Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers = Not Good.

[Tom K.]

I have a brand new 2011 Avalon Limited and it has Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers. I hate them. They don't work well at all. If it's lightly raining it get's to the point where I can barley see out of the windshield until the wipers kick in.....and then they might do one pass......then......they stop........and then when the rain practically stops....they might start to make 4 or 5 fast random passes.

I wish there was a way for me to disable them and just use conventional intermittent wipers.

Does anyone else here have any experience with Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers?

BTW....I have tried changing sensitivity levels. It makes no difference whatsoever.

[TrailDust]

Your experience is exactly why I don't like "automatic" systems as I don't trust them and they all too often fail or perform poorly. I like to do that stuff myself. Just some two cents....

[Tom in Tacoma]

I love the rain-sensing wipers. In WA State it rains fairly often but not very heavily. The auto wipers take the needed swipe when I need them to and will go 'on' when it rains heavy. True, there are times when they go 'on' when not needed. When that happens I just bump the stalk to 'off' and then right back to the auto position and all's well again.

Not to change the topic but I run silicone wiper blades that cause the raindrops to bead up on the windshield so I'm, in effect, looking through the raindrops or they're running up the windshield at speed. That might contribute to my liking the auto-wipers. You can check them out at http://www.silblade.com They're kinda expensive but come with a 5-year warranty.

[MAToyotaSales]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

I have a brand new 2011 Avalon Limited and it has Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers. I hate them. They don't work well at all. If it's lightly raining it get's to the point where I can barley see out of the windshield until the wipers kick in.....and then they might do one pass......then......they stop........and then when the rain practically stops....they might start to make 4 or 5 fast random passes.

I wish there was a way for me to disable them and just use conventional intermittent wipers.

Does anyone else here have any experience with Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers?

BTW....I have tried changing sensitivity levels. It makes no difference whatsoever.

I have used them in probably 50 different cars, although only 3 that I had for a long term period. The BMW system is flawless, and by far the best. When it starts to rain, you have to turn them on then they do the rest. That's the only thing I dont like about the Toyota system. They are always on when the stalk is in rain sensing position. So if it stops raining and you go through a car wash they go off. And If you start the car in the morning with the windshield covered in snow, they go off brushing a foot of snow into the car

Other than that, I love them and couldn't be more happy. I can not STAND constantly adjusting the wipers. I will admit I had a bit of frustration with the Avalons sensor, until I realised it takes 5 seconds or so for your sensitivity selection to go into effect. I leave mine all the way up and it works great. It even goes into super high speed if it needs to, BMW requires you to manually use the fast speed.

However, the worst one Ive used was Cadillac. Granted it was a 1997 model (came in on trade last year with only 8 thousand miles) they were awful. The slightest drop of rain would set the sensor off even on the lowest setting, causing the dry wipers to drag across the windshield. And sometimes in the middle of pouring rain they would just stop and reset.

Funny thing is, I think my favorite wipers were on older BMWs before rain sensors. When you came to a stop they slowed to half speed until you started moving again. I suppose rain sensing does the same thing though.

[Tom K.]

Then something must be wrong with my sensor...because it is so erratic and barley works at all.

[grandpapa]

in works ok in our 05 and 06 and really have no issue. think you can turn it off (not sure about the 2011) and use it just like any normal wiper.

I don't drive the Avalon much but I know my wife put in on AUTO all the time, don't think she has any problem though

[JBParadiso]

My 2007 works perfectly. Took me a while to get the sensitivity right, but works well now. This is a feature I will be looking for in all of my future purchases. You might try cleaning your sensor with a soft cloth. I believe the sensor is located on the rear view mirror. If it's dirty, that could be the cause. If not, I would take it in for warranty service. There's no reason for you to have to fight it.

[Tom K.]

Get a load of this. I was backing out of my driveway and it was raining lightly. I tapped the sensor with my finger and it started working. During the rain that day which varied from mist to light rain to heavy rain the auto sensing wiper system performed amazingly well. I'm thinking by me tapping it shook something into place or whatever. I'll tell the dealership about it and hopefully they can see the problem.

[MAToyotaSales]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Get a load of this. I was backing out of my driveway and it was raining lightly. I tapped the sensor with my finger and it started working. During the rain that day which varied from mist to light rain to heavy rain the auto sensing wiper system performed amazingly well. I'm thinking by me tapping it shook something into place or whatever. I'll tell the dealership about it and hopefully they can see the problem.

Hmm, loose connection? That's one of those "I knew I wasnt crazy" moments.

[Tom in Tacoma]

Blame it on 'Murphy'...

[joedr]

Yeah, & that little tap on the mechanism probably saved you $75 at the dealer.

[gypsyjoe11]

I bought a new 2011 and it just turned 2200 miles. The rain sensor is horrible. Doesn't matter which auto intermintent setting I put it in. It either goes nuts at warp speed when there's nothing on the windshield or it doesn't come on hardly at all.

I wish they sold a conversion kit to put it back the way it was.

[grandpapa]

i have no trouble with the auto wiper, works fine on my 05 and my past 06.

[copter]

Does anyone know if I replace the windshield with a non rain sensing one if I will get the variable speed back?

[SilenTempest]

Is there a better explanation for the auto sensing wipers witht he odd "-" "+" dial. I have no clue what it means.