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Steve Hanley wrote an article this morning about Tesla’s dysfunctional, wacky automatic windshield wipers, among other things. We happened to have a conversation earlier in the morning about them, but I didn’t realize the extent of his crisis in the pouring Florida rain, and I also didn’t share the followup problem that I assume everyone has with the wipers.
First of all, perhaps there are a few people out there who haven’t had problems, but from my experience, no Tesla owners think the wipers work very well, and I’m confident their below-par behavior is the #1 thing Tesla drivers are unhappy with when it comes to operation of the vehicle. Furthermore, they have been a problem for years. The wipers have been a major issue — if not the #1 issue — for a very long time, and the fact that Tesla hasn’t tried harder to make them work well is truly disappointing and concerning. Windshield wipers are a critical part of a vehicle’s safety system.
When Steve brought the issue up to me, I recalled having similar experiences — the wipers wouldn’t turn on while it was already raining significantly, and then they’d wipe the windshield way too slowly. Later, when it stopped raining, the wipers would keep working on a dry windshield…. Seriously.
