bc6152

On my 2013 ES 350 there was a way to set your WW for summer and winter. In summer you could push down on the knuckle and set them below the hood line. In the winter, in areas of snow and ice, you could pull them up above the hood line to clean out the recess below. Lexus, in their great wisdom, has eliminated this feature for 2019. Now one must run the engine, turn it off and push the mist wipe switch up within 45 seconds. Then the wipers go to the "service position". The problem is that one must squirt washer fluid onto the windshield so that the wipers aren't wiping on a dry windshield. I washed my new 2019 for the first time yesterday when it was 60F here in Pennsylvania. In order to be able to clean the WS without the wipers in the way, I used this method. Then you're able to pull the wipers away from the glass. The problem is that if you forget to bring them back to their "rest" position on the glass when you start the car you can cause damage not only to the wipers but your hood as well. I forgot...

The passenger wiper went down by itself but the driver's side TRIED to go down, hit the hood edge, wiper separated from the arm, and fell into the recess. Now I had two pieces of the wiper... Thankfully there was NO damage to the hood or paint and I was able to put the wiper back together. Then squirt more fluid onto the WS to get the wipers back to the bottom. What a lousy design. I am totally disappointed with this feature. Every time you want to clean out the recess - squirt. Change the wipers - squirt. wash the WS - squirt.
I don't understand what these brainiacs were thinking. Just leave the original design alone. It worked perfectly... Just stupid IMO...

calgold06

Over-engineering

mikemu30

At least they still give us wipers unlike folding mirrors

SW17LS

I'm confused, why do you need to squirt washer fluid onto the windshield? My understanding is as long as you push up to mist they just rise up into the service mode

mikemu30

He's saying there was a way to permanently move them for the winter season rather than using the service mode approach. I was confused at first as well but now understand.

JDR76

He's saying he squirts some washer fluid for lubrication on the wipers as they move up the windshield to the service position, to prevent scratching and wear on the wipers inserts.

SW17LS

Thats what doesn't make sense to me. Why is it okay to slide the wipers up manually without lubricating the windshield but not okay to have them electronically slide up? Even with the old manual setup you were still were sliding the wipers up across a dry windshield.

I think the issue is solved by just not quirting washer fluid onto the windshield when doing this, its not necessary.

mikemu30

One sweep across a dry windshield cant possibly harm the blades. But I see that any options/appointments that the mfrs do away with causes drama for some.

bc6152

No, you weren't sliding them on dry glass. On the '13 you could remove the wipers from the glass by just pulling them outward. You didn't have to move them ON THE DRY windshield.
You can't do this on the new model. The only way to get them to a position where you can pull them outward is to put them in the "service position". To put them in this position you have to lubricate the glass or move them on a dry windshield within 45 seconds of turning the car off... Got it now Steve?

bc6152

I'm not worried about the rubber blades. I worry about permanent scratches on the glass...

SW17LS

It would never have occurred to me to lift them off the glass when lifting them up to winter mode.

I think you're over-emphasizing the importance of not sliding the wipers against dry glass and 99% of owners are never going to worry about this. For many years we had cars that electronically lifted the wipers up from under the hood and lowered them down parking them every time you turned on and off the wipers. My dad's Lincolns and Cadillac all had wipers that operated this way, the glass was never damaged.

I've had many cars, including the LS, that you have to sweep the wipers to be able to change blades, etc...there was no "service mode" and none of my windshields have ever been scratched.

bc6152

The 2019 Lexus ES 350 owner's manual states to never run windshield wipers on a dry windshield... I think this makes my point. Last post on this everyone...

SW17LS

Of course it says that, every owners manual since the beginning of time says that. Nothing magic about the windshield and wipers on the 2019 ES, its a glass windshield and rubber wipers, same as every car.

The point is, you have a specific OCD need to not run the wipers even for an inch on a dry windshield, which is not a typical concern for most drivers, and clearly was not a concern for Lexus when they designed the car. If Lexus had felt that it was so detrimental to move the wipers without lubrication for that 3 inches, there would be no manual or power service mode.

It would just never occur to me to feel the need to spray the washers to just move the wipers up 3 inches...I think you're making this far more complicated than it needs to be.

In any event, even when I had a service mode on my wipers I never used it when washing the car. Its very easy to just run a wash mitt under the wipers when they are parked cleaning that area. So, I would do that if you're that concerned about moving the wipers up.