XC60 MY19 - Auto rear wiper in reverse not working

[lalith16]

The rear wiper is coming on automatically only intermittently may be 2 in 10 times when the car is engaged in reverse gear. It was working fine until few days ago and only started happening 2-3 days ago. It is working fine when it is controlled via the right hand steering wheel stalk switch.

Wondering if anyone else experiencing the same problem.

[Whyman]

Does it only work if the front wipers are on?

[lalith16]

Originally Posted by Whyman

Does it only work if the front wipers are on?

I didn’t check that. However, the rear wiper is supposed to work independently irrespective of whether the front wipers are on or not as long as the the reverse gear is engaged and the automatic setting is enabled in Settings>My Car>Wipers>Auto Rear Wiper.

[nu11eaf]

They only sweep when front wipers are sweeping otherwise they would come on every time you put car in reverse even when not raining, there is no rain sensor on the rear window.

[lalith16]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

They only sweep when front wipers are sweeping otherwise they would come on every time you put car in reverse even when not raining, there is no rain sensor on the rear window.

I don’t remember if the front wipers were on at the same when I noticed the rear wipers sweeping when the reverse gear is engaged. I will check in the morning and see if that is the case. However, what you said makes perfect sense.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

They only sweep when front wipers are sweeping otherwise they would come on every time you put car in reverse even when not raining, there is no rain sensor on the rear window.

That's probably the answer. Odd that this was not noticed by OP previously though. So judgement is reserved until OP tests and comes to a conclusion.

[nu11eaf]

If you put car in reverse and either tap the wiper stalk down (single sweep) or up to turn them on you will see the rear wiper sweep.
When I reverse my car off the drive in light rain and wipers are intermittent on auto, I usually have to give the stalk a tap down to clear the rear screen unless wipers are moving.

[karlak]

From the manual.. Makes sense as why would you want the rear wiper to swipe if it isnt raining.



Using automatic rear windscreen
wiping when reversing
Engaging reverse gear while the windscreen
wipers are on initiates rear window wiping. The
function stops when reverse gear is disengaged.
1. Press Settings in the top view in the centre
display.
2. Press My Car Wipers.
3. Select Auto Rear Wiper to activate/deactivate
wiping when reversing.
If the rear window wiper is already on at continuous
speed, no change is made.

[lalith16]

nu11eaf:
It took this long to check and confirm; yes, the auto rear wipers are coming on whenever the front wipers are on and the car is engaged in reverse. This is of course subject to the approriate setting being enabled in the settings. Makes sense why they shouldn’t/wouldn’t come on unless the front ones are on.

Quaker:
Yes it is very odd that I didn’t notice, until I asked the question, that auto rear wipers start only when the front ones are on. Having said that, it is never too late to know.