I took my 16 CX -5 into the dealer for another reason but while I was there I told him the automatic wipers do not work automatically. The service guy took a can and sprayed it on the windshield and they worked. Nevertheless it rained here several times today and they did not come on. Does anyone else have this problem?
Automatic wipers don't work!
- Thread starter Mooman
- Start date
Woodys2718
Member
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- 2016 CX 5 GT AWD, Tech & IActivesense
My auto wipers were too annoying so I turned them off. With the first sprinkle they would come on.
Are you 100% positive that they are in the auto position and not the off position? I was having the same thing happen and realized that I had the wiper stalk in the off position. The auto position is one step down from off. Double check that it is indeed in the auto position and try sprinkling it with the hose of a spray bottle, they should work. Also make sure that in the settings on your infotainment center that you have the auto wiper function selected. Try those things and report back what you find out.
Is the sensitivity setting still on the stalk or in the Infotainment center now?
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- Plano, Texas, USA
It's on the stalk for 2016. I hope they don't move it to Infotainment setups.
I rechecked the wiper box on the settings. I turned the sensitivity on the wiper knob to high. I sprayed the windshield with a cleaning solution. I also sprayed the windshield with Windex. There was no response to any of the things that I did; the wipers did not come on.
Did you make sure the wiper was one notch down in the automatic position? reset the wiper by pushing the stalk all the way up and letting go. Now push it down one notch, the wipers will make one pass, and it is now in the automatic mode. It should work now.
Sensitivity setting? Are you talking about the gradient on the wiper stalk that you rotate? I believe that is just the frequency of wipes. I played it with it the other day and at the highest setting it was about 1 wipe every 4-5 seconds and the lowest was about 1 wipe every 10-11 seconds. If it actually is a sensitivity setting I didn't notice any difference as it was pretty steady rain and consistent with my timings. Maybe if it was raining harder it would have gone faster. I suspect not but when it rains again I'll play with it some more and read the owners manual.
I have not messed with the 16 models yet on auto wipers. But you can have the stalk or the arm switch in auto and still not have on. On 13-15 there is a setting in the tom tom unit under veh. sub category to turn on auto wipers. If the switch or arm is in auto but not actually on in the center display it works like intermittent wipers. If center display is set to on and the switch is on and sensitivity set to high and you spray and nothing happens...could be the rain sensor which is just a photo sensor in the mirror stuff with forward camera. If is coming on too much adjust the sensitivity in the tomtom unit not the arm. Like I said haven't messed with 16 models so there is no tomtom unit. Infotainment for 16 and above. To set could be in the infotainment or the cluster display. Just letting you know how the system works.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
The OP has rain-sensing wipers with sensitivity control on the stalk. Yours sounded like the traditional variable-intermittent wipers.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Have your checked Infotainment setting for rain-sensing wipers under Vehicles tab? Are your sure the stalk is at AUTO position, the second position down from uppermost OFF position? I know Mazda's rain-sensing wipers shouldn't be like this, but many car's rain-sensing wipers need to get "reset", by turning the wiper OFF first then turn it to AUTO, each time you re-start the engine.
Good point!!! I forgot about that since I turned them on so long ago. I really like this feature and feel it works pretty well. I normally turn them off when it isn't raining and into Auto mode when it starts raining.
I have the same car as the OP, '16 gt with tech and I-activ!!! Has the OP yet to confirm that he has his stalk in the right position? He has posted back on here so my guess is that he's a bit embarrassed about it.
I'll read the manual but I thought the windshield wipers sense whether or not there is water, not how much water there is so a sensitivity setting doesn't seem logical on the stalk but the intermittent selection does.
My stalk "intermittent" definitely acts as a sensitivity setting on my '15 with auto wipers turned on. If there is a light mist out I set it to less sensitive.
So I read the owners manual and it makes sense, go figure. I wonder though if the "sensitivity" setting and intermittent aren't just different words use to describe the same thing. Those with out auto wipers, it's called intermittent and those with auto wipers it's called sensitivity? It could be that it actually adjusts the speed with the amount of water. I'll test this theory the next time I wash my car. I'll start the car and turn the wipers to auto and see if they come on. If they do I will increase the flow of water and see if there is a difference in wiper intervals. I suspect not but I've been wrong once before!
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Variable-intermittent wipers have wipe interval adjustment on the stalk. You can set wipe interval from 1 second (FAST direction) to 5~6 seconds (SLOW direction) if your stalk is at INT position. Rain-sensing wipers have sensitivity adjustment on the stalk. You can set infrared rain sensor's sensitivity from most sensitive ("+" direction hence wipers are easier to be triggered by rain droplets) to least sensitive ("-" direction hence wipers are harder to be triggered by rain droplets) if your stalk is at AUTO position. The rain-sensing wipers can have wipe interval from 0~∞ seconds and that is the main difference from traditional Variable-intermittent wipers functional wise.
I feel the rain-sensing wipers on CX-5 is not that precise like our BMW 528i but like the level of our VW Passat. Strangely Mazda decided to make AUTO mode ALWAYS functional if you keep the stalk there. Whereas most other cars will disable the "Auto" function once you turned off the engine and you always have to turn off the wipers and turn them back on to Auto mode in order to make it functional. I believe the latter is a better way to protect the wiper system.
