Krisbo26

This has not worked on my car since I bought it (6 months ago) Anyone else have the same problem? Dealership said part is going to take a while to come in........not impressed....one more thing to add to the list.....

Puma Jim

I still do not understand why it takes so long for parts to come in on an Acura. Is this routine with all Acura models? Two plus months for my simple part is ridiculous.

Desert Ridge

I believe a recent discussion on this site concluded this is a feature that does not, actually, exist.

Krisbo26

What do you mean it doesn't exist? It says in the brochure it has them. The mechanism is located at the top of the windshield where the rear view mirror is....

Desert Ridge

Well, now, the manual saying it exists is not the same as having on the car, is it? No one here has reported that such a feature is activated on their Advanced/Elite. It certainly does NOT exist on my Advanced -- I can tell you that for sure.

RDX-Rick

What? I must be misunderstanding what you mean. Are you saying that "rain sensing wipers" do not exist.

In Canada they are standard on the Tech and Elite models. I can confirm they do exist on my Elite model and they work very well except in the situation noted below.

Click Here and read some comments other members have made about them. This was in the TLX forum, but I included an image from RDX manual that shows the location of the sensors.

Puma Jim

I'm confused what we are talking about. My wipers come on automatically when it rains on my advance model

dirleton

Only if you have them set to do so.

RDX-Rick

I have always left my wipers in the auto position since taking delivery. They have worked very well until the day we had fluffy snow flurries.

From Wikipedia (CLICK)

Modern rain sensors are based on the principle of total internal refection. An infrared light is beamed at a 45-degree angle into the windshield from the interior — if the glass is wet, less light makes it back to the sensor, and the wipers turn on.

I guess the "dry" fluffy type of snow flakes do not change the reflection characteristics of the glass, and the wipers do not operate.

I'm still not sure what Desert Ridge is speaking about.

dirleton

"I have always left my wipers in the auto position since taking delivery."


Not necessarily a good idea - as the OM points out. You don't want them activating in a car wash for instance.

RDX-Rick

I have only ever hand washed my vehicles, and the ignition is not turned on at that time.

But I understand your warning. Even with plain old intermittent wipers I was sometimes taken by surprise when scraping ice from the windshield.

dirleton

"I have only ever hand washed my vehicles --- "


You must live in the tropical part of Ontario :-). Around here (Minnesota) it's either car wash or dirty car.

Krisbo26

Thanks guys!! I thought I was beginning to lose my mind after reading Desert Ridge's response. I KNEW my RDX had them - they just aren't working....

RDX-Rick

I'm about an hour north of Toronto. I never wash my vehicles during the winter months. In late fall I coat the shiny painted surfaces with a premium sealant, and I coat the hidden and underside areas with Krown rust treatment (an oil spray). I feel that washing the vehicle during the winter will only wash away the protection, especially a commercial car wash.

The Dark Knight

iTrader: (1)

lol

Comfy

What's going on here?
So is the function there or not? If the manual says that function exists, that means you have paid for it and it is the manufacturer's responsibility to fix it. Sounds simple.

RDX-Rick

Apparently your mistaken. Just because the manual says it exists, doesn't mean it's true. You may have overlooked some of the previous posts in this thread. I guess I was just one of the lucky ones to get it installed in my Elite.

aerospike16

I've never had an issue with the wiper not turning on while on auto when it was supposed to.

Actually, I have an opposite issue. If "effective" rain was rather high (ie driving on the freeway in a drizzle) and then it abruptly drops off (I hit traffic and slow down), the wipers will often keep going at their original speed. So my wipers continue to wipe away at a pretty dry windshield. Keeps doing that unless I turn the wipers off and then back to auto--that seems to get it to snap out of it.

Not trying to hijack this tread or anything, just wondered if anyone else had a similar issue.

snorf

I have a 2016 advance. My wipers come on automatically when it starts to rain and they are not set on auto.

RDX-Rick

Just to clarify what you are saying...... When your control stalk is in the off position your wipers will operate when water drops hit the windshield?

And just to confirm your stalk is in the off position....You lift it to the highest position (which is the spring loaded position) and then allow it to drop on it's own with no downward pressure from your hand. Pushing downwards to the next indent is the auto position.

Acura seems to have made a real mess of these wipers. In some vehicles they don't work at all, in other vehicles they forgot to install them, and now a vehicle in which they are always on, despite the fact that the manual suggests to turn them off in automatic car washes.

snorf

Not just a few drops, but when it is sprinkling or raining - yes. The wand is in the OFF position and the wipers come on by themselves.

RDX-Rick

Have you returned to the dealer to have this repaired?

My wipers seem to work normally. But on the other hand I have left them in the auto position since I picked it up. I guess I should turn them off one day and see if they will operate like yours.

