hankhill

I have just bought a 2009 facelift A6 and I thought the rain sensing wipers (which are definitely fitted, they’re standard on that model here in the UK) were not working. The handbook says that position is “intermittent” but then says they are operated automatically at speeds above 4km/h. The higher the setting of the switch the sooner the wipers react to rain. OK, then it later says “if you stop briefly, eg at traffic lights, the wipers will be reduced one level.” So does that mean if they are in intermittent they will just stop, and if they are on slow wipe they will also stop as they’ll go down to intermittent/rain sense, and that only works above 4km/h? I’m certainly seeing very erratic operation; I’m not convinced they are working properly.

John Simcox

One "click" up and they are on and you can use the switch on the top to adjust the sensitivity, or if you want to force a wipe just click up one notch and then back down. When the car is stopped they do tend to stop, although I have seen mine (on both my old C6 and new C7) work when stationary in heavy rain, increasing and decreasing the sensitivity when stopped also forces a wipe. As to what happens when they are set on constant and then you stop I can't say because I have only very rarely ever had them in any setting other than automatic.

If they are working rather erratically it may be an issue with the windscreen. You should not use a product such as RainEx on the windscreen and certainly not over the sensor area if you have rain sensing wipers. It may be worth giving the screen a very good clean, start with something like Liquid Flash and then wash it using washing up liquid and finally use a good glass cleaner on it (eg Autoglym). That should remove any contaminants on the screen and make the system work as intended

pvmacguy

If they were not working correctly you would get an error light and sound on th dashboard along the lines of "automatic headlight/wiper malfunction." I had that problem and the sensor stuck to the windshield needed replacement.

Try what the previous post said, from off position, push wiper stalk up one position and use the sensitivity switch on the stalk to adjust to your needs.

J. Patterson

We have them on both our A6 and our Q7. They seem kind of erratic until you become accustomed to them. I was never aware that they adjusted to vehicle speed however. As others say we usually just set one click up to AUTO and never change that. One warning is to remember to turn them off when you enter a car wash. I can't count how many times I have forgotten and the wipers have attacked the attendant :-)

royclark

My wipers do speed up when I go faster to cope with the extra amount of water hitting the screen.

hankhill

Thanks all for the quick replies, sounds like I just need to get used to it.

gcmartin1

When set to auto the wipers use a combination of water on glass and speed of the vehicle. There is an optical sensor on the mirror mount. The step dial allows te driver to adjust based on preference as the sensor doesn't detect road mist from cars as easy as rain and drizzle.

hankhill

Just to update all that replied, I found that if I wiggle the mirror against the screen while driving in rain, the wipers worked in auto mode. So, I took the mirror off (quarter turn anti-clockwise) and looked at the sensor. There should be a gel layer holding it firmly to the windscreen, but that was completely missing and the sensor was loose. The car had a new screen fitted just before I bought it, and from internet research it seems that your average windscreen fitter is either incompetent, just plain lazy, or not prepared to buy a replacement gel pack from Audi (£17). From numerous forums I looked at, typically the fitters just completely remove the old gel pack, or maybe try to re-use it, and run away hoping the customer wont realise their auto wipers no longer work until its too late. Since the independent dealer I bought the car from is prepared to cover the cost, the car is booked into my local Audi dealer who will replace the gel pack for £17 and fit it for £78 (half hour labour I assume).

So, a word of advice - if you ever need your windscreen replaced, watch those guys carefully and make sure they use a new, genuine Audi, gel pack on the rain sensor.

pesticidal

I'm having trouble with mine, too. I just brought it into the dealer today to get checked out. They told me that the windshield had been replaced, and they feel the fit isn't correct; there's a small gap at the top, and they think it's making the sensor not respond right. Their solution? replace the windshield with a new one from Audi. I don't think so. I'll have them check out the sensor mount as noted above.