[Professor///M]

This is my 3rd e90, so I know how these things work.


Problem out of the blue - NO new windshield, nothing is new in my car at all. 26,000 miles on a 2011.


All of the sudden my rain sensing wipers are awful. When barely raining, sometimes it wipes frequently (hardly a mist). I can deal with that. Usually turning it off then back on again fixes that.

Last night it was POURING. Rain sensing never engaged in full wiping power at all. I have never in 5 years and 3 e90s experienced the rain sensing wipers malfunction like this. If anything, they always would over wipe than under wipe, I generally find myself turning down the intermittent settings. It really just seems like the intermittent settings are "stuck" on the lowest.

I changed the intermittent settings (which I have done in the past when acting up) which previously worked, and it now seems like the dial to change the frequency just does nothing.

Could this be a fuse or relay problem? Maybe a problem with the stalk and the actual intermittent turn knob thinking it's on the lowest setting?

Anyone else with this problem? More importantly anyone else with this problem that has had it fixed so I know what to expect?

I have videos to elaborate if needed.

Thanks


EDIT: Also, there are no cracks, chips, scrapes or debris over the sensor.

[KnoxDawg]

Also would like to know the answer to this as I've noticed the same exact thing.

[Dozhdbog]

10,000 miles on my car and my wipers still work perfectly. Of course, living in SoCal means I use them maybe 6 times a year at most.

[simonsingh]

Change the wipers, the handbook recommends to change them every 6 months.

[KnoxDawg]

Originally Posted by simonsingh

Change the wipers, the handbook recommends to change them every 6 months.

[AndreyT]

Originally Posted by PAMidge

All of the sudden my rain sensing wipers are awful. When barely raining, sometimes it wipes frequently (hardly a mist). I can deal with that. Usually turning it off then back on again fixes that.

Last night it was POURING. Rain sensing never engaged in full wiping power at all. I have never in 5 years and 3 e90s experienced the rain sensing wipers malfunction like this. If anything, they always would over wipe than under wipe, I generally find myself turning down the intermittent settings. It really just seems like the intermittent settings are "stuck" on the lowest.

Firstly, the auto-sensing wiper system is well-known to be more sensitive to misty water than to large water drops. So pretty often in a drizzling rain you'll see the wipers to detect water better than in a downpour. It is expected and it is normal. You are supposed to adjust the system sensitivity using the wheel on the wiper stalk.

Secondly, in auto mode the wipers are known to never achieve the full speed. I don't know the reason behind this, but the manual high-frequency wiper operation is always faster than anything the auto-sensing system is able to come up with. If it rains so hard that the auto mode becomes inadequate you are supposed to manually switch to high-frequency non-auto mode. Again, I was told that it is expected and it is normal.

Originally Posted by PAMidge

I changed the intermittent settings (which I have done in the past when acting up) which previously worked, and it now seems like the dial to change the frequency just does nothing.

What exactly are you talking about? If your car is equipped with auto-sensing wipers, then the wheel on the wiper stalk does only one thing: it adjusts the sensitivity of the water sensor in auto mode. In non-auto mode it does absolutely nothing, by design. You just have two fixed non-auto wiper frequencies - high and low - and that's it. I.e. in non-auto mode your intermittent settings are non-adjustable.

[Mpy18]

Mine does the exact same thing, I try not to even use my Wipers if not necessary, the first speed is way too fast for anything less than consistent rain. Auto is too nonsensitive to wiper away the water before it's covered enough to make me unable to see and crash. I just use manual because I am smarter than german engineering.

[edirtaynine]

Originally Posted by Mpy18

Mine does the exact same thing, I try not to even use my Wipers if not necessary, the first speed is way too fast for anything less than consistent rain. Auto is too nonsensitive to wiper away the water before it's covered enough to make me unable to see and crash. I just use manual because I am smarter than german engineering.

LOL!

but yeah i dont use auto for the same reason :/

[Taipei-TT]

You could try cleaning the window thoroughly as a first step to resolving the problem.

In Auto-mode, I agree with many other, if anything, the wipers are way too sensitive. Given the OP has the opposite problem, and has had 3 e90s from which to base his assessment that the wipers are not functioning properly, I would say he is probably right!

So...if it were me...I start with cleaning the glass thoroughly and if that doesn't help, I would get it looked at the next time my car is in for regular service.

As for the wipers never reaching full-speed in auto mode...is this really true? Mine go absolutely mental...though I have driven my car on the highway in typhoon rains and wind! Not fun...but the wipers were certainly moving at an epic pace!

[Wissam]

Definitely agree with OP, I've noticed my wipers are now too slow in Auto mode and high sensor sensitivity setting, while before they were on the too fast side when in the low sensitivity setting...

[sickem]

IMO the rain-sensing wiper system in the e9x sucks ass. I know this not helpful, just wanted to vent.

[bimmergixxer]

Originally Posted by sickem

IMO the rain-sensing wiper system in the e9x sucks ass. I know this not helpful, just wanted to vent.

+1

[rbocc13]

i think its a stupid feature... 1. you have to press the auto button on so why not just push the lever up and turn them on... 2. if you need to replace the windshield it will cost a lot more than normal because of the feature.

So IMO i rather not have it and just hit the stalk, have the time it isnt working how you want so you have to adjust it anyway. Rather not have this and make something else standard in the car.

[Dozhdbog]

I like the feature and it works great on mine. When moving from light to heavy rain and anything in between, it senses perfectly when it is needed. Love it.

[DrSeuss99]

Any way to turn the auto sensing off and have a manually controlled intermittent speed?

[gcreese]

Unfortunately, no. That would be logical and simple.

[BimmerCop]

Have you tried replacing your wiper blades? They might be worn and thus the streaking noise you might be hearing.

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by BimmerCop

Have you tried replacing your wiper blades? They might be worn and thus the streaking noise you might be hearing.

Did you even read the OP's question?


OP, like others have said, clean the glass really well, especially near the sensor.

If that doesn't change anything, look to see if your sensor is visable through the glass and in the right position. You've been around here long enough, and have had enough BMWs to know what it should look like, I am sure. I'd had a windshield replaced on my old e92 and they didn't get the sensor positioned where it can "read" the amount of drops and it acted like yours until they repositioned it.

Good luck!

[Professor///M]

Thank you folks for all of your good posts.

To the others, try reading first before you waste others times please. I didn't just buy a car and don't know how a feature works, or when to change wiper blades.


I'm going to see how badly this reproduces in the daytime, but I'm pretty confident that my intermittent settings are just "stuck" on the lowest one. When I try to change the sensitivity to the highest nothing changes.


And to the others, YES rain sensing wipers do activate to full wipers when on. It's not just intermittent. It will move it to the highest speed if needed. So please don't bother posting if you don't know what the rain sensing wipers do.

Since the models with the rain sensor on it does NOT have a standard non-rain sensing intermittent setting it makes this issue very frustrating as I have a choice of wipers fully on, or rain sensing that is truly unpredictable.

[UD2]

I hate these things. they never worked right, especially when there is snow.

[Professor///M]

Originally Posted by UD2

I hate these things. they never worked right, especially when there is snow.

I totally agree about the snow, but this problem during the rain is just a nuisance.

[UD2]

Your rain sensor is controlled by an optical device behind the interior rear view mirror. Try cleaning the section of the windshield that your mirror is mounted to to see if it is blocked by something. Also check to see if there is a stone chip on the glass in the same area.