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Rain Sensing Wipers


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The RX 400h has Rain Sensing wipers, an option back on my M5 '03 that I did without (it was bundled with another luxury item that I thought didn't justify the options sheet) and later wished I had not. Now, I'm glad I did, seeing as how it is either a poorly designed luxo item (on the Lexus) or I do not know how to use it.

The first notch down for the wiper stalk, is supposed to be for the Rain Sensing wipers, as long as you leave the adjustable swivel on the wiper stalk to "auto". Well, if this is in fact the setting for the Rain Sensing Wipers, then the system really blows. It pretty much triggers the wipers every 1.5 - 2 seconds regardless of the moisture. In that case, why have this feature since it uses ZERO fuzzy logic.

My BMW comes with a really neat intermittent mode that when activated, and your at a stop light, the system actually deactivates the wiper mode intermittent and doesn't start up again until you start moving.

Feedback would be appreciated...

Cheers,

MadloR

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Our 2006 RX400h Auto Wipers work just as I'd like them to! They operate 'itermittently' in light sprinkles and then pick up the pace in 'regular rain.' You should review the manual and if you're doing it all right, then return for servicing!

Oops, I would like another white tick or something to show that the stick is in the auto position. Sometimes we turn them 'off' without realizing it!

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They work but are not as sensitive as I would like.

They sometimes do not come on when there is much rain on the windshield.

I have to swipe the wipers once then it seems to wake them up and they work.

So far the rain sensors were better on my BMW.

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seattle has its share of heavy fog and mist that sometimes requires a manual swipe, however i would say 90% of the time the wipers work well in all rain conditions in the auto mode. i do find myself changing the sensitivity of the swivel on the stalk during different rain intensity, people seem to forget it takes 30 to 60 seconds for that change to be seen in the actualy wiper speed. As you may know, jim, the dark area behind the rear view mirror operates the wipers based on light reflection. Does yours have dirt or something in that area causing a false signal to make the wipers operate with no rain?

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Madman, we've had a pretty dry winter in Arizona, but mine have worked great so far. I do, however, think that the positions on the stalk are a bit difficult to see at night.

Tom

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Madman, we've had a pretty dry winter in Arizona, but mine have worked great so far. I do, however, think that the positions on the stalk are a bit difficult to see at night.

Tom

Memorize this: MIST, OFF, AUTO, LOW, HIGH. Now you don't need to see anything :)

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Our 2006 RX400h Auto Wipers work just as I'd like them to! They operate 'itermittently' in light sprinkles and then pick up the pace in 'regular rain.' You should review the manual and if you're doing it all right, then return for servicing!

We have no complaints with the way ours work although sometimes when I adjust the rearview mirror, the wipers will be activated briefly.

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The RX 400h has Rain Sensing wipers, an option back on my M5 '03 that I did without (it was bundled with another luxury item that I thought didn't justify the options sheet) and later wished I had not. Now, I'm glad I did, seeing as how it is either a poorly designed luxo item (on the Lexus) or I do not know how to use it.

The first notch down for the wiper stalk, is supposed to be for the Rain Sensing wipers, as long as you leave the adjustable swivel on the wiper stalk to "auto". Well, if this is in fact the setting for the Rain Sensing Wipers, then the system really blows. It pretty much triggers the wipers every 1.5 - 2 seconds regardless of the moisture. In that case, why have this feature since it uses ZERO fuzzy logic.

My BMW comes with a really neat intermittent mode that when activated, and your at a stop light, the system actually deactivates the wiper mode intermittent and doesn't start up again until you start moving.

Feedback would be appreciated...

In AUTO there is further adjustment to the sensitivey you can make by twisting the bezel with the tick marks on it.

I had this "over sensitive" problem and when I had the dealer look at they said everything was fine and never did it again. I don't know what they did, as it wasn't documented... but I would guess they cleaned my sensor off so it stopped reading false positives.

No trouble with it since then. Works like a dream in all conditions, just like it did when it was new.

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Usually mine work well. One morning they stopped working in the middle of rain! It turns out that the EZ Pass was interfering. I just had my EZ Pass moved. Lexus knows where to put the transponder so it won't interfere.

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mine work like a dream as well. However, i didnt know the stalk could control sensitivity...

my impression was that you have to change the sensitivity via opening the sensor behind the rear view mirror. There is something like that to teach you in the manual.

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Hmmm, adjustments, eh? That would make a lot of sense. I am not who needs a wipe at every possible droplet of rain, I manage just fine looking through the glass as opposed to looking at the window.

I will look into this, but I don't remember seeing any info regarding the adjustment in the owners manual.

Cheers,

MadloR

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some info from the '06 manual:

Even if the wiper lever is in the “AUTO” position, the system will

switch to variable intermittent operations in the following

conditions:

When the windshield gets extremely cold (at less than

–10C [14F])

When the system malfunctions

However, when the windshield gets extremely hot (at more

than 90C [194F]), the wipers do not operate even if the wiper

lever is in the “AUTO” position.

When the ignition switch is turned off with the wiper lever in the

“AUTO” position, and then the ignition switch is turned on

again, the automatic operation may not work even if raindrops

are on the windshield.

In this case, move the lever to another position and return it to

the “AUTO” position again

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some info from the '06 manual:

Even if the wiper lever is in the “AUTO” position, the system will

switch to variable intermittent operations in the following

conditions:

When the windshield gets extremely cold (at less than

–10C [14F])

When the system malfunctions

However, when the windshield gets extremely hot (at more

than 90C [194F]), the wipers do not operate even if the wiper

lever is in the “AUTO” position.

When the ignition switch is turned off with the wiper lever in the

“AUTO” position, and then the ignition switch is turned on

again, the automatic operation may not work even if raindrops

are on the windshield.

In this case, move the lever to another position and return it to

the “AUTO” position again

Yes, thanks, I did read about possible problems and the past week we have been experience a mild winter week.... 44F and intermittent rain... I'm thinking problem is hardware.

MadloR

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Memorize this: MIST, OFF, AUTO, LOW, HIGH. Now you don't need to see anything :)

Good idea, I'll just use the easy to remember acronym, MOALH... :P

Tom

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I loved mine ... especially now that my Acura MDX doesn't have them ... I didn't quite realize how much I appreciated them. Sometimes I had to tweek them a little sensitivity-wise, but otherwise I really enjoyed them.

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