Still not working well at all here. Over the past two weeks we've had several different types and severity of rain and the wipers have not handled any of them well. Light drizzle, road spray, heavy downpours, high wind; doesn't matter if I'm traveling a high speed on the highway or low speed through city streets. Even with the heavy downpours the wipers even turning on is spotty, let alone having a good wiper frequency. I have to manually click the wiper button or turn on a manual setting almost always.
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The auto wipers are............working!
- Thread starter Formula1
- Start date
dcdttu
Member
It's been raining a *lot* in Texas lately, and I've had the chance to try them out in a number of situations. The one that keeps giving it trouble is when it's misting and I'm driving in an area with a "busy" view (eg a lot of trees in front of me). The cameas seem not to be able to see the mist and the wipers don't activate until I'm nearly blinded.
Ellsworth
Member
Yes, I also noted improvement in Auto Wiper actuation after 2019.12.1.2.
However, spray kicked up by vehicles ahead in busy Los Angeles freeway traffic on wet roads with no falling rain managed to mist the windshield enough to obscure visibility without the mist reaching as high up the windshield as the Model 3’s front camera array. So I still had to manually compensate. No software improvement is likely to be able to address that condition.
It’d still be nice to have an adjustable timed interval option.
However, spray kicked up by vehicles ahead in busy Los Angeles freeway traffic on wet roads with no falling rain managed to mist the windshield enough to obscure visibility without the mist reaching as high up the windshield as the Model 3’s front camera array. So I still had to manually compensate. No software improvement is likely to be able to address that condition.
It’d still be nice to have an adjustable timed interval option.
I know the wipers should wipe at reasonable frequencies and not everyone is a fan of putting coatings on their windshield (residue concerns), but a quick solution to the problem is using a rain repellant (aquapel in my case). Took 20 minutes to put on and now it doesn't even matter how frequently the wipers run. Most of the time, I just leave them off. It's a neat effect for people in the back seat if you do the roof on a 3, too.
I used to use RainX in the past, but it was more involved to apply, and the residue it left wasn't a nuisance. Some of the newer options are simpler to apply and promise less wear issues.
I used to use RainX in the past, but it was more involved to apply, and the residue it left wasn't a nuisance. Some of the newer options are simpler to apply and promise less wear issues.
Your BMW probably has a dedicated rain sensor. Tesla does not. I wouldn’t count on Tesla auto wipers working as well as with a rain sensor.
FWIW - I live in the Bay Area, and the auto-wipers are absolutely useless, even here (we haven't had much rain recently, and probably won't until winter, so no recent experience).
The base model VW e-Golf I drove before my Model 3 had auto-wipers that actually worked (but yes, they did have sensors on the windshield). Given how cumbersome it is to use the touch screen to adjust wiper settings, this is a really irritating shortcoming.
Today they were good for me. It would pretty awesome if you could "train" it the way you like it. As in, it remembers how blocked the camera is when you activate the wipers and after awhile it will self-activate in similar circumstances. Still, I would agree that the system is not as good as even a cheap car with a decently calibrated rain sensor.
M+K.Reeser
Member
Yes a sensitivity adjustment would help. Also, There are all different sorts of rain and it falls and accumulates differently on a moving car as opposed to a stationary one or one at highway speed.
I have noticed the model 3 aerodynamics also effects it because at certain speeds water does not fall on the windshield at camera height but has totally obscured your ability to see out of the midsection of the window and the wipers have to be manually activated because the glass over the camera is clear due to airflow. Also rainx will effect this as it causes water to behave differently as it passes over the camera.
I have noticed the model 3 aerodynamics also effects it because at certain speeds water does not fall on the windshield at camera height but has totally obscured your ability to see out of the midsection of the window and the wipers have to be manually activated because the glass over the camera is clear due to airflow. Also rainx will effect this as it causes water to behave differently as it passes over the camera.
iwannam3
Active Member
I live in NC and we get a lot of pi e tree pollen in April that typically lasts about 3 weeks. This year it was extremely heavy. Uou can see it blowing through the air.
The AI gets fooled by the pollen and occasionally turn on when there is no rain. In this case it would be helpful to have a an OFF setting.
Other than that, the wipers seem to be just about perfect.
The AI gets fooled by the pollen and occasionally turn on when there is no rain. In this case it would be helpful to have a an OFF setting.
Other than that, the wipers seem to be just about perfect.
Big-T
Member
THIS! And while they're at it, please lower the lowest speed, here in Seattle I need like one swipe every 20 seconds or so, not one every 5 seconds on the lowest setting.
famoruwa
Member
100 H2O
Member
The auto wipers have been almost useless since I got my model S last September - very frustrating through the long rainy winter here in the Bay Area. Today was the first time it has rained since I updated to 2019.12. I just drove across town and back in light variable rain, about 20 minutes each way, and the wipers worked almost flawlessly - I think I manually actuated them once or twice. I'd like to give them a more thorough test in heavier rain conditions and on the freeway with spray from other vehicles, but this is definitely a big improvement.
