Man,

This is what kills me about MB. We've had an extremely dry summer here in NJ this year, so i barely drove the car in the rain, untill the last week. Of course, it seems like we've been getting non-stop rain for 5 days now, and my wipers are driving me freaking nuts.

I did a search and will try Rain-X. I have a couple of comments...

First off, at my height/seat position, i can NOT see what the wiper setting is at (no big deal), but this is the first car i've ever had where i have to peer behind the wheel/through it to check what setting its at. Like i said, its no big deal...

Secondly, the shuttering wiper can be controlled by slowing the blade interval down, but oops, you can't do that on a benz, you have to let the MB engineer designed auto setting do it for you, and it doesn't work as good as if i set it - period. I want an intermittant wiper setting.

Finally, while i'm on the dash layout, the light setting should be back lit as well. easy for me to set them by feel, but my wife who rarely drives the car has no clue what to do once in the darkened car.

Outside of that, i must say, to end on a positive note, i'm real glad i got a 4matic! no slippage whatsoever through some serious lakes, ok, puddles!

just venting ....now back to your regularly scheduled program...

Aceman

 

Not having a good day , huh? I "zaino'ed" my windshield last week - makes driving in rain a breeze.Drove all the way up to Montvale on Saturday on the Turnpike and GSP with the intermittent setting.Rain-x in my opinion just doesn't last as long and it streaks.

 

Same here. Zaino'd the windshield and absolutely no wiper problem. I've been to the dealer, tried replacing blades, RainX, etc. Nothing else works.
Zaino'ng it will last at least a dozen car washes.

 

Dalbenz,

I swear by zaino - did you just Z2 the windshield? Only problem i have w/ that is you can't wipe the stuff out of the little pits in the windshield and they turn white when they dry...

Ace

 

haha, never had a problem with the wipers - i just leave them in auto (like, 2 years ago! ) and when it gets a little slow, turn it anti-clockwise a little to pump up the action. then again, the rain we get here is likely to be different from those in the USA.

as for the light setting, i always just turn it one stop (auto) and leave it as well! haha, i'm a simple man...

 

Yes,

I like to drive around w/ my parking lights on and fogs on (not at night, but the hour/two when its getting dark), which for some reason, you can't do in the "auto" position....

ace

 

I don't treat my windshield (on any of my cars) with anything. All I do is run the wipers a bit every time I wash the car. I make sure that they and the glass are totally clean and then use a rag to clean the rubber blades when I dry the car. I only do this (AT MOST) twice a month.

As a result, my blades have worked flawlessly for just over a year in EVERY KIND OF MOISTURE that exists: rain, drizzle, downpours, sleet, snow and blizzard conditions. At first I was skeptical about these new expensive blades and the rain sensor, but after seeing how well they avoid getting frozen stiff I am a believer.

Regular blades like I had on my other Mercedes and still have on my Audi and Porsche tend to get snow and ice in the frame and then the wiper blade does not apply even pressure on the windshield. These frameless wipers are much better. Of course I could buy a cheap snow wiper at Kmart, but I will not put that kind of junk on my cars.

If you have a problem with the rain sensor making the wipers work too often, then that usually means that the wipers must be cleaned on the ends where they pass over the sensor. If they don't work often enough, then lightly press the wash button and only trigger the "wipe once" function. I find that this wakes up the sensor if it is slow.

I do have 3 issues though:

1st, the wiper arms can not be lifted away from the glass when they are on the down position. My W124 even had a setting that would leave the arm up a few inches away from the windshield, it was great! In spite of the frame wiper, I still loved the single wiper design! I guess I was the only one who liked it though.

2nd, you need to make sure that you don't drive with the rain sensor always activated in the winter. If you do, you run the risk of doing damage when you first start the car. If you have frost that stuck the wipers on to the glass or a few inches of snow on the windshield they will immediately want to start wiping! NOT GOOD! So I always try to remember to set the knob to off when I don't park in my garage in the winter. This is only an issue if you start the car up while you are scraping the snow and ice off. I rarely do it, but sometimes you want to warm the car up before you start driving so that your windows don't fog up immediately.

3rd, the driver's wiper always throws water to the passenger side if it wipes even the smallest amount of water or washer fluid. Not a big deal, but if I had a right-hand drive model I would be HATING IT!!!

So this is my opinion on this newer system for the E. Overall, I like it a lot and find the rain sensor infinitely better than the old pre-set interval. As per the lights, I think they should be illuminated on the knob, but I also drive with the knob on “AUTO.” I had a co-worker who had to drive my E so I could drive my Audi back from service. She drove my E since it is an automatic. On the 15-mile drive back it got dark and then it started to rain. She was totally impressed with the car (and she really could not care less about cars in general). She said to me that she could not believe it, the lights came on when she thought it was time to turn them on, but did not know where to turn them on. Then she worried when it started to rain since she had no idea where to turn the wipers on either, then they came on automatically. Needless to say, she was very happy that the systems all worked as she wanted them to and needed them. That was a nice compliment coming from a person who hates cars otherwise. Oh yes. . . she also loved how a MB drove, she never drove one before.

Sorry for typing soo much,

Steve

 

Hi everyone,

for several years, I have been using a product called "Ombrello" which works great. Once you apply it, you're usually set to go for about 6 months. Thats how longit lasts if you get a good amount of rain in your area and your car is not regularly garaged (mine is not). A speed of about 50mph is already enough to be able to do completely without your wipers on. The water just beads off. I can't imagine driving without anymore!

Hope this helps!

 

Nope, not Z2. I spray with Z6 and wipe off.

 

Steve,

I too like the single wiper of the W202 & W210. I have the best of both worlds with my '00 210 wagon where I have the rain sensing intermittent with the single wiper.