Safe Speed Forums

how good are these?

I'm buying a new van soon (merc vito 120cdi probably) and pondering the options list, saw auto wipers/headlights and thought these were a bit of a novelty but after driving for an hour and half in constantly varying light rain today, meaning constantly changing the setting on the intemittant wipe, I'm wondering how well the auto ones work, particularly anyone with a merc system. Do they really wipe once only there's a decent level of drips or are they one of those never-work-properly gimmicks you switch off and have no use for except when in pub bragging contests.

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Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

Well mine seem fairly good most of the time. They aren't perfect but they do get it right more often that I expected. Not all the time, that is.

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Andrew.

I think I might have commented on here about my initial less than impressed reaction to the rain-sensing wipers on my current Omega compared to the manually adjustable intermittent wipe on my previous one. I'd now like to revise my opinion a bit, based on seeing how the system has been performing during the recent unsummery weather...

Whilst I'd still be happier if there were an intermittent option as well as auto, for those times when the rain isn't quite heavy enough (or considerate enough to fall on the small patch of windscreen above the sensor), in the main I'm getting used to the way the auto system behaves - I'm now prepared to give the stalk a quick flick to do a single wipe when the sensor isn't detecting anything, and I really like the way the speed changes from barely active to full on turbo charged megawipe mode faster than I'd be able to do so manually when the rainfall suddenly steps up a notch or five. So on balance, I'd now prefer to keep the current system even with its little quibbles, rather than go back to a fully manual system.
And IIRC from the last time I mentioned it, others commented that their newer systems (mine is on a 02 plate car) weren't quite so fickle about the amount/location of rain required on their screens before they got a wipe.

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Chris

I've had quite a few cars with these features.

- I hate the auto lights system. I never use it. I will decide when I want the lights on.

- Sensing wipers are better on Mercs than BMWs as their software seems to respond more accurately in light rain. However, both systems are not bad and I use them all the time.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Possibly with an over ride - for the odd times when you need to conserve windscreen wash and let the rain build up a bit to get rid of some muck .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Hire car in Florida had these. You had to turn them off EVERY time you started the engine. Then it went "ding ding ding ding ding" to let you know you'd done it...?!
Grrrr...

Automatic wipers aren't fully automatic all the time. The control on my car has off, auto, 1, 2 instead of off, intermittent, 1, 2. Press down for a single wipe. They don't use the washer water at all.

Other nice features:
When you select reverse gear with the wipers on (or in automatic when it detects rain) it wipes the rear window for you. Great, although it could start wiping sooner.
When you slow down/stop the wipers slow down to intermittent mode. (even on the manual settings)

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Andrew.

not great in my experience....

the sensors are usually behind the rear view mirror which means if this bit is clear they dont bother activating.... i've found this leads to a concerning delay for aything other than uniform rain.

i.e.
sudden shower/downpour
large drops off trees
passing a truck
splash from passing car
windscreen washer chap at lights

Intermittently good.

However, I do wonder whether it's worth the effort fannying around adjusting the "sensitivity" when the old fashioned "one click of the wiper stalk = intermittent" does just as good a job.

The company I last worked for developed an automatic wiper system for a car manufacturer in the 90's. It scanned the entire screen and could distinguish between internal misting and external rain. Very clever kit, unfortunately it would cost £1k or so to fit so strangely was not taken up.

The sensor behind the mirror system on my wife's car (not bought new) does work OK a lot of the time, though of course it does miss things like drops falling from bridges.

Would I buy the option? Not for the useless autolights, however the auto-dimming mirror which is also part of the pack is a nice gadget so possibly.

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

BOY! It's another world

Don't you all realise that 'they' want you to be 'techno-slaves', not able to think for yourselves and incapable of turning on a switch at the appropriate time.

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It's tricky doing nothing - you never know when you're finished

Yeah. I don't really like the automation of ANY driver function.

I HATE those indicators that insist on giving three flashes.
I'm not interested in automatic lights or wipers.
I strongly dislike automatic gearboxes.
I'd sooner have a manual set of heater controls with air con than climate control.
I don't understand auto-dip interior mirrors. You just get dazzled in the door mirrors.
I HATE overzealous traction control that can leave you 'dead in the water'.

I'm sure there's more...