I thought purchasing the extended warranty would be a waste of money, but I'm beginning to feel better about my decision now.

snorf

I don't think there is anything wrong with mine. If I'm driving and it's obvious that I will need the wipers I will turn them on myself. When there is a light rain - just enough to get the windshield wet - they come on by themselves for a few wipes.... and if needed I'll turn them on during the rain. They work just like the wipers in my friend's mazda CX-5.

Danny Boy

You are saying your wiper comes on when water hits the windshield with the switch is in the off position. Have you taken your car into a car wash?

snorf

No. I have never used water to clean my RDX. (For that matter, I have never driven anything I owned through a carwash.) I use prolong waterless carwash. I clean the car in the hangar regardless of the weather outside.

RDX-Rick

Well, I turned them off today, and they did not automatically start after pouring water on the windshield. Of course this is what I would expect in the "OFF" position.

You may be quite happy with the way yours works, but it is a malfunction, and you might as well get it repaired under warranty. If you wait too long the defective components may cause more severe problems such as totally inoperative wipers.

romer

My 2016 Advance has rain sensing wipers and they work identically to my previous Audi rain sensing systems (except they were reversed bottom/top compared to the Japanese cars) and my wife's Mazda rain sensing system. The lever gets moved down one level. There is a dial that can be changed to accommodate heavier versus lighter rainfall. I live in The Pacific Northwest so these wipers are a really nice feature.

JACN

It rains, push stalk down 1 notch to Auto. Adjust the rain sensing knob, with the water drops on it, for amount of detection.

When not raining, leave in off position so you don't forget it when washing your car.

And yes... it does work!

/lesson

jcross1231

Apparently there's some variability on how well this works, and Acura doesn't seem to be able to help. They don't know how it's supposed to work, either. In my 2016 RDX Advance, when set to the AUTO position, the sensitivity knob works just like a timer control would on interval wipers. Setting to low sensitivity runs the wipers every 20 seconds or so. Setting to high sensitivity runs them in an almost continuous sweep. This is whether it's raining or not. I can't leave the control in AUTO, because the wipers will run 2 - 3 sweeps per minute all the time. I suppose a trip to the dealer is in order.

romer

My Advance rain sensing wipers work fine. I've noticed that speed changes coupled with rain changes can cause them to shift into a rapid wipe. So depending on speed and rain intensity I have to adjust the sensitivity knob accordingly. But overall the system works fine. I live in Vancouver, WA and the wipers get plenty of use. In fact--it's raining today by some stroke of luck.

jcross1231

This may be my problem: Automatic Intermittent Wipers Don?t Work Properly ? 2014-2016 Acura Vehicles | - OEMDTC

richardyc

the automatic wiper system doesn't work like we think how it should work. I thought the wipers would automatically come on when it rains, but it doesn't work like that in Acura, at least in our RDXes. you will still need to turn the wipers on and off yourself, instead of using the dial to manually adjust the intermittent wipers speed, you set it to auto, so the system will automatically adjust the intermittent speed for you depending on how much rain and your speed. when the rain stops, you set it back to off. That's it. there is no automatic on or off, just automatic intermittent speed adjustment.

jcross1231

That's not what the manual says. "When the wiper control is set to auto...rain on the windshield will automatically turn on the wipers when needed."

Comfy

That's really pathetic from Acura. I don't think that's how it is supposed to operate. No auto wiper system I know of operates like this. They cannot call it an automatic system in this case. They would have called "automatic speed adjusting wiper system" or something like that. I think you should contact the dealer or Acura corporate to get some clarity in this matter. If the manual says something, that feature has to be present.
Can someone with a properly operating auto wiper in RDX give an input please.

dirleton

In auto mine will not usually go unless needed. In other words, the wipers will stop if/when the rain abates and return to operation when more rain collects. They will, however, seem to get "confused" and go to constant on at times in steady but relatively light rain, in which case I "reset" them by lifting to off and back down to auto. I would not call that operating correctly.

dirleton

The "constant on" which my wipers switch over to happens often enough to be irritating. Anyone else have this issue? This, of course, is one of those things the dealer will not be able to replicate.

Danny Boy

I have the same problem. Some time it speeds up super fast as if it is out of control. Like you said, turn it off and on will solve it.

My wife's 2016 Civic rain sensing wiper works perfectly. I am not sure what Acura's problem is.

romer

I've had the speed up too but it's tied to rain speed and the setting I'm using on the adjustable dial. When it happens I reduce the dial to the slowest speed on the auto sensing system and if need be--I move the wiper lever to off then back on. This has only occurred a couple times. I think it's mostly the windshield sensor picking up rain, combined with the speed of the vehicle.

dirleton

Speed should have nothing to do with it, only insofar as it causes you to run into more rain. It's actually light dispersal which activates the wipers. If they need to be "reset" to work properly they aren't working properly. Are they?

romer

Actually speed seems to affect them too, though it may be as you say, less rain hitting the windshield. But mine will even stop when I'm stopped even though it's raining. The dial controls the sensitivity of the system.