Auto wipers / lights

[crampedsky]

Has anybody got automatic windscreen wiper and lights in their Rapid?

 

Daughter ordered this as an extra and we are far from pleased with how it works. The windscreen has to be absolutely covered in water, to the point you can't see through it, for the wipers to come on. Once they are on they are fine, until they stop and the whole cycle of fun starts again. The lights are the opposite, they are on all the time, even when the sun is shining (not that we get that much of it ). When I say lights, I mean main beam, not DLR.

 

Skoda UK tell me the garage needs to check the system. The garage has tested the system and found no faults, yet when we went for a short drive they reluctantly and through greeted teeth agreed that it was not very good. One of their tests was to pour water over the windscreen using a very narrow spout watering can, The screen wipers kicked into action as soon as the sensor got hit by the stream of water directed straight at it. If only rain or water spray from trucks or cars,  followed that pattern!

 

They tell me that as part of their protocol,  they need to test the car against one exactly the same, Given this was a not very cheap optional extra, it could take a long time for another spaceback of the same spec to turn up. This to me is just a delaying tactic, as it will only prove the sensor in their car is just as rubbish as in ours.

 

So altogether not very happy with this extra or how things are being handled at the moment. We have a Golf with the same system and it's brilliant but then the sensor on the windscreen is a lot bigger and seems to have 2 sensors on it, pretty much the same type of unit I spotted on a couple of skodas in the showroom.

 

Seems my daughter got a badly designed and generally pretty rubbish sensor and I have a battle on my hands, but I refuse to give up and let them get away with a clearly substandard product which does not perform the way it should, Substandard in any way except price.

 

Any help in how to approach this would be appreciated it. The people at the dealership have been friendly enough but at the end of the day they represent Skoda's and their own interests, not those of my daughter.

 

Sorry about the long post but I'm a little angry and  very disappointed. 

 

[glosrich]

Have you tried adjusting the sensitivity on the little switch on top of the wiper stalk?

[crampedsky]

Have you tried adjusting the sensitivity on the little switch on top of the wiper stalk?

 

I have yes, .and it does get them to move every time that little switch is used but  doing that would render the system to be no longer automatic and thus not worth the extra money paid

[chrisgreen]

I have found auto wipers on cars to generally be a bit crap (and very annoying). However, that does sound like either a particularly poor implementation or indeed a faulty sensor.

I don't think you can adjust sensitivity on the stalk (the switch on the wiper stalk is for controlling the speed of the intermittent wipers setting), but it may be possible to adjust sensitivity via VCDS or the dealer diagnostics platform.

Otherwise, it probably needs a new windscreen sensor (doable without replacing the actual screen - the sensor usually just sticks on and is normally recycled in the event of a screen replacement).

[crampedsky]

I have found auto wipers on cars to generally be a bit crap (and very annoying). However, that does sound like either a particularly poor implementation or indeed a faulty sensor.

I don't think you can adjust sensitivity on the stalk (the switch on the wiper stalk is for controlling the speed of the intermittent wipers setting), but it may be possible to adjust sensitivity via VCDS or the dealer diagnostics platform.

Otherwise, it probably needs a new windscreen sensor (doable without replacing the actual screen - the sensor usually just sticks on and is normally recycled in the event of a screen replacement).

 

Apparently there is no tweaks they can do at all, the sensor either works or it doesn't. The switch on the stalk supposedly does adjusts sensitivity but it doesn't really address my main problem.

 

The way I see it, this is just a crappy sensor not fit for purpose. I know they can change it and ideally that's what I would like, if only I could get either someone at the dealership or SUK to see it my way.

 

I'be had auto wipers in a number of cars, and while I admit they can be a little temperamental, this system is by far the worse one I've seen

[SuperbTWM]

I don't think you can blame the auto features of the lights and wipers for being rubbish, I enabled the auto wiper feature on my superb yesterday and just a tiny flick of water off my hand activated the wipers and that was on the lowest sensitivity setting. If your lights are coming on during the daytime when there is plenty of light I don't think Skoda can deny that there is a problem with the sensor.

 

I would persist with them until they do something about it. They will get sick of fobbing you off eventually and do something about it

[theandywaite]

I have a Ford with auto lights and wipers.

