Windshield wiper behaves erratically

[Woodrick]

Maybe Tesla thought I would get a sun shower

Be funny all you want. But this is a generic issue that has been around for years. It simply is what it is.

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[Dedmo]

Does the wiper setting change to “auto” when cruise control is activated?

 

[Woodrick]

Does the wiper setting change to “auto” when cruise control is activated?

It will in the future with FSD, I suspect.

 

[PhilEsq]

Be funny all you want. But this is a generic issue that has been around for years. It simply is what it is.

Exactly! This is not something Tesla should be known for.

 

[PhilEsq]

It will in the future with FSD, I suspect.

That's not good unless they fix the problem.

 

[Woodrick]

That's not good unless they fix the problem.

Wow, what a revelation that 2,000,000 Tesla drivers have never realized.

 

[PhilEsq]

Wow, what a revelation that 2,000,000 Tesla drivers have never realized.

This is my first Tesla, so I never experienced a windshield wiper system that wipes the windshield when it's not raining. If it doesn't bother you, that's fine, but it bothers me. If everyone complained, they would spend the $2 mentioned in this thread for the sensor.

 

[Woodrick]

This is my first Tesla, so I never experienced a windshield wiper system that wipes the windshield when it's not raining. If it doesn't bother you, that's fine, but it bothers me. If everyone complained, they would spend the $2 mentioned in this thread for the sensor.

That question has never been asked before. Why not tweet it to Elon?

In other words, it is today what it is today. Tomorrow may be different.

Oh, and that $2 sensor is a LOT more expensive than just the sensor. You have to mount it, you have to run sensor wires back to the computer, you have to wire it into a connector, you have to have a port on the computer to read it.

But then you basically have to throw all of that away, because Tesla correctly decided that the driver should be responsible for knowing when to turn it on.

And the driver is FSD.

And hence the current small subset of mostly old code that Tesla has on the Cybertruck to run the basic functions will get replaced when FSD is ported.

I'm not saying that the wiper will be perfect when the truck gets FSD, but it probably will be different.

But again, there are 6,000,000 other Teslas on the road today. They all have basically the same code running in them.

 

[tmeyer3]

On sunny, cloudless days the cameras can get weird when the sun is low in the sky. If it falsely thinks your camera is dirty from glare that is just right, it will try to wipe it clean.

 

[Bhcyber]

The wiper auto adjusts sometimes for aerodynamics. This is by design and addressed in the manual I beleive. It also comes up in a new thread here about once a week.

for aerodynamics At 75 miles per hour? I could see the wiper getting jiggly with the air pushing on it. It gets me worried it will get blown away at that speed,

 

[PhilEsq]

My windshield wiper motor was replaced yesterday under the recall. The service rep at Tesla said that there is software built into the wiper motor that had a problem and that it should work better now. Previously it was not only erratic when it was not raining but I had been in several downpours and the wiper did not turn on. It was actually dangerous because it started raining so hard and quickly that I could not see while I was trying to figure out how to get the wiper to run without continually pressing the button.

After the wiper motor was replaced it acted erratically only one time so far. After I left Tesla the wiper came down and stayed at the bottom of the windshield for about 1 minute and then went back up.

 

[sgmorton]

Ok as looooong time Tesla owner and one of the the first CT owners let me tell you what is happening as far as we can tell. The wipers are automatic based on vision(AI) from the front 3 cameras, when they detect something blocking them they will try and clear it. This could be a bug, dirt, rain, a shadow or sun shining in and blinding the camera. Depending on the speed you are traveling and the amount of "rain" it detects it may pause the wiper at the bottom of the windshield to allow water to run off the sides. If it immediately retracted to the up position the water it just wiped down would blow back up the windshield, I have noticed this behavior is limited to low or no water conditions and almost always when moving but less than highway speed. Maybe between 20 and 50mph. If you leave it there it will return to upright within 1 minute ... which seems like forever if you are waiting for it.

The Auto is enabled when engaging any system that relies on vision, so that's everything from TACC to AP, EAP and FSD. It does this to ensure the cameras can see. If the down position is to much a bother to wait for, click the wiper on the steering when and disable auto on the screen and it will immediately return to upright.

Tesla has struggled with AI Based wipers since 2016 I've seen many iterations of "we fixed it" or "it's much better" only to see the regression on the next release. The thing you have to remember and what I tell myself every time is that they are wiping not only for my vision but for the cameras as well.

 

[65SoYoLO]

If the down position is to much a bother to wait for, click the wiper on the steering when and disable auto on the screen and it will immediately return to upright.

Nope. It does not always return to upright. It does turn on when NOT in auto mode, it wil turn on in OFF mode. In order for it to return to upright sometime I have to move it to any position, auto, I, II or III then to off. And then, it will decide to turn on at random times during the trip. It is stupid that this is not fixed.

 

[PhilEsq]

Ok as looooong time Tesla owner and one of the the first CT owners let me tell you what is happening as far as we can tell. The wipers are automatic based on vision(AI) from the front 3 cameras, when they detect something blocking them they will try and clear it. This could be a bug, dirt, rain, a shadow or sun shining in and blinding the camera. Depending on the speed you are traveling and the amount of "rain" it detects it may pause the wiper at the bottom of the windshield to allow water to run off the sides. If it immediately retracted to the up position the water it just wiped down would blow back up the windshield, I have noticed this behavior is limited to low or no water conditions and almost always when moving but less than highway speed. Maybe between 20 and 50mph. If you leave it there it will return to upright within 1 minute ... which seems like forever if you are waiting for it.

The Auto is enabled when engaging any system that relies on vision, so that's everything from TACC to AP, EAP and FSD. It does this to ensure the cameras can see. If the down position is to much a bother to wait for, click the wiper on the steering when and disable auto on the screen and it will immediately return to upright.

Tesla has struggled with AI Based wipers since 2016 I've seen many iterations of "we fixed it" or "it's much better" only to see the regression on the next release. The thing you have to remember and what I tell myself every time is that they are wiping not only for my vision but for the cameras as well.

Thanks! BTW, previously, it would do what it wanted even when set to Off. I'll see how if behaves with the new motor/software. When down, it does seem like forever. I tried pressing the button and sometimes it will stay up and sometimes it goes back down. Now, that I have the new motor/software, I'll just have to live with its behavior. It just seemed weird coming from driving Mercedes and other cars that have wipers that work flawlessly, and I was concerned the wiper could scratch the windshield if it worked when dry.

 

[Hunky Dory]

I have a 2014 Buick that occasionally thinks it's raining when it is not, and it has a sensor in the windshield. This is not just a Tesla thing.

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