# Wiper arms cant be raised due to hood interference?



## Der NuB (Apr 24, 2000)

So, if you want to lift the wipers off the windshield and leave them raised (for cleaning windshield or, when it is snowing, to prevent wipers from freezing to windshield or, etc...), it appears the hood extends just far enough aft so that the wiper arms contact the hood when you raise them more than an inch or two, preventing the arms from being completely raised in order to leave them in that position.

If they can be raised, someone please enlighten me as to how.

If this is as designed, anyone have a clue what benefit derives from this??

Cheers All


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## estepnie (Feb 17, 2012)

They have to be put into service mode to lift them up.

After turning off the car hold the wiper stalk down for a few seconds and they will stay vertical, allowing them to be lifted off the windshield.

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## Der NuB (Apr 24, 2000)

Thanks. Seems like an example of over-engineering. Is this feature present now on all VW's? Anyone know other manufacturers doing the same thing?


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## estepnie (Feb 17, 2012)

It's the same way on my mk6 GTI.

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Der NuB said:


> So, if you want to lift the wipers off the windshield and leave them raised (for cleaning windshield or, when it is snowing, to prevent wipers from freezing to windshield or, etc...), it appears the hood extends just far enough aft so that the wiper arms contact the hood when you raise them more than an inch or two, preventing the arms from being completely raised in order to leave them in that position.
> 
> If they can be raised, someone please enlighten me as to how.
> 
> ...


So, you didn't get an OM with your vehicle? :screwy:


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## rev18gti (Sep 15, 2002)

Der NuB said:


> Thanks. Seems like an example of over-engineering. Is this feature present now on all VW's? Anyone know other manufacturers doing the same thing?


My guess is better aerodymanics with hood extending as close to windshield as possible. This is nothing new. My 2007 GTI worked like this, not sure about my 2002 GTI. I don't see this as over engineering at all. 99% of the time wipers are down. Only reason to raise them is service, cleaning, or like you do in cold climates. Whatever the improvement in mileage is (and perhaps less noise), I'll take it.

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Der NuB said:


> Thanks. Seems like an example of over-engineering. Is this feature present now on all VW's? Anyone know other manufacturers doing the same thing?


There are sever pedestrian protection regs in the EU. Submerging the wiper drive shafts is part of that.


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

estepnie said:


> It's the same way on my mk6 GTI.


It was also the same on my mk5 JSW. It appears to be the way VW has done it for quite a while.

Have Fun!

Don


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## blackfunk (Jul 11, 2012)

VW and Audi's have been this way for quite some time. While at freeway speeds they'll also sink lower to aid aerodynamics. And if you put the front defroster on they'll raise slightly to ensure the blades won't freeze. Also at the end of every down stroke they'll move up a little so the edge of the blade is pointing down to clean effectively on the next wipe. Even if you don't have automatic blades they are still speed dependent and will slow down from their set speed when you slow and get even slower when at a standstill. So they did think of everything. LOL. I know WAY too much about VW wiper blades. LOL. 

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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

blackfunk said:


> So they did think of everything. LOL. I know WAY too much about VW wiper blades. LOL.


One more thing they thought about.... If your wipers are on and you shift the transmission into reverse, the rear wiper will activate. VW just assumes that if it is raining on the front of the car, it is probably also raining on the back. Kinda cool. I was surprised the first time I noticed this behavior.

Have Fun!

Don


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## steveg241 (Oct 9, 2018)

JSWTDI09 said:


> One more thing they thought about.... If your wipers are on and you shift the transmission into reverse, the rear wiper will activate. VW just assumes that if it is raining on the front of the car, it is probably also raining on the back. Kinda cool. I was surprised the first time I noticed this behavior.
> 
> Have Fun!
> 
> Don


I love this feature as I don't have to activate the rear wiper in addition to shifting into reverse. In past versions I would accidentally leave the rear wiper on once I reversed and started driving. I would wonder what that sound was until I realized I left it on.


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## socialD (Sep 19, 2011)

JSWTDI09 said:


> One more thing they thought about.... If your wipers are on and you shift the transmission into reverse, the rear wiper will activate. VW just assumes that if it is raining on the front of the car, it is probably also raining on the back. Kinda cool. I was surprised the first time I noticed this behavior.
> 
> Have Fun!
> 
> Don


I'm more surprised that your 2009 Jetta SportWagen did not have this. Has been something of an industry standard for hatches/wagons/suvs for a long time now.

