Intermittent wiper mode (1 Viewer)

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I'm having some issues with my wipers. They work fine on the slow and fast speed but when I try the auto, aside from the initial swipe, no more action regardless of my adjusting the speed/regularity. Anyone experience this?
 
I'm having some issues with my wipers. They work fine on the slow and fast speed but when I try the auto, aside from the initial swipe, no more action regardless of my adjusting the speed/regularity. Anyone experience this?

Hmmm... I would have thought auto means it controls ITSELF...but I dunno, since my 08 doesn't have that.

I'm curious now, since I thought auto meant AUTO (beyond your control).
 
Is the windshield wet? Seems obvious but they'll only go on with moisture on the windshield...
 
Yes, that is the annoying part. I have moisture on the windshield and I am forced to remove it manually. Could the sensor on the windshield be faulty? It looks fine, no cracks.
 
Funny you should mention this, as I just started having this issue last week. When my wipers are set to auto, they "intermittently " work when the windshield is wet. Sometimes as expected, sometimes nothing, and I have to turn them "on" (set to low).....
Anyone know where the moisture sensor is?
 
I deactivated the auto feature and just use the good ol intermittent wiper function. The auto never worked for me.
 
I had this happen to me and had it fixed at Toyota. Sensor came unglued from the windshield or was loose in its enclosure. The LC had 700 miles on it so WTF?!?! The sensor is located in front of the rear view mirror in an enclosure.
 
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this happens to me when i first start the truck (if it's raining or there's heavy dew). i push the lever down to clear the windshield and then push it back to auto and it works fine for me - now, it doesn't *always* wipe when i want it to, but if i wait - which i have - it does wipe before it becomes dangerous. it also seems to get better with timing the wipers as i drive... it seems to me that the sensor looks for changes in front of the sensor, so doesn't do a good job until you clear the windshield manually. no idea, this is just a guess.

the biggest problem i've had with auto is when i enter my parking garage at work... it's 20 degrees warmer in there, so the windows immediately fog in cool weather with heavy humidity. that will make the auto wipers immediately go into fast mode to try to keep the windshield clear... so i have to turn on the defrost to slow them down and eventually stop them (or, of course, turn them off).
 
Cody, I was not aware the auto mode could be deactivated. I would prefer to go the old fashioned intermittent route...I can't find out how to do it in the manual.
 
Cody, I was not aware the auto mode could be deactivated. I would prefer to go the old fashioned intermittent route...I can't find out how to do it in the manual.
Take off the plastic cover next to your rear view mirror housing and just unplug the sensor. Put cover back on and good to go. Like it so much better.
 
I would say on our GX the feature works great and is very timely/smart. On the LC it was always drunk...
 
Take off the plastic cover next to your rear view mirror housing and just unplug the sensor. Put cover back on and good to go. Like it so much better.
I thought that's where it might be, thanks for the info. I'll check it out and see if it's loose, as mine used to work very well.
 
Thank you!
 
Take off the plastic cover next to your rear view mirror housing and just unplug the sensor. Put cover back on and good to go. Like it so much better.

This is why I hate automatic stuff including headlights. If you end up spending MORE time thinking about whether the automatic thing is to your liking? -May as well control the dang thing yourself! Glad my 08 skips the auto water thing. Personally, wiper use is a pretty individual preference. I often leave them off even in a downpour because sometimes the motion is more distracting than the drops. Prefer my own brain over some little chip...
 
I deactivated the auto feature and just use the good ol intermittent wiper function. The auto never worked for me.
How do you do that? Never mind, I see you have answered that question.

The rain sensing function is just horrid.
 
I hate the auto wipers and with the auto, I find there really isn't a true intermittent mode. I never rains here but the few times it does all I do is hate the wipers.

So unplugging it turns the wipers into regular wipers? 2 speeds and traditional intermittent?
 
I hate the auto wipers and with the auto, I find there really isn't a true intermittent mode. I never rains here but the few times it does all I do is hate the wipers.

So unplugging it turns the wipers into regular wipers? 2 speeds and traditional intermittent?

Traditional intermittent that you control via the stalk.
 
Just did the mod and it works like a dream. Had to use a butter knife to carefully pry the cover enough to get my fingers in there and unplug it. Traditional intermittent.
 
I've had issues since I had my windshield replaced so I looked at it today. The whole unit came off with the cover. Mine has a clear rubber rectangle pad between the sensor and windshield. Anyone else?
 
I've had issues since I had my windshield replaced so I looked at it today. The whole unit came off with the cover. Mine has a clear rubber rectangle pad between the sensor and windshield. Anyone else?

The unit should be attached to the adhesive tape. It appears that you had the same thing happen to you as when I had my windscreen replaced. The folks that did the work did not order the gel adhesive tape that holds the unit and allows the sensor to see the rain.

I did a DIY on this some time ago... let me look it up.

**EDIT**

Doh - It was a private conversation where I gave the following directions and pictures:

"Ok, late work night last night so I'm getting these up today. I couldn't include photos so I just shared via my Google account. I hope it works well.

First photo is just a general "hey here it is!"
https://goo.gl/photos/Grs2kEV9THpHPmN47

This one shows you the clip at the bottom of the sensor housing
https://goo.gl/photos/5rQ2xzt6Ha1qW2TE8

Different angle of the clip - you'll need to evenly pull it out from both sides
https://goo.gl/photos/XByDb9BQvygxKMzQ9

You just want to pull the clip out enough to release it, not pull it completely out of the housing. The housing will pretty much fall once you've done this
https://goo.gl/photos/LmUtQEHzUhubfMuX7

Just put your finger there so it doesn't just fall, and take it down
https://goo.gl/photos/4seLRbzMk7UHpM9p6

To test the system just unplug the the jack and test your wiper for a variable speed
https://goo.gl/photos/Zty1hCirpyymsfDGA

If you find that the gel adhesive is the problem, you can pull the sensor off. If you do this then you will need to have another gel adhesive strip to replace the one you'll now need to replace
https://goo.gl/photos/AH38rsavGbzejpd57"

The gent was having issues with possibly the gel adhesive not being correctly installed. I'll look up the part number real fast and include it in this post.

- Tape info: TOYOTA OEM Windshield-Rain Sensor Tape 8994450021 89944-50021
 
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