Is it possible to turn off the automatic wipers? I am finding it very annoying that I am regularly having to put them on the constant setting to slow them down, or having to change the setting so they wipe when I need them to - i would much rather have the 4 intermittant speed settings.

Thank you in anticipation of lots of helpful answers...

Don't think so. I too would prefer a standard intermittent wipe. The auto are OK about 80% of the time but have a mind of their own the other 20%

No, unless you switch off the funtion, but you can't have intermittemt instead

Thank you both for your replies

Don't want to post the obvious, but have you tried adjusting the sensitivity control on the top of the wiper stalk all the way to the left (towards the steering column)?

you have the stick in it's normal position of off.

One down = single wipe, 1 up = auto but you can leave that on minimum, 2 up = normal speed, 3 up = full speed.

I don't see how that's any worse than normal intermittent.

Well I was hoping that on my new facelifted model they would have sorted this out but its still as bad as they were on my 05 model.

Altering the sensitivity control has very little effect on the way that the auto wipers work.

They still wipe when the screen is nearly dry and dont when its wet.

They sometimes go onto full speed wipe when they dont need to.

They still stop when the car is stationary which I consider dangerous.

On a good note at least the bloody annoying extra wipe after screenwashing has been dumped.

Cheeze, I don't think you've got the point, which unfortunately I did cos i've got auto wipers. :0(

As EGC said, the auto wipers are a bit hit & miss sometimes and many, many people would prefer to have the old fashioned 80's, pre-technology, intermittant wipers cos it's generally more controllable. The slowest setting in every car i've had them on was VERY intermittant and fine for the very lightest drizzle, but the least sensitive setting on these auto-wipers can be very overly sensitive to the extent that you wonder what the hell it's actually tryint to wipe away?!

That's why people want the non-technology, old fashioned option as a lot of us simply feel it's better as it's more user-friendly, more efficient, more controllable and just generally less frustrating! I was quite giddy when I heard it was a standard option on my car, having not had it before, but now after owning it 9 months I would DEFINITELY prefer it, but it's not optional on an L&K.

(either that or have the sensitivity more controllable via VAG-COM or whatever).

I've got auto wipers and if I leave the sensitivity on minimum then I can use the stalk exactly as I used to use the plain intermittent wipe of old.

you have the stick in it's normal position of off.

One down = single wipe, 1 up = auto but you can leave that on minimum, 2 up = normal speed, 3 up = full speed.

I don't see how that's any worse than normal intermittent.

I know how to work my wipers, I would rather have the manual control which is regular and four speed settings rather than the auto wipe which is sporadic and a pain in the ar5e. If I have to put up with it I will, but I just wondered if there was any way to revert to the manual settings.

I'm good, thanks for asking Simeon, you? Oh, look another grey day - yippee . At least I'm at work and it's grey and not beaming sunshine.

It is possible to uncode the rainsensor. But this will also undo the car of some other features. AFAIK the light sensor in the rain sensor will also be without function, this will influence the boardingspots, tunnellights etc.

Sounds to me like you may need new wipers or the wiondscreen cleaned properly - the only time I've had problems with ours has been when the wipers were leaving a streak over the sensor or when the screen was greasy and was leaving a smear over the senor.

Bit of a flippant comment don't you think Skomaz? My car is kept in showroom condition and it still does it, annoyingly! I think you're possibly just a little less bothered by it than the majority posting on this thread. Everyone's works as Skoda intended, just not the most efficiently or best way to control it as far as we're concerned

Cheeze, you've lost me: if you set it to minimum and that supposedly gives you the old-fashioned intermittant wipe where each notch is a specified time interval between wipes as opposed to when the sensor designates it, how do you decrease the interval times?? With old style intermittant wipe, you move the switch on top to decrease the ammout of time between sweeps so keeping it at the minimum setting can't give you controllable intermittant wiping, as you can't change the time variable?

This is what the majority of users on this post want. Not sure if you're getting it confused with something else?

Blackspaven - The comment wasn't meant to be flippant it was an honest comment intended to help bearing in mind I know nothing about how you look after your car - but apologies if it was taken the wrong way.

The OP did ask if the auto part could be disabled but the discussion then seemed to change with comments being passed that some worked fine and others didn't so I just thought I'd add my experience in an attempt to assist. It may have been an obvious point but sometimes people miss the obvious.

