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Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

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Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#121

Post by cssx »

AnotherGoodName wrote: post #58
brysonreece wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just manually enable the wipers instead of having it set to auto?

The newest teslas don’t have wiper or indicator stalks. They don’t have functioning auto wipers or auto indicators either. Manually enabling wipers is buried in the center mount touchscreen. The indicators are tiny crappy buttons on the wheel that turns when you turn making them a pain on roundabouts.

The stalkless cars have a button on the steering wheel to select the wipers, and the scroll wheel adjusts the speed. No need to use the touch screen to control them.

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#122

Post by nsguy »

SoftTalker wrote: post #96

Wipers are a critical safety item. There should be a way to activate them manually, in fact I thought this was a legal requirement in the USA but perhaps I'm mistaken.

There is, by pressing a button on the left stalk. But that only wipes once and is also not intuitive when you first drive a Tesla.

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#123

Post by shiroiushi »

kccqzy wrote: post #84
marricks wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's like trying to determine vehicle speed from a camera rather than sensors on the tires or whatever. Don’t give him any ideas. Seems like he has the “not built here” complex

Actually I'm somewhat certain that the vehicle speed is determined by the motor RPM, the known reduction gear ratio, and a known tire size. That's why speed can be inaccurate if you switch to incorrectly sized tires.

No. The vehicle speed is determined by a single sensor, the Vehicle Speed Sensor. It measures the rpm of the driveshaft (or one of them), the shaft that is the output from the transmission. You don't need the gear ratio.

But yes, it does assume that the tires are a certain size, so if you put the wrong size tires on, it will be wrong. Also, it's not super-accurate: tires sizes differ slightly by brand/model, plus they change their outer diameter as they wear down. That error accumulates.

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#124

Post by coffeebeqn »

SequoiaHope wrote: post #88
ASalazarMX wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vision and hearing are the main senses we use to driving, and touch a distant third. Using taste, smell or proprioception means something is probably wrong with your vehicle.

I thought about smell but actually vehicles do malfunction, and smell can be an important indicator. “Something is wrong with your vehicle” is a real scenario that actually happens pretty often.

If you’re not running AC you can certainly smell rain also

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#125

Post by ouryummydino »

jerlam wrote: post #108
creativeembassy wrote: post #60

This is my #1 complaint with our new Model Y. The "Auto" setting is completely worthless. It almost never turns on when it's raining. When it does turn on, it's either too fast or too slow. It'll turn on randomly when there's no rain. But it's not just the sensor, which would be inconvenient. The lack of control makes it *dangerous*. You have to push the button in _slightly_ on the left stalk, which makes the wipers…

These are over $300 but these are aftermarket Tesla buttons that can control the wipers and other functions: https://enhauto.com/product/four-s3xy-buttons-gen2 (not an owner, just have a good memory)

Just keep 4 spare CR2032 batteries handy in case it starts raining and your wiper button batteries are dead.

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#126

Post by aaronmdjones »

vel0city wrote: post #105
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point, I think the issue for me is probably more of a lack of the ability to set manual wipers on a continuously variable schedule than just with autowipers specifically. I have no option that's good for the "misty" rain I described beyond hitting the "wipe once" button on the stalk every ten seconds.

Yeah, it would be good if all the wipers on auto would repurpose the interval time adjustment as a sensitivity adjustment for the auto wipers when in auto mode. Some cars seem to be able to have adjustable sensitivity in this way, some can only change it deep in settings (not good on the fly), and most seem to be fixed sensitivity.

My car (2012 Vauxhall Astra J Hatchback) has 5 front windscreen wiper modes (once, off, interval controlled, medium interval, short interval), controlled by the position of the lever (with fully down being once, which is also momentary, and then proceeding upward in the order above).

It also has a dial on it to adjust the interval when using the interval controlled option. I don't get to control how fast the wipers move in any mode, only the interval between them moving; on the highest setting, the wipers also move a lot faster, as I believe this lever position bypasses the BCM and runs the motors directly. When it's raining I drive on interval controlled position 3 most of the time, with medium interval in heavier rain and I've only used short interval once.

Interval controlled position with the dial on maximum is the same as medium interval position, and the dial on minimum uses the rain sensor.

The same lever also controls the windscreen washers (pull toward you for cleaning the front windscreen, push away for the rear), which also puts the corresponding wipers on medium interval for 5 seconds automatically, and finally has a 3-position button on the far end to control the rear wipers (off, long interval, short interval).