 

The auto lights work well, but the auto wipers sound just like you describe on the Skoda - pretty pointless as it takes a lot of water to activate them.  On a couple of occasions already I have been almost blind from spray on the screen before giving up and manually activating them.

 

I suppose the difference is I didn't pay extra - they came on the trim level I was getting anyway.  I'd be annoyed if I'd forked out extra for it as an option.

 

 

 

(FYI my wife drives a Rapid Spaceback, which is why I hang around on this forum :P)

[crampedsky]

After a lot of pushing, the car is going back to the dealership. They've ordered another sensor just like the one already fitted in the car and maybe change it. I was told that the Octavia has exactly the same sensor and that's what will be fitted in the car.

 

I'm pleased and grateful  they are actually taking some action but at the same time I have lost some faith in the after sales service and  I remain a little sceptical 

 

Why should it take someone kicking up a fuss to be taken seriously?.  I'm not afraid of making a nuisance of myself  and my family will happily testify that I do that without even trying,  but a lot of people just cannot be bothered with all the aggravation. 

 

I know Skoda are a budget brand but they are hardly giving them away and my daughter is spending a fairly substantial amount of money on a new car that was meant to give her peace of mind whilst being stress free.

 

Whatever happened to putting the client first?  If this is the way things work when the paint on the car is still fresh I hate to think what will happen should a problem develop after a year or 2.

[RiderXXL]

I have had it on a Vw Polo 6R and my dad got it on the Vw Passat CC, I am not happy with the auto wipers of Vw (VAG group?).

I also had it on a Ford Focus 2007 and there the wipers workerd very wel an was very happy with it.

 

Auto lights were the same on all cars and worked fine... greetzz

[Vtronic]

I figured that if i manually activate the wipers for the first time and then return the lever on the automatic position, then they work properly and self regulate based on the amount of rain falling.

Worth a try

Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone using Tapatalk

[Rednaxela]

Our Rapid and my Polo both have the rain sensor.

It works ok for us, but we do have to leave the sensitivity to maximum all the time. (All the way to the right)

I haven't had it on any other car, so can't comment about other systems.

It does sound like yours has a bad sensor.

[crampedsky]

I figured that if i manually activate the wipers for the first time and then return the lever on the automatic position, then they work properly and self regulate based on the amount of rain falling.

Worth a try

Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks, that's the way we get it to work. Unfortunately, doing that completely nullifies the "automatic" feature that Skoda  sells and charges £250 as an optional extra.

 

 

Our Rapid and my Polo both have the rain sensor.

It works ok for us, but we do have to leave the sensitivity to maximum all the time. (All the way to the right)

I haven't had it on any other car, so can't comment about other systems.

It does sound like yours has a bad sensor.

 

I have had the auto wipers-lights in a number of  makes and they have all worked to some degree. This one is without a doubt the worse one. I still don't think the sensor is bad though, I think the sensor is badly designed and way too small, requiring rain drops to hit it in a very precise fashion for it to work, this would also explain the lights being on most of the time, even when the sun is out.

 

In other words, the "eye" of the sensor is so small that it thinks it's dark all the time and can't see rain unless it's a deluge. Hopefully the one I have been told will be fitted has a better design.

 

As it stands, it is a very expensive extra and certainly not worth it.

[Vtronic]

Thanks, that's the way we get it to work. Unfortunately, doing that completely nullifies the "automatic" feature that Skoda sells and charges £250 as an optional extra.

I have had the auto wipers-lights in a number of makes and they have all worked to some degree. This one is without a doubt the worse one. I still don't think the sensor is bad though, I think the sensor is badly designed and way too small, requiring rain drops to hit it in a very precise fashion for it to work, this would also explain the lights being on most of the time, even when the sun is out.

In other words, the "eye" of the sensor is so small that it thinks it's dark all the time and can't see rain unless it's a deluge. Hopefully the one I have been told will be fitted has a better design.

As it stands, it is a very expensive extra and certainly not worth it.

Yes, but still it moves accordingly to the intensity of rainfall, once "activated".

That's ok for me.

Anyways, hope you will find a solution!

As for the lights, you should be able to set the sensitivity of the sensor in the car menu.

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Edited 11 February, 2016 by Vtronic