Wipers stopping

[Ala Larj]

Have experienced a strange thing with my wipers. It happened once last year but three times this morning in torrential rain which is quite scary. My wipers stopped working in mid flow. The only way to get them going again is to put them briefly on full speed. Has anyone else experienced this or have any idea what the problem may be?

[PCM]

Rain in the 'electrics'?

[Ala Larj]

Um, maybe. Need to take it to the dealer as still under warranty. When I mentioned it last year they couldn't find a fault. Happened a couple of times on way home from work too so has become more of an issue. Do these sort of things show up on the diagnostic codes?

[ColinBarber]

48 minutes ago, Ala Larj said:

Do these sort of things show up on the diagnostic codes?

Probably not unfortunately.

 

[Ala Larj]

Thanks. Let's hope it happens in front of them then!

[ColinBarber]

30 minutes ago, Ala Larj said:

Thanks. Let's hope it happens in front of them then!

Either way insist they do something, it's too dangerous to have it fail when driving. There isn't much to the system, the switch assembly contains the electronics, a relay or two, and the motor - they should check the wiring and start to replace the items if they cannot reproduce the fault.

[cruisermark]

This sounds like a dangerous fault - I would book it in on a day when rain is forecast and ask them to take an extended test drive hoping that the fault will show itself

[royoftherovers]

14 hours ago, Ala Larj said:

Um, maybe. Need to take it to the dealer as still under warranty. When I mentioned it last year they couldn't find a fault. Happened a couple of times on way home from work too so has become more of an issue. Do these sort of things show up on the diagnostic codes?

Can you capture the failure on your mobile phone and show that to them?

[cruisermark]

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Can you capture the failure on your mobile phone and show that to them?

Good Idea! - Or the OP may have a dashcam already in which case he may have the footage already?

[rayaans]

It started happening on my RX300 after the windscreen was changed - they were never the same after that. 

[Ala Larj]

11 hours ago, cruisermark said:

Good Idea! - Or the OP may have a dashcam already in which case he may have the footage already?

 

13 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Can you capture the failure on your mobile phone and show that to them?

Have done that and showed them today. Have it booked in tomorrow for them to look at. Had a nice play with the new LS today whilst I was there!

[Ala Larj]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

It started happening on my RX300 after the windscreen was changed - they were never the same after that. 

That's interesting. Had my screen changed last year before it started happening. I wonder if that will affect any warranty claim?

[rayaans]

11 hours ago, Ala Larj said:

That's interesting. Had my screen changed last year before it started happening. I wonder if that will affect any warranty claim?

Shouldn't affect the warranty claim but the sensor is on the windscreen next to the mirror mount housing so if its not sat properly or the screen is not reflecting properly, then it won't work as it should. 

[JeffL]

2 hours ago, rayaans said:

Shouldn't affect the warranty claim but the sensor is on the windscreen next to the mirror mount housing so if its not sat properly or the screen is not reflecting properly, then it won't work as it should. 

So can it be corrected by the Lexus dealer and for that matter by an independent?

[Ala Larj]

6 minutes ago, JeffL said:

So can it be corrected by the Lexus dealer and for that matter by an independent?

Thanks. I will ask them. Booked in this afternoon. 

[Ala Larj]

Beautiful sunny day yesterday and as expected Lexus couldn't find a fault. They checked the motor, looked for leaks, cleaned some things and adjusted the wipers. I'm now hoping for some heavy rain to see if it happens again!

[Bob99]

Hi Alan

Has your wiper problem been cured or gone away. Mine have an  issue where they sometimes stop mid screen and also do not operate when rain is on the screen. Operating them in manual seems to reset them. I would be interested to know your solution if there was one.

Bob

 

[Ala Larj]

Hi Bob, 

No it hasn't really been resolved. It's happened a couple of times since Lexus failed to find the problem. It is very erratic. When it happens I have to pull the lever fully down and they then start. If I just pull it down to the first position it doesn't solve it.

Alan

[Thackeray]

If the control is the same as on the 2014 IS300h, something should always happen when you push the lever down to the first position. I haven't found a GS manual but this is what the IS manual says about the wiper controls. (Sorry if it's different on the GS!)

If the GS300h is the same, then the problem seems to be something other than the sensor, as if the wipers are off (presumably even in auto mode) then you should get low-speed operation when you push the lever down to the first position.

