Broken Wiper Spring when in service mode

[nambrosch]

update - i got a call today from the Pittsburgh service center with an offer to send a ranger out. it took two people but they managed to pop the spring back in. the service engineer said they normally only lift them slightly when working on the windshield and not fully like with traditional cars.

hopefully this information helps someone down the road.

 

[Joshnickell]

Dang... Well, I just broke my wiper arm. The spring ricocheted off the windshield and broke it too...

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Where in the menus is “Service Mode”? I’ve never actively searched for it but I’ve never seen it whilst navigating around looking for other things.

Also I’m about as non-redneck as you can get but I’ve put my wipers up many times over the years. Sounds like it can’t be done on the S though, interesting.

 

[Joshnickell]

Settings - service - top left

 

[brkaus]

Dang... Well, I just broke my wiper arm. The spring ricocheted off the windshield and broke it too...

Dang. That sucks.

 

[d-bone]

I did the same thing. First time washing my car, put the wipers in Service Mode, and tried to pull them away from the windshield so that I could wash underneath them, and popped the spring and the connector link off. Fortunately nothing broke and I saw where both parts flew. My service center is about an hour and a half away, and they didn't have and there weren't any rangers available for over a week (the local ranger was in CA for training for a week). I got the wiper arm off with a wiper puller tool (about $13, local), and managed to position the arm to get enough leverage to get the spring back on, then reinstalled the wiper blade. Was a giant pain in the ass, lesson learned to not pull the wipers off the windshield!

 

[appleguru]

I also tried to lift the blades during my car’s first snow. Once I realized they didn’t do that like every other blade out there, I didn’t force it and gave up.

How does one actually replace the blades on these cars? Do you just lift it an inch or so from the window?

 

[Beady3647]

As the thread suggests I broke the spring assembly on my UK Model S trying to raise it too far away from the windscreen. Tried in vain to fix it and in the end contacted SC in Birmingham UK. They said bring it in and they'd fix it. Took it in the following afternoon and after about 20 minutes was told that they were replacing the whole wiper blade assembly. Another 20 minutes and I'm handed my keys. Zero charge! Can't imagine that happening in the past with my BMW's and Mercs.

All in all an extremely happy bunny - back to driving my pride and joy.

 

[MagicMagicD]

As the thread suggests I broke the spring assembly on my UK Model S trying to raise it too far away from the windscreen. Tried in vain to fix it and in the end contacted SC in Birmingham UK. They said bring it in and they'd fix it. Took it in the following afternoon and after about 20 minutes was told that they were replacing the whole wiper blade assembly. Another 20 minutes and I'm handed my keys. Zero charge! Can't imagine that happening in the past with my BMW's and Mercs.

All in all an extremely happy bunny - back to driving my pride and joy.

I must be on their s**t list then because they charged me £90+ for a new wiper arm last month... love the consistency.

 

[JamieTB]

I must be on their s**t list then because they charged me £90+ for a new wiper arm last month... love the consistency.

Same thing for me at Bristol SC

 

[David.85D]

i just did the same thing when doing my first wash on a new model s.. i didn't even the arm terribly hard, the spring is just so tight that it popped right off.

i found this thread looking to see if it was customer-repairable. our service center is three hours away so i'm taking it to the local service king tomorrow. lesson learned.

Yes, if you didn’t loose the spring, you can put it back. Someone linked the thread above. PM me if you want to try and can’t figure it out.

 

[CT36MS]

I just did the same damn thing...ugh!

 

[CT36MS]

I just did the same damn thing...ugh!

I have the spring though but I feel that it may have broken where the spring holds in place

 

[ReversePolarity]

I've officially joined this club too but with a slightly chioped windshield I'm guessing that freezing the wipers into windshield is a thing.

Does anyone know if the SC are willing to fix these things without replacing the whole assembly?

 

[David.85D]

Does anyone know if the SC are willing to fix these things without replacing the whole assembly?

Seems hit or miss. My service center said replace only, so I fixed it myself. Others have had the service center fix it. If they went flying, you need to find both the little spring, and the small extension double ended hook thingamajig

 

[cucubits]

Yup, just did the same exact thing. Not proud of myself but I'm glad I didn't break the windshield. It was a very loud pop when the spring got loose.

Tesla mobile tech will come out once they get a new arm ordered. No idea how long it'll take and I really want to try to put the spring back myself, but on the other hand, if there's a chance they replace the whole arm, maybe it'll be a better revision...

 

[David.85D]

I did it by taking the arm off (so I could work safely away from the windshield) and then using a brake spring pliers to put the hook back on. It will try to fly away given a chance.

The brake spring pliers were in every toolbox when drum brakes were common...

 

[cucubits]

In my defense, I stumbled on this video before messing with my wipers. Any idea why his arms lift so high? Could he be using aftermarket?

 

[Troyrod]

This happened to us. The Tesla replacement arm was $100+. So I bought a used one from Ebay.

 

[cucubits]

This happened to us. The Tesla replacement arm was $100+. So I bought a used one from Ebay.

Was it out of warranty or they didn't want to cover it?