Hi all --
I haven't even had my MINI for a week yet and it's started raining here in the Bay Area. Anyway, the manual isn't very clear on wiper usage. Can someone help clear it up? I know pushing down wipes it once. The tip is for the back. I'm having issues getting the front wipers to go at a slower pace.

thanks!

 

A single, gentle bump upwards on the stalk sets the front wiper to intermitten. repeated bumps up increase the speed. Down bumps reduce speed.
There is no adjustment for intermitten interval.

 

well mine is like this:
down on the stalk is for a single wipe
rotate the stalk for the rear window
press in the nub on the end to activate the intermittent wipers - press again to turn off
up on the stalk once for constant on and once down to turn that off
up twice on the stalk for your basic "oh **** its raining like crazy" and twice down to turn that off...

Also remember that all of those (other than the single wipe) are speed sensitive...

Hope that helps!

 

from neutral position, windsheild wipers -
down once, one wipe
up once, intermittant
up twice, low speed
up thrice, high speed
down to deactivate the last setting.
towards driver, wash

rear window...
twist down, wash and wipe
twist up once, intermittant wipe
twist up twice, constant wipe
twist the opposite way to deactivate last setting

If you purchased variable speed wipers, all you have to do is depress the button on the end of the stalk, and they will sense when there is rain on the front and back and wipe accordingly.

 

The wipers were changed to this around week 32. My manual is wrong and says to flick the stalk upwards for intermittents.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ghlight=wipers

 

This helps, Thanks. I was wondering the same thing how the manual mode works. I usually just press the button at the end of the stalk for Auto mode, but the rear wiper is not auto and had trouble turning it on. Also on the stalk, the drawing for the rear wipers is the same for wipe and wash as for the constant wipe.

 

I think the rear is auto as well. You have to get it set on intermittent first though... At least that's what I think happens.

 

If I gave you clear instructions,......how would you read them?

 

Uhmmm! Somebody thru away the MINI secret decoder glasses.

 

for some reason, if i leave the rear wiper selected, then push the button (i have the auto wipers) the rear wiper will not activate. I have to deselect the rear wiper then reselect it. If i select the rear wiper after the car is on and the auto wipers are armed, then the rear wiper works accordingly... i wish i could just leave it selected all the time, and just activate when i press the auto wiper button.

 

Doesn't rain much over here, but the one time that i had to use the auto wipes, only my front worked, and i had to manually turn my rear to wipe. Are you supposed to leave it in the intermitent mode or regular mode?

 

OK, it rained today and was able to try the wipers. The rear wiper **** only seems to have an intermittent mode. It didn't rain heavily, so I wasn't able to tell if it was intermittent because there wasn't much rain in the auto mode, or it it just always in intermittent mode. And yes I switched on Auto mode first before i switch the rear intermittent mode.

Also the manual is not very clear on the rear wiper. if you twist up or down to the rear wiper mode, it just wipes a few times and then stops.

 

No!

Can someone give clear instructions for wiper-usage?

 

Does your wiper stalk have the button on the end? If it does, it has the newer system and the OEM manual is not updated to show how to work it.

If there is not button, then it works like the manual says.

 

So, what is the deal with the auto mode for the rear wipers? Does it need to be on or off before pressing the auto wiper button?

Thanks!

 

Yeah, this one took me forever to figure out! Sucks that I RTFM, and still got it wrong. Discovered the push button on accident, actually. Mine's a Week 34

 

Mine is 10 months old but it's only rained twice , todays the second time .I just start pushing ,pulling twisting .......

 

I'm pretty sure the rear wiper is not auto. It doesn't even seem to be speed-sensitive, although I guess the fact that it's 'gear' sensitive is pretty useful. I have the rain-sensing wipers and have driven in the rain (and snow) with my MINI's many times. Generally I just control my rear wiper manually as intermittent either under or over wipes depending on how heavy of a downpour it is. I did recognize the same thing, however that if you leave it in intermittent mode then turn your MINI off, when you turn it back on the rear wiper won't cycle at all until you deactivate then reactivate it. Pretty strange...

 

I have an R56 loaner and it was a chore to figure out how to make the wipers work intermittenly. Thank God for cell phones and stored numbers. I got the help I needed. These wipers are really twitchy.

 

I have the 'old' version, auto wipers, and they seem to work as described in the manual. However, I have noticed something a little strange with the washers. I've always been a conservative person with washer fluid, only using it when necessary, and only using as little as required. Since getting the Mini, I haven't had much reason to use the washers, and given that the nozzles weep if I have used them recently, it has made me even less likely to squirt them. Anyway, yas I have begun to make use of them more frequently, I have noticed that when I pull on the stalk the nozzles squirt on the windscreen, but the wipers don't wipe, even when it auto mode, so I have to push up and/or down once or twice until the window is wiped clear. I could have sworn that the wipers were triggered when washing before, but since I haven't used the washers much, I cannot be certain.

 

The last I knew, "use the wipers when it's raining; don't use them when it's not raining". I think that's clear enough.

 

Mine worked the original way (Week 3) and then I had the software updated for another reason. The wiper functions changed. Wish the dealership had told me. I knew nothing about the button on the end. Took me another trip back to the dealership and them telling me everything worked fine before I finally figured it out.

 

I noticed this earlier in the the week as well. However, with my MINI at least, if you use the washers too conservatively and only pull the stalk long enough to let it squirt out a tiny bit, it doesn't automatically wipe. On the other hand if you hold it a bit longer then the wipers cycle like 3 times. This happens regardless of the wipers being in auto mode or completely off.

 

Ahhh, that might explain it; I'm really conservative when using the washers. I'll give it a better pull the next time I am driving and see what happens.

 

It's probably for the best. My MINI is less than 2 months old yet I got the low washer fluid icon today... I don't even use them that often! Although I do have the Xenons and know some fluid has to go towards cleaning them.