Edit: Or I'm reading more into that than I should and the 09 Sportwagen was the first time you encountered it :
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=3373629&postcount=3

Also that's a little blast from the past. Cars coming with vhs/dvd to explain their features.


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## southpawboston (Feb 3, 2018)

Another thing you might notice on your Tig is that every once in a while when you switch your car off or turn it on, the wipers will "twitch", basically just move a couple of millimeters up or down. It's to prevent them from sticking to the glass and baking on, in areas where you might not use your wipers for weeks of months at a time. It supposedly keeps the blade's edge in healthier shape.

When I first noticed this I thought it was a malfunctioning electrical gremlin that needed a trip to the dealer. Once I learned the logic, I thought how wonderfully engineered it is.

Also, on some VWs, you can program the wipers to do an extra wipe after a 10 second pause after washing the windshield. It's called "tear wipe" and it gets rid of those trails of fluid that crawl up the windshield at highway speeds after washing. The feature is built in to the car's BCM and can be switched on with VCDS or OBDeleven, but enabling the feature doesn't always make it work. It doesn't work on my Golf even though I have it set on.


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## Savvv (Apr 22, 2009)

southpawboston said:


> Another thing you might notice on your Tig is that every once in a while when you switch your car off or turn it on, the wipers will "twitch", basically just move a couple of millimeters up or down. It's to prevent them from sticking to the glass and baking on, in areas where you might not use your wipers for weeks of months at a time. It supposedly keeps the blade's edge in healthier shape.


It’s not for keeping the blades from sticking to the glass. It’s so that the blades don’t wear out faster from always resting in the same position. The twitch is them moving up a hair so that the blade is now being pulled downward, as opposed to being pulled upward when they swipe down the glass. By alternating the position of the blade every time you either shut the car off or use the the wipers it keeps the rubber from cracking prematurely.


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## southpawboston (Feb 3, 2018)

Savvv said:


> It’s not for keeping the blades from sticking to the glass. It’s so that the blades don’t wear out faster from always resting in the same position. The twitch is them moving up a hair so that the blade is now being pulled downward, as opposed to being pulled upward when they swipe down the glass. By alternating the position of the blade every time you either shut the car off or use the the wipers it keeps the rubber from cracking prematurely.


OK, thanks for the clarification. At any rate, it's an elegant application of simple programming that helps prolong the life of the wipers. I've only seen this on German cars.


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## TiggySUV (Dec 29, 2018)

*Wiper Service Position*

Quick question, to get the wipers out of service position do you need to drive the vehicle a little ways? I just washed my Tiguan for the first time and simply flicking the lever after I was finished didn’t put the wipers back in park. Turning the car on and off a few times didn’t make a difference. Just curious what is normal on these cars... thanks!


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Driving up to a certain speed will do it. But, so will turning the wipers on. Note: be sure never to leave them up or you will get a nice chip in the rear hood edge.


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## OAG (Sep 30, 2015)

Sorry can't give you specifics but I was actually reading the Tiguan Manual today and it was laid out in detail. Not simple but it was in there. Check out wipers in the index.


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## jhonyquest97 (Aug 28, 2008)

turn car on. press wiper stalk down. same way you put it into service mode.


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## rkfast (Jun 28, 2018)

Since the original issue of the thread was a addressed, I figure I hijack it a bit.

Anyone have an issue with the rear wiper where it will start its cycle and then stop half-way through? Mine either stops in the middle of the window or parks itself on the driver's side of the car, not returning to its original position on the passenger side. If it does this, the only way to get it back to the original parked position is to either engage the rear washer or turn the rear wiper off and on again with the stalk.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

rkfast said:


> Since the original issue of the thread was a addressed, I figure I hijack it a bit.
> 
> Anyone have an issue with the rear wiper where it will start its cycle and then stop half-way through? Mine either stops in the middle of the window or parks itself on the driver's side of the car, not returning to its original position on the passenger side. If it does this, the only way to get it back to the original parked position is to either engage the rear washer or turn the rear wiper off and on again with the stalk.


Is the nut holding it to the splined shaft tight?


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