windscreen wipers

[aggie]

The wipers on my Altea Freetrack failed to switch on whilst I was stationary during a down pour. I had no choice but to drive off and after a few yards they came on thank god. This has also happened to my daughters Toledo. Has this happened to anybody else and if so what do you thing caused this malfunction? The back wiper was ok but no front wipers. aggie

 

[MrDurst]

When you say 'failed to turn on', do you mean on auto? Or did the stalk switch fail?

 

[mike55]

If you start the car with the wiper stalk on auto it can take a short distance for the wipers to operate. Mine has always done this from new. The answer is to move the stalk to the off position then onto the auto position, with the engine running. You should find they should operate as long as there is rain on the sensor. Mike

 

[Temporary Noble]

Even on manual they pause or slow down when stationary. Most modern cars do this, not a fault.

 

[aggie]

Many thanks everybody for your input. It just threw me completely no matter where I put the stalk the wipers would not come on, the engine was running and the back wipers were working, but when I took a chance and moved off with limited vision the wipers came on after a few yards. As you say this must be the norm, but it was the first time that I had come across this set of circumstances and I was completely stumped. cheers aggie

 

[Tweaky]

One other thing which may catch you out from timt to time is if the bonnet has been opened and not fully shut, the wipers won't work at all. Just re-close the bonnet and all ok.

 

[aggie]

Tweaky you hit the nail on the head. When I checked my bonnet it was open but held on the safety catch. panic over. aggie