A combination of US nationalism (even with products made elsewhere but assembled in the US and called made in US) and then the simple act of promotional giveaways (from wheels to chargers to roadsters to supercharging). Those promotions get all sorts of influencers going - as you know legions on youtube without knowing whether they actually believe in the product or just the benefits. An appearance of sincerety is meaningless.
It's common to hype products - sadly Tesla promises take too long to mature and like many I will likely look less at promises and more at a more economic alternative and wait for further advances. Irrespective of my financial security the depreiation on a new car is annoying. More so when the reasons you bought it are always 'next update'
It doesn’t rain a lot here, but when it does. The car really makes sure I’m aware of it.
Sometimes I just wish Tesla would spend one percent of the self driving budget on getting the wipers and high beam to works… they are completely unusable in Denmark with the amount of rain and darkness we have. But I guess self-driving is more sexy :-(
Drew57
Active ember
Self-driving, rain, darkness....add a truck on a multi lane road & you've got a recipe for disaster. Nothing sexy there.
OK, it may just be me coming from a biking background, but having had several cars with auto wipers (none with auto highbeam though so meh) I have not had any problems with the wipers in my 3. The only issue is occasionally it goes a speed higher than I would like but that's it.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
Last night I tried the auto wipers again, just to see if they have improved with any recent updates. It varied from light rain to drizzle, and not once did the wipers turn on. This is pretty much the opposite to what they used to do when on auto, which was run like crazy and not turn off. After ten minutes of driving, constantly pressing the wash/wipe button I pulled over and set them back to manual.
I'm pretty convinced that the problem is mainly in the dark, and last nights drive was in total darkness, apart from the lights from one or two oncoming cars. I may try and do a test next time I drive into town when it's raining and see if they work any better when there are street lights around. Because the auto system on the Model 3 is passive, and relies on the image from the front camera, it may well be that it struggles when it's pitch dark, perhaps. Every other car with auto wipers uses an active system, with IR LEDs that shine light out through the screen and detect changes in reflectivity caused by the presence of water on the outside. The big advantage of that sensor system is that it's not dependent on ambient light, so it works as well at night as it does during the day.
I'm pretty convinced that the problem is mainly in the dark, and last nights drive was in total darkness, apart from the lights from one or two oncoming cars. I may try and do a test next time I drive into town when it's raining and see if they work any better when there are street lights around. Because the auto system on the Model 3 is passive, and relies on the image from the front camera, it may well be that it struggles when it's pitch dark, perhaps. Every other car with auto wipers uses an active system, with IR LEDs that shine light out through the screen and detect changes in reflectivity caused by the presence of water on the outside. The big advantage of that sensor system is that it's not dependent on ambient light, so it works as well at night as it does during the day.
Lately mine seem fine but I haven't had a software update for a bit. There are overly enthusiastic which is a shame but if they calmed down a bit the do at least always spot rain. Not sure if certain conditions make them worse and I just haven't bene in them.
Oh and @Traguar you STILL don't have a car with auto head beams. That feature is useless and actually dangerous on a Tesla. which is a shame because their rival have it nailed.
Oh and @Traguar you STILL don't have a car with auto head beams. That feature is useless and actually dangerous on a Tesla. which is a shame because their rival have it nailed.
ladysbff
Member
Autowipers cannot handle dark + fog + rain mist. That’s the bottom line. Tesla and its fanboys want to insist it’s no big deal or that every manf has this problem, and yet Tesla is supposed to be able to solve car problems with software that no other OEM can.
Recently found that the best the autowipers ever performed for me was during daylight + actively snowing. I’m sure most can figure out why. So disappointed.
I forget what thread I mentioned this in before but I finally cancelled my CT reservation. On the positive side for Tesla, I was very pleasantly surprised to see how quickly I was refunded the $100.
For me the auto hi beam works fine. Occasionally the reflection from road signs fool it into dipping, but that’s ok.
The auto wipers are sometimes great, sometimes ok, and sometimes rubbish. To be honest they are no better or worse than my BMW was, and Audi before that, and all the many rental cars I, (used to before covid), drive.
No brand offers perfection. But for those who find the M3 a peach to drive will happily accept its foibles.
The auto wipers are sometimes great, sometimes ok, and sometimes rubbish. To be honest they are no better or worse than my BMW was, and Audi before that, and all the many rental cars I, (used to before covid), drive.
No brand offers perfection. But for those who find the M3 a peach to drive will happily accept its foibles.
It’s funny how people have different experiences isn’t it? Auto high beam just doesn’t work for me at all. Like it’s completely useless. I could tell you what conditions turn the beam on and what turn it off. It seem utterly random. I honestly consider that useless not just bad.
My auto wipers have rarely gone wrong from a detection point of view but they are far far far too vigorous with their speed which I don’t like. Whilst I don’t think they are terrible they are certainly the worst I’ve seen in a £40000 automobile. I’ve driven Mercedes, Audi and Land Rover and they all have auto wipers that work better and can choose the correct speed.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
I think the main reason for so many differing opinions on things like this may well come down to where they live and the sort of roads they drive on most of the time. Some may live in urban, or semi-urban areas, with higher light levels at night than somewhere like here, that really is totally dark on a cloudy night. It also seems that the width and type of road makes a difference, some will drive mainly on roads that don't have a lot of low level reflective signs, some will.
Here, the windy roads are well-populated with bend warning chevrons, for example, that always falsely trigger the auto headlights to dip, right when you want them on full to light up the exit from the bend.
I've convinced that it's light level that causes a lot of the wiper issues, too. In total darkness it seems they just don't detect rain at all. In half light they tend to be massively over-sensitive and go berserk.
My experience of owning Mercedes, Honda, Toyota and BMW cars with auto wipers was that they all worked pretty well. The Toyota's, in particular, were faultless, apart from operating the screen washers to get bugs etc off, I don't remember having to touch the wiper stalk.
That's a fair point. It does seem to be certain driving conditions that make things worse or better for the auto features.
One amusing wiper system quirk for me is that the car doesn't seem to know its had the washers one. Twice whilst driving through France I had to heavy a heavy washer session to get rid of bugs. Both times the car flashed up "bad weather detected, switching off navigate on autopilot ". I have no complaints about this I just thought it was funny that it thought its own washer fluid was heavy rain
One amusing wiper system quirk for me is that the car doesn't seem to know its had the washers one. Twice whilst driving through France I had to heavy a heavy washer session to get rid of bugs. Both times the car flashed up "bad weather detected, switching off navigate on autopilot ". I have no complaints about this I just thought it was funny that it thought its own washer fluid was heavy rain
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
Had the opportunity for a daytime drive today, for the first time in ages (all my driving for the past month or two has been at night). The weather was similar to Friday night's drive, very light rain and drizzle. So, I reset the wipers to auto to see how they coped. The answer is reasonably well. Massively better than my night time experience in similar weather, on the same stretches of road/lane. Perhaps a little bit sluggish to trigger at times, if I was being picky, but generally not significantly worse than any other auto wiper system I've experience of.
My conclusion is that the auto wipers are extremely ambient light sensitive, they seem to work OK in daylight and light rain, but not at night in similar conditions. They tend to be poor in moderate to heavy rain, often going to maximum speed far too readily. This also seems to be something that's far worse at night.
My conclusion is that the auto wipers are extremely ambient light sensitive, they seem to work OK in daylight and light rain, but not at night in similar conditions. They tend to be poor in moderate to heavy rain, often going to maximum speed far too readily. This also seems to be something that's far worse at night.
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