Maybe you have a faulty sensor, my rain sensing wipers seem to work just fine and on the least sensitive setting dont seem to come on perhaps when they should be.

Mine are also not sensitive enough sometimes.

Yes you can stop them wiping. Switch them off:D

conversely I assume you can of course just turn the wipers on yourself, right?

:thumbdwn: Don't even think about water repellants. I used Rainex on the front screen of a Passat. It caused terrible smearing using the wipers in light rain at low speeds; so much so that it was almost impossible to see through the screen especially at night. I tried everything to get rid of it and I eventually replaced the screen because it was so bad.

This stuff might be OK on other windows but no way would I ever use it on a front or rear screen.

I found Rain-X needed frequent re-application (every 3-4 weeks) or it went slimy, particularly in cool weather. If you want to remove it (or anything else on your glass), try Amway metal polish (applied wet, rinsed well before it dries out). It gets glass squeaky clean.

I now use Aquapel, and am very happy with it (lasts much better than Rain-X, but costs more per application).

I saw a review and the only thing that rated OK and I can find here is the Turtle Wax product. I bought it, and I am going to give it a try these next few days on the rear side glass, as I figured these are the least important to me.

If all's ok, I might try it on the rest of the windows.

conversely I assume you can of course just turn the wipers on yourself, right?

Yes:D

Automatic has worked perfectly on an 07 for nearly 3 years untill I had a new windscreen fitted last week. Now just get the odd wipe in heavy rain (company car, need to speak to boss)!

Automatic has worked perfectly on an 07 for nearly 3 years untill I had a new windscreen fitted last week. Now just get the odd wipe in heavy rain (company car, need to speak to boss)!

Mine also went banana's after new screen fitted, they needed to fit a new sensor after that to sort the problem out. IIRC there was a modified sensor.

It's a bad design really, for the screen to be changed the sensor needs to be removed, so in fairness the application sticker really would need changing imho.