Wipers start automatically.

[Greg Chick]

Most often when I shift into fwd or rev when first driving the wiper starts and does one sweep. I am worried this may scratch the window if dust is on the glass. How to stop this?

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[godfodder0901]

Most often when I shift into fwd or rev when first driving the wiper starts and does one sweep. I am worried this may scratch the window if dust is on the glass. How to stop this?

The only way is to turn off automatic wipers.

A little background as to how the sensors work, and why it does the initial wipe:
The simple, clever sensor behind automatic windshield wipers (youtube.com)

 

[Greg Chick]

I do have, or have in past turned off the Auto setting on the wiper blades. It seems the default setting is to auto wipe. While the video was entertaining, and informative, I still have wipers taking a swipe without permission from the boss.
I could simply always make sure my windshield is clean. I am scheduled to get the paint and glass treated with ceramic in 2 weeks...

 

[Thedude]

If you turn off the automatic wipers it won’t do the start up wipe.

 

[jerseyff]

I always set wipers to auto and then back to off when the need for wipers has passed. I do not get the "rogue wipe" by doing this.

Slightly negates the idea of "auto wipers" but I dont mind making the manual adjustment to prevent the single wipe nearly every drive.

 

[Mathme]

Just set the wipers to "off" and they won't do the rogue wiping. We go for months during the dry season without rain, and I turn them to off during that time.

 

[Greg Chick]

I will try that again, I know how to select the off setting and have done it many times. The auto setting is on the lever clearly. What has happened is it resets to the Auto option. I don't think I can select off unless I engage the forward or reverse shifter, and once I do the one window swipe happens. The default to auto seems to reset after turning off the vehicle.

 

[YellowR1T]

Same issue

 

[LMI - R1T]

I have the same issue. When "shifting" to drive or reverse I get one swipe. I'm thinking it's not an issue with wipers being in auto or not. I think it's a software glitch. I hope more people report it so engineers can look into it. I asked customer service about it once and got the same "there could be dirt on your windshield" excuse. If the assumption is that is does an initial wipe because they are in auto, then everyone's vehicle that has it set to auto would do it.

 

[godfodder0901]

If the assumption is that is does an initial wipe because they are in auto, then everyone's vehicle that has it set to auto would do it.

They do, when needed for calibration.

 

[LMI - R1T]

That's interesting. I've never heard about needed calibration for auto wipers. Do you know where I could read more about that? I'd like to learn more about it.

 

[godfodder0901]

That's interesting. I've never heard about needed calibration for auto wipers. Do you know where I could read more about that? I'd like to learn more about it.

Video I posted

 

[LMI - R1T]

@Greg Chick : I found this on a different post from about a year ago.


This has happened on a sporadic basis since I took receipt of my R1T in September. Wiper would wipe once across the windshield, usually when I went to shift the car into Drive or Reverse. I contacted the service center about it in October 2022 and was told it was a known issue related to the sensor and would likely be fixed through a future OTA update.

It did seem to get better and much less frequent for several months, but sometime in the last month or so it has started doing it again on a more frequent (but still completely intermittent) basis.

I filed another service request with Rivian about this and my service advisor (Peng) informed me that this was considered a "courtesy wipe" and that it should happen 100% of the time when I start the truck when the wipers are in automatic mode. Peng said the only way to keep this from happening was to turn off the automatic wiper mode.

If it is supposed to happen 100% of the time when wipers are in auto mode, it is failing miserably.

Either way, I agree with the earlier posts that it risks more damage to the truck's wiper blades and windshield than providing any courtesy benefit, so I would prefer this this feature be removed.

My guess is that it has more to do with sensor functionality or sensitivity than anything. I just wish Rivian would provide a consistent response.

 

[SwampNut]

After cleaning the windshield with acetone, mine stopped doing this. Coincidence? Dunno, but I had great results doing that and then a ceramic coating on my Tesla. A lot of Tesla people complain about the wipers, mine were perfect after I stripped the glass and put on ceramic.

WARNING: Acetone requires gloves and open air, not a closed space, to be safe. It destroys paint and plastics. Fine on glass. DO NOT use the nail polish remover version.

 

[Greg Chick]

I agree. One guy replied "Dude" just turn off the auto setting. I should have replied, "Dude" I did. My "courtesy wipe " is likely to scratch my glass. I will call them courtesy scratches. And ask Rivian for a set of wiper blades "Courtesy".
Or, make sure I keep any abrasive dirt off my window.

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