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Apart form the luxury of central locking my old jallopy hasn't a single gizmo, not even fuel injection even the windows are aerobic.

I think I'd prefer to have the wipers on at my choosing not some software engineer from Baden-Baden's. In the words of Ben Elton it's all 'garnish'.

Wasn't it Herbert Austin who refused to put heaters in his car to ensure the driver remained alert? Not to mention the two opposed schools of thought: Less distractions means more time on the job in hand vs Less things to think about means the mind can wonder off the job in hand.

Now where did I leave my starting handle?

Barkstar

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The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has limits.

I see you are a bit of a purist. For my part:

- 3 flash indicators - don't like them (I'm surprised that you don't prefer putting your arm out of the window.
- auto wipers OK; autolights definitely a no-no
- auto gearbox - wouldn't be without it in traffic
- climate control - excellent
- auto-dip (electrochromic) mirrors - I've got these on my door mirrors too and they work pretty well
- traction control - you need to be able to override it or set the level of intervention yourself.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Luddite

I wouldn't drive through choice anything other than an automatic in today's traffic.

Climate control set to 72 and left - for ever = no heater controls to alter= no unnecessary distraction.

Autodip mirrors - modern cars have autodip on the door mirrors as well.

I had automatic wipers on the Merc. I don't have them on the Jeep and I miss them. Driving yesterday, I was constantly altering the intermittent wipe settings to match the amount of spray/rain. Even down to its not raining but the motorway is wet - so you are only getting spray when overtaking. With the Merc, you just left it in automatic and it took care of itself

climate control is something I'd rank as one of the best and most overlooked safety devices ever invented. Sure you can achieve the same results with aircon and regular fiddling but with climate control once it's going never again will you see a fogged window and surely that can only be a good thing?

I didn't say that.



Yeah me too, but my intermittent wipe involves dragging an extended index finger across my visor. Sadly, it is always dependent on when I can safely let go of the bars to free said finger.

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It's tricky doing nothing - you never know when you're finished

Ahhh rain sensing wipers! A solution looking for a problem if ever there was one!
Just like auto on lights...a big fat waste of time i feel.

Many years ago Volkswagen in its wisdom introduced a new type of wiper relay made by a company called Doduco.
What it did was no different from any other intermittant wash/wipe relay but it had/has one ace up its sleeve.
The intermittant wipe is driver adjustable! Oh yes indeed.
Whats so special about that?

This.
Rain starts falling at a slow pace and the intermittant wipes too long so you have to speed up the wipe.
No farting about with knobs, just flick the switch as though youre wiping the glass as usual.
As soon as the screen fills with rain( or whatever time you want has elapsed occurs) flick it again.
This sets an internal timer which will then flick the wipers at the same interval on the next wipe cycle.
It might not seem like a big deal until you realise that its infinitely variable by the driver as and when HE wants. Rain speeds up, flick the switch to speed the interval up. Spot on!
Youre not constrained to have it set by the manufacturer who cant possibly program in all the intervals youd need or go faffing with a knob to find out youve just run Mable over.....

Its simple, its effective, its driver controllable. It used to cost 17 quid and would retrofit most veedubs.
Why cant everything in life be as easy as that to use?

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"Safety" Scamera Partnerships;
Profitting from death and misery since 1993.

Believe nothing- Question everything.

My son has one on his Skoda Felicia. He reckons it's the car's best feature - second only to the 'Skoda' badge

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It's tricky doing nothing - you never know when you're finished

I'm no techno slave. I'm a programmer!

I just wish I could re-program my car...

Auto-wipers aren't good because they turn on when it's raining and turn off when it stops. They are good because they adjust speed with the level of rain, and a lot of the time they can do it quite well, which means I don't have to. I turn them on and off manually. (except when it's been raining a bit and I've had it in auto mode and the rain stopped before I got home)

I came across the minimum three flashes indicators on a VW Polo the other day. That confused me for a while! I managed to get it down to two if you hold the stalk down for long enough.
Crazy. One full flash maybe, but not three.

I quite like the fully automatic climate control I have, but it isn't controllable enough. Firstly it doesn't display the current temperature! How could they have overlooked that?! If I had more control (like fully automatic but NO air conditioning, min/max temperatures, or possibly the ability to set outside temperature +- x degrees) then it would be great.

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Andrew.

That would be some car to air condition the world...