I like this system. You can adjust every aspect of it with a finger and thumb without ever taking your eyes off the road.

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/southwestvauxhallspares-i...

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#127

Post by pseudosavant »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #69
creativeembassy wrote: post #60

This is my #1 complaint with our new Model Y. The "Auto" setting is completely worthless. It almost never turns on when it's raining. When it does turn on, it's either too fast or too slow. It'll turn on randomly when there's no rain. But it's not just the sensor, which would be inconvenient. The lack of control makes it *dangerous*. You have to push the button in _slightly_ on the left stalk, which makes the wipers…

> Tesla vehicles lack a rain sensor. Here’s how a proper rain sensor works https://youtu.be/TLm7Q92xMjQ?si=Yb-_TBYbPIuPXk_p

Good thing Tesla saves $1 on a few IR LEDs and photoresistors. That $50000 Model 3 is now $49999.

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#128

Post by NewJazz »

tempestn wrote: post #89
CGamesPlay wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely ignoring the terrible UX of all of this, I can't imagine why someone would ever want to drive a car where path to access critical functionality changes so frequently.

Agreed. But I wanted an electric SUV with room for kids and dog and such, and the Model Y absolutely blew away competitors in 2021 in terms of space for people and cargo, in a reasonably sized vehicle. Still does to some extent; no one else has the small third row option, which is fantastic for driving kids' friends and such. Also the charging network was/is far superior to alternatives. So I was willing to put up wi…

no one else has the small third row option

Kia EV9?

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#129

Post by vel0city »

aaronmdjones wrote: post #126
vel0city wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it would be good if all the wipers on auto would repurpose the interval time adjustment as a sensitivity adjustment for the auto wipers when in auto mode. Some cars seem to be able to have adjustable sensitivity in this way, some can only change it deep in settings (not good on the fly), and most seem to be fixed sensitivity.

My car (2012 Vauxhall Astra J Hatchback) has 5 front windscreen wiper modes (once, off, interval controlled, medium interval, short interval), controlled by the position of the lever (with fully down being once, which is also momentary, and then proceeding upward in the order above). It also has a dial on it to adjust the interval when using the interval controlled option. I don't get to control how fast the wipers m…

Yeah, I mean that sounds like just about every car I've ever personally owned across several different makes. Its fine, and I prefer having a physical stalk dedicated to this input for something as critical as managing visibility. Things like visibility controls are very critical and need good physical controls for quick adjustment and activation. I lump things like headlights, turn signals, hazard lights, and stuff like that in that category. They should be physical, easy to control, and very close to the primary driving input (the steering wheel) not far in the center console.

You know what I like even more? Not even needing to think about touching it like 90% or more of the time. Its now pretty rare on my newer cars to ever need to actually touch the wiper control at all. Its still there, and still just as simple to adjust as my 2000 Honda Accord was, but just leaving it in auto means it just takes care of itself the vast majority of the time.

You could make the controls for a manual AC control in your house really nice and easy to use, but I'd rather just set it to a temperature I think I'd like and have it automatically handle it for me. I could choose to water my garden with a garden hose and a really nice, very comfortable sprayer, but I'd prefer just having an automated irrigation system know if it needs water or not. I don't get why one would prefer to have to manually adjust your wiper if you don't really need to the vast majority of the time, and adding the automation costs a few bucks total.

Its the same thing with headlights. Why wouldn't I just leave it on auto? Sure, maybe there's a slight chance where I might end up deciding I'd like to have them on even though the light sensor thinks its bright enough, but I pretty much never have any good reason to set it to "off".

Re: Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix

#130

Post by pseudosavant »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #69
creativeembassy wrote: post #60

This is my #1 complaint with our new Model Y. The "Auto" setting is completely worthless. It almost never turns on when it's raining. When it does turn on, it's either too fast or too slow. It'll turn on randomly when there's no rain. But it's not just the sensor, which would be inconvenient. The lack of control makes it *dangerous*. You have to push the button in _slightly_ on the left stalk, which makes the wipers…

> Tesla vehicles lack a rain sensor. Here’s how a proper rain sensor works https://youtu.be/TLm7Q92xMjQ?si=Yb-_TBYbPIuPXk_p

It would seem like you could sense rain hitting the roof through its acoustic signature using a contact piezo mic. That'd probably have a much larger effective sensing area than the IR sensor.
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