When I bought my 2001 GS430, the windshield wipers were in the "rest" position, but according to the manual, there is also a "retracted" position, when the wipers retract under the hood. According to the manual, all I have to do to retract them, is just push down on the wiper arm with about 20 lb of force - I have tried pushing down on them, but they feel like they are about to break, and wont retract. I'm afraid the break them, so I haven't experimented with that anymore. I would appreciate if someone provides better instruction on retracting them.

 

it wont snap. just put a little more pressure on the wipers

 

Get a bigger hammer.

j/k, they'll go down. If you're not sure if they're ALREADY down, post a pic.

 

they are defenately not down, i used to have a 94 gs300 before, and on that the wipres were well retracted under the hood, barely visible from the cabin.

But in any case, does the car have to be on or off when i push down on them? The whole wipred arm looks to be bending as i push down. Also, when pushing them down, do I have to push them down all the way, or just give them an initial push and they'll continue automatically?

 

You just need to push them down w/ a little force. The car doesn't have to be on or off. If you are afraid of bending them, just make sure that you are pushing down somewhere on the arm that is a little closer to where the arm connects to the body of hte car (don't be pushing down on the wiper blade part or nothing). They'll snap down eventually (you'll actually hear a "pop").

 

just GIVE 'ER

the "high" position is extremely useful in winter, while the "low" position makes the car look slick, and don't worry, I'm quite clumsy and I push and pull real hard and they are all good!

 

push closer to the joint of the wiper arm...it wont break.

 

I don't remember which one, but aren't you supposed to push down on a certain side?

 

The older gen GS300's had a power 2 position point for the wipers, they took that out?

 

good point! anyone know?

 

wait wait wait... if your wiper is below the hood line than you are in summer mode already

 

2 questions:

(1) Is this feature available on GS400s?

(2) How does winter mode work? Why is it better in the winter?

e-man

 

All LExus windshield wipers have always been out of site. Its to improve aerodynamics and reduce windnoise. Also, something else you might not notice, they wipe 95% of the windshield. We take that for granted. Drive or ride in another brand car in the rain and notice how poorly some cars windshield wipers are. They cover like 1/2 the windshield.

 

Aint that the truth? dont remind me of towncars, the wipers wipe close to 40% of the glass.

 

From what I've read, I think it's easier to pull up and down on the passenger side. I've tried both sides, and I thiiiiiiiink the passenger side is slightly easier to push down and pull up. Doesn't really make a big difference.

I think the winter mode is so that you folks that get snow and ice in the winter, the wiper blades aren't frozen in the retracted (under the hood) position, so it'll be easier to de-ice.