Plesh88

I picked up an 09 IS250 a couple of weeks ago and finally drove it in the rain for the first time yesterday. I had the wipers on auto and noticed they were not turning on even though it was consistently raining. Only the manual (single wipe), low speed, and high speed worked. The auto never clicked on so I had no type of intermittent setting.

Out of frustration I tapped the rain sensor and then boom, it turns on. Worked for a few seconds then stopped. Pushed on it again, same result, worked for a few seconds, then stopped.

When I got home I took it off the mount and saw this:


Looks like whatever previous adhesive that was on it has now solidified into this hard plastic mess.

Looking for some suggestions on my next step. I saw a thread where someone suggested a gel pad, but not sure how much that may help since this is what's below it.

It's not a must have feature to me, but it'd be nice to have.

Any thoughts?

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

Is it just me, or is the glass part of the sensor missing? Attached a vid where he takes it off his windshield to show, should be around 1:43

Plesh88

I watched that video earlier as well. His has that glass bump up slightly, but mine is (relatively) flush. Not sure what happened to mine, but that could explain why it seems to work when I push it against the windshield.

Plesh88

Dealer said gel pad should fix it so I just bought one off eBay and will give it a shot. I do have a replacement windshield so it could be a combination of both.Hopefully this will do the trick.

lockedlex

that's exactly it, just replace the gel pad, you should be good to go after that.

bbaugher47

I loathe the rain sensing wipers. I am OCD about wiper speed and they always move waaay too fast.

Bichon

My complaint is that the sensitivity control does so little I often wonder if it is even connected to anything. In a light drizzle, the automatic wipers sweep far too frequently, regardless of how I position it.

Plesh88

I'm not a huge fan of auto wipers either, but there is no way to disable it and go back to regular intermittent wipers. Unless someone can find the setting in Techstream those of us with rain sensing wipers are stuck with it.

Petet

I thought they were the coolest option when I bought the car. They are a pain in the a$$. If you live where it snows you will know what I mean. Never have the right speed.

Plesh88

I had auto wipers on my old Fusion, but you're 100% correct, they just never felt 'right'. Always just off speed-wise. Problem is, there is no way to turn it off on this car.

Bichon

Someone posted that on the 2nd gen RX they can be disabled (and will revert to intermittent operation) by unplugging the control box on the windshield. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...r-control.html

Probably wishful thinking to hope that the same fix would work on the 2nd gen IS, but if the feature really bothers you, it might be worth a try.

Plesh88

Yeah I tried that first after reading that thread the other day. Unfortunately it didn't work and I confirmed with service manage at the dealership by me that there is no way to disable it and go back to intermittent. Either all or nothing.

Gel pad should be delivered by Monday so we'll see how things go. I bought Rain X too so hopefully the next time it rains it won't be such a PITA.

mrplesh

Little late but a follow up for this thread, replacing the gel pad was a simple and cheap fix. Rain sensing wipers function perfectly now.

mandyfig

What is this gel pad and where did you purchase them? Just in case other members need it. Thanks.

mrplesh

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F182344045289
Much cheaper than getting it through the dealer