Is it me or this is a dumb design from Toyota/Lexus? How did you lift windshield wiper to clean your windshield? I tried to lift them and front hood is in the way to prevent me doing it?

 

In your Owners Manual there is a page about how to reposition your windshield wipers so they can be swung upwards. Actually, if all you want to do is to clean the glass, you just raise the blades slightly with one hand while you wipe it clean with the other. Another way to do this is to turn on the ignition, then turn on your wipers, and turn off the ignition when the blades are not seated at the bottom of the stroke.

 

Do you have to do this on all the Lexus or just ES330? I never own any car that I have to do this if I want to clean my windshield when I fillup my car. This is such a nuisance. So I have to do this before I get out of my car to pum my gas. Shame on Lexus designer.

 

This has to be done on any car that has hidden wipers. In other words, when the blades are at rest below the hood line. This is NOT singled out on your ES330.

 

There is also another reason for the different positionings of the windshield wipers. When they are hidden slightly below the level of the hood, they are in "summer" mode. When they are raised up in retracted position, they are in "winter" mode so that you can easily lift your wipers up to clean off ice and snow buildup on the windshield.

 

There's a summer/winter mode for wiper arm operation? Never heard of that before. I guess in our region, we don't have ice/snow to deal with.

There are some GM model vehicles out there that keep the wiper blades above the seated position when turned on. To me that's more of a motor/gear design for the wiper arms to operate. Also more of a nuisance since it blocks your line of vision of the windshield when you have them turned on.

 

There is even a couple pages in the owners manual devoted to this.

steviej

 

I need to check out that owner manual portion. In LA there is no winder should be all summer.

 

That's odd, never seen that in any Lexus or Toyota printed manual in our region. Possibly in regions that require a cold weather package?

 

Maybe it come with heated seats option. LOL! That's another thing I think Lexus is making extra bucks by packaging heated seats option with other together even in California.

 

From a credible, reliable source, to put it in winter mode on the ES, you pull up on the windshield wiper arm and pop it up above the hoodline. It's a manual operation meaning no tools involved. This is to keep snow/ice building up on the wipers below the hoodline. Use a alcohol soaked cotton ball to clean the winshield wiper blades to remove debris. voila! I stand corrected.

 

I can't find it on Owner Manual.

 

Exactly! It actually clicks into the upper position. The first time I tried it, I thought I was going to break something, because it took a pretty strong tug. Older Lexus's required you to change the electrical connection on the wiper motor to have the blades park in the upper position.
P.S. The ability to make these changes are on ALL the ES's, regardless of the geographical location that they were originally sold. It has nothing to do with cold weather packages.

 

does my 98 model have this?.....for the lower class people

 

Yes, but I don't know whether it's done electrically or mechanically on your year car. Look in your owners manual.