Things I'd like to improve on my Skoda:

[dodgey]

Having said that the auto wipers do still seems to be a bit of a mystery and mine occasionally need a flick of the wiper stalk to get going.

Having come from a GTI, the annoyances with the lights and the wipers seem normal to me. There are odd occasions when the lights come on when it's still bright, and when the wipers just ghost wipe, or not start at all. I have no answer to it, and take it as an idiosyncracy of the VAG electrics. A change in sensor for a friend's GTI seemed to help a lot, but I think our cars already have the new type of sensor..

That said, if you use any additive or put anything on your windscreen (like Rain-X) the wipers tend to wipe more often when there no requirement to... (My experience anyway)

[woofy]

I think when there is water on the screen after it has been turned off, the car when its started "blanks" the sensor so it thinks the water there is background. The flicking off and on when moving probably makes it reset and then realise the water isn't background.....it never happens any other time for me, and that explanation makes the most sense to me, as I have seen other equipment do that.

[K1W1]

That makes sense to me. I guess sometimes we give computers credit for being smarter than they actually are.

[pwcar]

Yes, I'd thought that the sensor must sense "change", rather than the rain itself. So when you start the car with raindrops all over the windscreen there is no change and they don't start, but once you force one wipe they then sense the fresh raindrops and manage themselves.

[aslsw]

Personally, I assumed it detected movement of water ie. water stationary on the screen isn't detected, but when it starts moving past the sensor the wipers come on.

[BlackSuperb]

Things I'd like to improve on my Skoda:

Personally, I assumed it detected movement of water.......

Maybe it's not just water that is senses. That would explain the random wipe in the dry when maybe a bug flies past the sensor.



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[canyonman]

Wiper Sensor

I assumed the sensor for the auto wipers worked by passing a tiny light beam out through the glass and sensing difraction when a droplet on the glass makes the light bend??
When mine (Golf V FSI) occasionally gets confused I assumed it was because the water was a thin sheen or something else interfered with the light from the sensor ....

[Swuzzlebubble]

I assumed the sensor for the auto wipers worked by passing a tiny light beam out through the glass and sensing difraction when a droplet on the glass makes the light bend??
When mine (Golf V FSI) occasionally gets confused I assumed it was because the water was a thin sheen or something else interfered with the light from the sensor ....

How Automatic Windshield Wipers Work | eHow.com

Imperative to these wipers' function is an optical sensor that monitors the front windshield glass. The optical sensor casts infrared light into the windshield at a 45-degree angle, then monitors how much light is reflected back. If the windshield is completely clear, nearly all of the light will be reflected back at the sensor (total internal reflection). If the windshield is clouded with water or dirt, less light is reflected back at the sensor, triggering the wipers. The wipers' speed, then, is constantly adjusted according to how much light makes it back to the sensor between each wipe.

[aslsw]

Here's one other thing that happens regularly ie. at least once on every drive...

Every now and then, the display at the top of the MFD changes from the time and current gear to just "MFD". As I drive the DSG as a manual for around 75% of the time, this gets annoying as I have no indicator of the current gear.

And then, it goes back to normal. I can't figure out what else is going on when this changes, and pressing buttons doesn't make a difference.

[K1W1]

The answer is to buy a manual.

I notice that mine says MFD for a guess 30-45 seconds after the car starts then changes to the clock but once the clock displays it never changes.
I wonder if you just have a loose wire somewhere?

[pwcar]

I wonder if you just have a loose wire somewhere?

In related news, my stupid flat tyre light is back on permanently since last weekend, all tyres have normal and equal pressures.
I have yet to organise a visit to the dealer in Preston, but I'm really underwhelmed by the frequency of these fake warnings that have happened since new.

[raph]

2 things id improve - firstly, the unpredictable behaviour of my folding side mirrors. They will always fold correctly when pressing the lock button, but when starting the car, its a gamble. One might unfold, neither might unfold, or both will unfold. No consistency whatsoever. I am hopeful this will be fixed along with my first service.
The other thing, i would have prefered the cupholders to be a little higher, and also a little further forward. The current position can be a bit awkward if you are drinking 2 coffees one after the other.

[K1W1]

The current position can be a bit awkward if you are drinking 2 coffees one after the other.

I think that if you are doing that you have other issues in your life that need addressing.

[Swuzzlebubble]

The current position can be a bit awkward if you are drinking 2 coffees one after the other.

Maybe they could have some intravenous feed arrangement?

[raph]

I think that if you are doing that you have other issues in your life that need addressing.

hey i have a daily 6am commute for 45mins to an hour.... i drink 2 coffees on the way, so about the 1/2 way mark, i wake up.