[Bob99]

Hi Alan thanks for our reply. Seems I may have a similar fault as yours. Mine sometimes will stop half way across the screen which means you have to put it in manual to clear the screen. As it is an intermittent fault I suppose it would be hard for Lexus to solve unless it happened during testing, and the only other option would be trial and error with the fitting of parts which I couldn't see Lexus doing. I've googled the problem and Honda civics have had similar problems in the past some being solved by changing the wiper motor. They were expensive for Honda (£300) so don't know what the Lexus cost would be. I'll see how it goes for now.

 

Bob

[Ala Larj]

Just checked my manual and mine is the same as yours. I haven't tried low and high speed operations when in auto mode. Have only done it when the problem occurs. Will try over the weekend and see what happens. Didn't realise I can have a temporary operation by flicking up. I always press the auto button on and off which gives me one sweep. Maybe I've caused the problem doing that!

[Thackeray]

1 hour ago, Ala Larj said:

I always press the auto button on and off which gives me one sweep.

Something I discovered a few months ago is that you can disable the Auto function completely. I thought it was broken for a few weeks,  as when I pressed the Auto button the light didn't come on and the wipers didn't start when it was raining. It wasn't a major problem as I could still turn the wipers on manually. 

I was going to get it looked at when it went in for a service but after a few weeks I thought I would look it up in the manual. I found that if you press and hold the Auto button until the Auto light stops flashing, the Auto function doesn't work at all. Instead, you can operate the wipers manually, including the variable speed intermittent mode. So it wasn't broken. I had simply pressed the Auto button for too long and didn't notice the light flashing.

You do the same again when you want to turn on the Auto function again.

This probably isn't relevant to what's happening on your car. But you might be right in saying that pressing the Auto button on and off is causing a problem, perhaps by confusing the software. 

 

[Ala Larj]

4 hours ago, Bob99 said:

Hi Alan thanks for our reply. Seems I may have a similar fault as yours. Mine sometimes will stop half way across the screen which means you have to put it in manual to clear the screen. As it is an intermittent fault I suppose it would be hard for Lexus to solve unless it happened during testing, and the only other option would be trial and error with the fitting of parts which I couldn't see Lexus doing. I've googled the problem and Honda civics have had similar problems in the past some being solved by changing the wiper motor. They were expensive for Honda (£300) so don't know what the Lexus cost would be. I'll see how it goes for now.

 

Bob

That's interesting. I've got extended warranty so may go to Lexus with this information. 

[Ala Larj]

2 hours ago, Thackeray said:

Something I discovered a few months ago is that you can disable the Auto function completely. I thought it was broken for a few weeks,  as when I pressed the Auto button the light didn't come on and the wipers didn't start when it was raining. It wasn't a major problem as I could still turn the wipers on manually. 

I was going to get it looked at when it went in for a service but after a few weeks I thought I would look it up in the manual. I found that if you press and hold the Auto button until the Auto light stops flashing, the Auto function doesn't work at all. Instead, you can operate the wipers manually, including the variable speed intermittent mode. So it wasn't broken. I had simply pressed the Auto button for too long and didn't notice the light flashing.

You do the same again when you want to turn on the Auto function again.

This probably isn't relevant to what's happening on your car. But you might be right in saying that pressing the Auto button on and off is causing a problem, perhaps by confusing the software. 

 

Thanks for the response. I am aware of that but don't think it's the problem as sometimes they don't work at all and sometimes they stop mid sweep. However I think you have a point about it confusing the system. What I think I'll try is to switch off the auto function for a while and then try it again without using my one sweep method and see how it goes. It's quite annoying as despite what I have read from other members I find the auto function really useful and apart from the intermittent fault they work really well.

[Daveegg]

I have exactly the same intermitent fault on my GS300h.  It's been back to 2 different Lexus dealers a total of 4 times.  But each time they say can't experience the fault and nothing shows up on on the computer.  On youtube a US Lexus owner videoed the wiper problem and the concensus on the replies is the fault is almost certainly a defective relay in the wiper switch.  In another similar video a Toyota owner claimed the fault is common on Toyotas and shows how to replace the wiper replay in the switch for $10 or about £8.  I am looking for an auto electrician who can do this job as I don't fancy paying £200 or so if I instruct my local Lexus dealer to change the complete switch.