[jbinbi]

am i missing something, or is there no way to put on the rear window wiper without it first squirting water out first?

to put it on, i push the wiper stalk, which also washes it. is there another way to turn it on that I don't know about? thanks.

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

am i missing something, or is there no way to put on the rear window wiper without it first squirting water out first?

to put it on, i push the wiper stalk, which also washes it. is there another way to turn it on that I don't know about? thanks.

You are pushing the stalk too hard, just push to first indent and you will get rear wiper with no water spray. Push a bit harder and you get the spray.

[saulgoodman]

Originally Posted by tuco44

You are pushing the stalk too hard, just push to first indent and you will get rear wiper with no water spray. Push a bit harder and you get the spray.

there is now way to find out if the rear wiper is on/off without pushing it back or pulling it front. Either way you end up spraying your windshield or rear window , funny thing is even the rear wiper is rain sensing...sometimes you think it's turned off.

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by sivakumarbalu

there is now way to find out if the rear wiper is on/off without pushing it back or pulling it front. Either way you end up spraying your windshield or rear window , funny thing is even the rear wiper is rain sensing...sometimes you think it's turned off.

If you gently push it to the first indent, it does NOT activate the washer. Try it.

[n55x3]

Originally Posted by sivakumarbalu

funny thing is even the rear wiper is rain sensing...sometimes you think it's turned off.

Wow didn't know this! Does it only go into auto mode when you turn the front wipers to auto?

Also, I agree the stalk design for the rear wipers is pretty annoying. On the small occasions I do use the rear wiper I always end up spraying the rear washer when trying to activate the rear wiper.

[Le Chef]

If you push to the first indent, as Tuco says, you just get a wipe. Push harder and you will feel resistance, which is when the washer works.

[jbinbi]

Originally Posted by n55x3

Wow didn't know this! Does it only go into auto mode when you turn the front wipers to auto?
.

anyone know the answer to this? when it is raining, i normally just push the button on the end to turn on auto sensing. then i push the stalk for the rear and always get a spray of water, clearly i didn't know to push gently...

but if i already turned the rear onto autosensing, no need to do anything. I am not sure this is the case, as I have pushed the autosensing for the front, and nothing happens to the rear.

[April1]

I know front side always get more rain water than the rear and both wipers may not work in sync. But I never noticed that just by enabling the auto rain sensor, rear wiper is also set to auto. I had to manually turn the rear wiper on. It was a surprize to me to learn that even rear wiper has rain sensor.

[saulgoodman]

Originally Posted by n55x3

Wow didn't know this! Does it only go into auto mode when you turn the front wipers to auto?

Yes if the front wiper put into Auto then Rear wiper also becomes rain sensing too (if the stalk pushed back).

I see the speed is getting adjusted based on the front wiper and sometimes it's stops automatically.

[Nahoa]

In mine the rear wiper seems to be intermittent but not rain sensing. It'll keep wiping even if front and back are completely dry. If put into reverse when it's on it switches to continuous wiping.

[April1]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

In mine the rear wiper seems to be intermittent but not rain sensing. It'll keep wiping even if front and back are completely dry. If put into reverse when it's on it switches to continuous wiping.

I believe I have exactly the same behavior on my car.

[Le Chef]

Mine too. No apparent auto sensing on the rear wiper.

[TigerFan]

Originally Posted by April1

I believe I have exactly the same behavior on my car.

[02420X3]

+1

[dnw]

The recent posters are correct. The auto sensor controls the front wipers ONLY. Easy to test- put it on next time it rains and drive into a covered car park. The front will stop almost immediately, the rear will continue intermittently.

[robwoods]

I think what is being missed here is what sivakumarbalu was hinting at. Th problem with the rear wiper function is that you can't tell what position the stalk is in.

When you first turn the car on, if the stalk was left in the rear wipers 'on' position, the rear wipers don't activate. But you can't tell whether that is because the stalk is in the 'off' position or not.

The only way to find out is to either push it away or towards yourself, which results in a squirt of water at one end of the car or the other if the stalk was actually in the 'on' position to begin with.

BMW should redesign the software so that if the stalk is left in the 'on' position when the car is stopped, then the rear wipers should activate when the car is next started.

[jbinbi]

Tried a gentle push on the rt stalk to not have any spray for the rear. Still got some spray, not as much as I normally do. Tried several times. Does not seem to be a way for it not to spray when turning on the rear wiper. If this is not the case, pls give me a hint!

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Tried a gentle push on the rt stalk to not have any spray for the rear. Still got some spray, not as much as I normally do. Tried several times. Does not seem to be a way for it not to spray when turning on the rear wiper. If this is not the case, pls give me a hint!

The push is very slight, more like a finger tip push. It should not give you water. If it does, and your touch is very light, maybe your switch is defective.

[saulgoodman]

Originally Posted by robwoods

I think what is being missed here is what sivakumarbalu was hinting at. Th problem with the rear wiper function is that you can't tell what position the stalk is in.
.

Yes, that is correct. For last 2-3 days I left the stalk 'on' for Rear Wiper, since its been raining intermittently. When I put the front wiper to Auto then rear wiper starts functioning automatically, I also noticed it stopped when there is no rain..that is when front wiper stops functioning (stalk on & auto on)

So this made me to assume that rear wiper is also rain sensing, but doesn't look like that from other posts (i did notice the rear wiper speed varies). May be it's smart enough to stop function if the front wiper stops even if you leave the stalk on.

[MetaX]

I agree that the rear wiper is definitely not rain sensing on its own. If anything it'll be linked to the front wiper's operation with the assumption that if the fronts aren't seeing any rain, then the rear doesn't need to move either. Also, its pretty clear that there isn't a sensor in the rear just by looking at it (the rain sensor is in the puck that the rear view mirror is attached to...it needs to be in the wiping zone).

[April1]

I checked up in my 2011 X3, rear wiper is not linked to front side wiper during auto mode. I m not sure of later models or if there is a software update to take care of it.

[Nahoa]

Originally Posted by robwoods

I think what is being missed here is what sivakumarbalu was hinting at. Th problem with the rear wiper function is that you can't tell what position the stalk is in.

When you first turn the car on, if the stalk was left in the rear wipers 'on' position, the rear wipers don't activate. But you can't tell whether that is because the stalk is in the 'off' position or not.

The only way to find out is to either push it away or towards yourself, which results in a squirt of water at one end of the car or the other if the stalk was actually in the 'on' position to begin with.

BMW should redesign the software so that if the stalk is left in the 'on' position when the car is stopped, then the rear wipers should activate when the car is next started.

I don't get it. Can't tell? Just look at it. The difference in the positions is certainly noticeable. Can also feel with your fingertips; again the different positions are easily discernible.