Anyhow - you obviously you feel that your wipers are not working properly and would prefer a manual arrangement but as far as I know that isn't possible (although I'm sure others may know different). If it proves not to be possible then you may need to make the best of what you have. Hence have you thought about getting the sensor changed? I recall that some owners have had problems with the sensors and thier fitting to the windscreen (particularly after having replacement screens fitted) so could this be a way forward for you?

The sensitivity of the sensor has not changed since I bought the car new last year. It is as annoying as it has always been and it is not the fact that it is working incorrectly - I just want to have control over how intermittant the wipe is as I had on my old Fabia classic. I prefer a regular intermittent wipe opposed to it constantly changing due to the amount of water affecting the sensor.

It is very annoying in very light rain when on the old Fabia I would have just have it on the lowest intermittent speed, whereas now I find it easier to do a manual wipe than rely on the automatic wipers to either move in the first place, or be hyper sensitive and move at top speed as a drop landed on the sensor. *******It is an annoyance as opposed to a fault.*******

It was a fair comment Skomaz re the cleanliness of the car as my car does not live in a garage and it is not cleaned or maintained as regularly as many on here would think was normal. As this post began I do not believe the cleanliness is the cause of this problem.

This is my first car to feature auto wipers and I have to say I am very impressed with them! I hope they stay that way. I'm not a fan of cruise control and thought I'd feel the same about auto wipers, but I love them. Maybe worth getting the sensor checked-out.

(I still find cruise control more stressful than useful....wondering if this bloke will pass me before I reach the guy in front....or should I just pull out and let him knock his control off....type of worry).

Fair play Skomaz, I think it's just that people are getting miffed with the way the auto wipers work, not that they aren't actually working. I've also heard that putting Rain-X or similar products on the screen can affect how it works but it's not down to cleanliness, on my car at least.

It's very annoying, even though it IS how Skoda intended them to work. I'm with Sheep on this one; a lot of the time, in light rain I don't bother having them on and just keep flicking down to wipe manually. Bit frustrating when there's no way of changing from auto to manual really, and I think that's the main point.

Broadpete, hopefully you can get the gist that there's nothing actually wrong with the sensor or the system, it's just not user friendly for some owners. It's the first car i've had them on, and I personally wouldn't have them again. It's the same for Tunnel Lights for me as they come on when it's far too light and are non-adjustable. And Cruise Control is there as well, but I never use it, personally. Just hammers your fuel efficiency. A lot of toys I love that are standard on my car, but those i'm not so jazzed about.

The sensor can be adjusted via vagcom IIRC.

Ours is fine and spot on. If it's a bit too fast, we simply adjust the sensitivity down via the stalk switch. usually we never need it above 2/3 to be fast enough without being mental. On min should be just like intermittant in mist/light rain.

IIRC, the adjustment is the same as with the lights, ie. they're not THAT adjustable. I know it's incredibly marginal if any difference on the light assist, but i don't know about the auto wipers; just having a sneaking suspicion it's pretty pointless going the vagcom route, if you get my drift.

Especially in the summer.

The screen gets greasy very easily, and you really have to give it some elbow grease to get it all off sometimes.

Mmmmmm....another big NO to automatic wipers !!

Drove in rain yesterday for 1st time and wot a frustration.

Intermittent doesn't work, ran continuously or at high speed, when only the shortest intermittent setting was necessary.

Do the adjustments on the Intermittent setting make any difference....didn't try this?

Is there not a wire could be snipped to disconnect the rain sensor?

Otherwise pleased withcontrols, especially cruise !!

:confused:

had them on my mkii L&K and they worked perfectly for the whole time i had the car. I miss them now as my vrs doesnt have them. seems a bit of a lottery as whether you get a working set or not

I don't have them on my vRS, but I did have them on my old 182 Clio. There were a few Clio owners who disliked the auto-wipers, however, I thought they were marvellous! I'm really a bit annoyed that I no longer have them (or auto-lights or cruise control for that matter).

They don't make rain like they used to. A couple of years ago first gear for the wipers was all I used. Now I rarely get to touch it. Various degrees of intermittent do the job.

Took Mike's advice today and cleaned the screen and wipers with commual garden vinegar for your chips. What a difference, I thought the wiper blades were shot until I did this, so you have saved me £20 +.

thanks for that