Wiper speed poll

[totteraptor]

The “Auto” wiper speed doesn’t work for me. I’d like to understand if it is just me or there is a basis to ask to have it adjusted (slower or faster at given amount of rain).
Please only respond if you own a Model 3 to keep result clean.

 

[JulienW]

I have found it to be all 3 at different times. So how do I vote?

 

[Petermcg]

I agree with JulienW - sometimes the rate is too slow and sometimes it is too fast. We need a poll option for that.

 

[Bosfutureowner]

The wipers are one of the few downers in the car. The auto setting is consistently too slow to react and clear the window. I end up having to switch it to manual on the screen. This functionality is very awkward and should in my opinion be on the stalk. It is so bad I am wondering if I am missing something in how they operate ?

 

[totteraptor]

I have found it to be all 3 at different times. So how do I vote?

Hi Julien,
The poll cannot be updated once it is started. I didnt think of this possibility so I suggest you refrain from voting. My goal is to understand if there is a consistent bias towards to slow or too fast - because that would presumably be a relatively easy fix for Tesla.
Solving the "sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow" is much harder and maybe something that will improve over time as the neural learning improves.
Not sure if everybody knows but instead of the usual dedicated sensor for rain Elon decided to make the wiper function integrated with the neural learning and base it on the same camera used for AP. So far this has not proved a great strategy in my opinion but remain hopeful.

 

[JulienW]

....Not sure if everybody knows but instead of the usual dedicated sensor for rain Elon decided to make the wiper function integrated with the neural learning and base it on the same camera used for AP. So far this has not proved a great strategy in my opinion but remain hopeful.

And this is the reason it is often too fast or too slow and can't just be sped up or slowed down. It seems to me that in very misty or very small drops it sees it as poring and runs too fast. When the drops are large (even if raining harder) it is then too slow to respond. So I find:

Mist/Small Drops: Too Fast
Average Rain/Medium Drops: Just Right
Large Drops: Too Slow

Of course in 6 months to a year it will probably be superior to most auto rain sensor based systems but as of now it is not just a simple case of too slow or too fast IMO.

 

[srs5694]

It's usually (about 75% of the time) too slow for me, but sometimes (maybe 20% of the time) it's about right, and on rare occasion (5% or less) it's too fast. It often does several quick and unnecessary wipes when I first get into the car and it's raining; I'm not counting that startup issue toward the "too fast" count.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi Julien,
The poll cannot be updated once it is started. I didnt think of this possibility so I suggest you refrain from voting. My goal is to understand if there is a consistent bias towards to slow or too fast - because that would presumably be a relatively easy fix for Tesla.
Solving the "sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow" is much harder and maybe something that will improve over time as the neural learning improves.
Not sure if everybody knows but instead of the usual dedicated sensor for rain Elon decided to make the wiper function integrated with the neural learning and base it on the same camera used for AP. So far this has not proved a great strategy in my opinion but remain hopeful.

This (wiper speed not being "right" for the amount of water on the window) has been a complaint at least a year.... I got my model 3 a year ago and it was a complaint then.

For me, its normally "too slow" as it doesnt wipe when I would want it to wipe during rain sometimes. The issue is exacerbated by the fact that one needs to use the touch screen to change modes while driving. This is doubly annoying because, if you are using the wipers its likely raining, so one should keep ones eyes firmly forward, not jabbing at some on screen button

One suggestion that is mentioned that seems to be something that could be implemented is, if someone has to use the manual wipe button a couple of times, increase the sensitivity or something. It has been gradually getting better, but it still seems to struggle with certain scenarios, like light misty conditions either during the day, or at night.

 

[Teedub21]

The wipers are one of the few downers in the car. The auto setting is consistently too slow to react and clear the window. I end up having to switch it to manual on the screen. This functionality is very awkward and should in my opinion be on the stalk. It is so bad I am wondering if I am missing something in how they operate ?

If you do a quick press on the button at the end of the stalk (same one for windshield washer) it will do one swipe. I often use this if the auto wipers aren’t keeping up. My issue is they’re usually too fast or not quick enough to respond on auto.

 

[totteraptor]

Just want to say thanks to everyone voting. Any ideas on how to get even more people to vote?

 

[640k]

I have found it to be all 3 at different times. So how do I vote?

i'm with you but i think my biggest complaint about the variability in the wipers is the tendency to want to clear off the windshield if there's water when you put it in drive. every time, it puts the wipers in full speed and then continues to wipe until every speck of water is gone. i hate wipers on a dry windshield and it can't be good for the blade.

 

[RTPEV]

Not sure if you mean how soon the wipers activate to respond to rain, or whether you literally mean the sweeping speed of the wipers. I will assume the former.

When I first got my car, I thought the wipers were REALLY slow to respond, and I'm someone who can tolerate a fair bit of wetness on the windshield before having to turn on the wipers. Then I think it was the V9 software update (or somewhere around there) the response time improved, and I would say that I am generally happy with it. That doesn't mean that I don't occasionally have to manually wipe the windshield, but I've found that at that very start of rain (mist?) I only have to do this once or twice before the wipers will activate themselves, at which point I think the interval between wipes is really good.

The one thing I don't like about the auto wipers, as @640k just pointed out, is that occasionally they will turn on with a completely dry windshield just as I am pulling out of my garage. And occasionally they will turn on as I am leaving a parking lot at night (I suspect this may be due to some kind of dust or something that was on the windshield). There doesn't appear to be an easy way to disable the auto wipers without having to fool around with the touch screen.

 

[totteraptor]

Not sure if you mean how soon the wipers activate to respond to rain, or whether you literally mean the sweeping speed of the wipers. I will assume the former.

Correct - I mean the frequency of wiping moreso than the actual speed of movement across the windshield.

 

[superbaka]

Every car out there has a "sensitivity" setting for auto wiper.

But Tesla doesn't...thanks to Elon's ego.