Jonny87 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I wasn't pointing the finger at you specifically about wipers, but a lot of people do just leave them on and wonder why they don't work. So no need to take it personally :) I see it on various forums, where people are unaware as to how the rain sensing wipers work. The majority think they can leave them on all the time (much like auto lamps) and it work; we of course, know better.I don't have a problem with the lights; simply that when pulling into the station, the light is just bright enough to switch them off and as I pull away, people try to tell me that my lights are off, unaware that they will turn themselves on. The Fiesta is clearly far more sensitive to changes in light - the Focus takes 2-3 secs when going from light to dark (say, in a tunnel) and is instantaneous in pitch black (i.e. starting the car at night). Mine do come on when dull, but no bother. It's not like they flicker on and off trying to decide - it just stays on, or goes off. I've seen the example of over-sensitive lights on a Lexus, and boy was it annoying. Kept wondering why the guy was flashing me and noticed each time it went on, he was under street lamps lol I agree it is best to keep an eye on the auto wipers. Trust me though, the lights will at times make the decision as to whether it is day or night at least twice on occasion, esp. on dull overcast days. - I do agree though that if you start it up at night then they are of course spot on. - I'm only talking about the times when you drive from daylight into darkness A tunnel is easy for them, but dark grey sky and they sometimes cant make their mind up! so I switch back to manual, untill they can be sure its night lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 lol I agree it is best to keep an eye on the auto wipers. Trust me though, the lights will at times make the decision as to whether it is day or night at least twice on occasion, esp. on dull overcast days. - I do agree though that if you start it up at night then they are of course spot on. - I'm only talking about the times when you drive from daylight into darkness A tunnel is easy for them, but dark grey sky and they sometimes cant make their mind up! so I switch back to manual, untill they can be sure its night lol Must be a different module in the Fiesta, as I genuinely have no beef with mine. I've done 23k miles in it and it's never spazzed in questionable light. Once it's in the dark/darker area for more than a few seconds, the lights come on (as mentioned, like the 'low' beams on 2nd ignition and no engine), and if it decides it definitely IS dark, the dipped beams come on properly. If it's low light, mine just seem to stay on, when perhaps others might not have lights on yet. Never had the flickies - it just doesn't do that in the Focus, though I am aware plenty do in other cars. I know this, as I hear the lights click on when the light goes down; that, and the touchscreen goes into "night" mode automatically, to prevent glare when driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstructorPiggy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 If someone can't put their lights on when its dark or wipers on when it rains or forget either of these, then they are either not concentrating enough on driving or shouldn't be driving. sorry, fact. The problem is it DOESN'T give the driver more focus on the road....it makes the driver subconsciously think that they can focus on other things...kids, music, food, drink, texting, driving fast. This isn't just my own opinion, a big test was done recently by a DIA magazine. They also pointed out that if they put petrol tanks in the front bumper, a spike on the steering wheel, and no seatbelts that people would drive much more sensibly....features that make cars safer do save lives....but their shouldn't be the need....we need to tackle the cause of bad driving, not the effect. and auto this and that just makes people think they don't need to focus on the drive so much..... seriously, who when selecting that optional extra thought....'mmm, this will make me a better driver because it will allow me to focus more on my safe driving'....i didnt think so! And if you have to turn on the automatic wipers....then they are not automatic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 And if you have to turn on the automatic wipers....then they are not automatic! They're not called automatic wipers for that very reason (asking for legal issues that). They are of course, 'rain sensing' wipers and adapt to the rain conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amarokuk Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I think the auto wipers are a little misunderstood (or badly named maybe?) It is presumed that like the auto lights the wipers will just come on as needed which is true but there dependence on the sensor on the windscreen means that they will come on to any obstruction to the sensor whether that be dirt, ice, snow or even raindrops. Leave auto wipers on all the time and the blades will last no time at all being ripped out of icy windows throughout the winter. Auto wipers are useful when travelling through rain because they can automaticaly adapt to the amount of rain speeding up and slowing to intermittent as required. I think one of the french makers even calls the wipers Auto adaptive rather than just auto to make the point. Most electric gizmos are pointless. Electric windows whats wrong with a handle? central looking on a 3 door car that you can reach over to the passenger side without stretching? Electric door mirrors that you set on the first day and maybe adjust once a year or so? Power steering designed for those whose only exercise is shoving burgers in their mouths? ..........and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Electrics are a convenience factor, make no bones about it. I wouldn't say they are pointless though! Winding down a window while driving could be tricky - one-touch windows are far easier. Central locking on a three door ... in the rain? My passenger doesn't want to get wet waiting for me to get in and pull the handle. Other people drive my car from time to time, so electric mirrors (heated too) are fine by me. Power steering is great for heavy cars and performing tight turns at slower speeds - I'd never want to have a car without it. Personal preference really - people do indeed seem misled by "auto" equipment, which can be frustrating (more so if you are a dealer I bet!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonMad Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I can see your points - totally valid.But I love auto wipers. I still use them manually all the time, but in rain that varies a lot (light, medium, light, heavy) auto speed is a god-send. Simple as. Auto headlights are a no-brainer. I leave mine on auto and therefore can't go wrong. Far safer than forgetting to put them on at all imo. Good summary imo. Intermittent wipers are a useful convenience tool. Variable intermittent more so. Rain-sensitive a variation on that. And not that it's particularly relevant but rain-sensitive wipers are handy on trackdays :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMC Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I don't buy into the argument that auto lights are good becasue they allow you to forget whether to put them on or not - i drive with mine ON all the time for saftey - it's forgetting to turn them OFF that i might have a problem with so i value the addition of another much-granted gizmo, the audible lights-on warning when getting out of the car!! :P As for the "auto" wipers - i think some very worthy points have been made in the past few posts that they are not totally automatic, but auto-sensing, or auto-intermittent, and i would like that feature to be standard, becasue i am forever adjusting the speed wheel on my intermittent stalk in the Focus, and i suspect it'll be the same when i get the Fiesta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 becasue i am forever adjusting the speed wheel on my intermittent stalk in the Focus, and i suspect it'll be the same when i get the Fiesta! Bingo. Hence my "setting 3" for sensitivity has been flawless for 14 months and over 20k miles! I'd be loathed to ever be without them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny87 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I don't buy into the argument that auto lights are good becasue they allow you to forget whether to put them on or not - i drive with mine ON all the time for saftey - it's forgetting to turn them OFF that i might have a problem with so i value the addition of another much-granted gizmo, the audible lights-on warning when getting out of the car!! :PAs for the "auto" wipers - i think some very worthy points have been made in the past few posts that they are not totally automatic, but auto-sensing, or auto-intermittent, and i would like that feature to be standard, becasue i am forever adjusting the speed wheel on my intermittent stalk in the Focus, and i suspect it'll be the same when i get the Fiesta! On all the time? Bingo. Hence my "setting 3" for sensitivity has been flawless for 14 months and over 20k miles! I'd be loathed to ever be without them again. Setting 1 is spot on for me more or less 100% of the time, there may be some variance in the sensors though so my 1 could be the nearly the same as your three? probably the reason why the control is there to compensate for slight sensitivity differences, as you say the setting doesnt need changing so there would be no need for a control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstructorPiggy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 On all the time? why not?!?! Unless its sunny i am likely to be found with sidelights on....when a car is more visible with lights than without then they are worthwile having on!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewL Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 So far I have found that my auto lights are really accurate at all times since I've had the car. When the level of light into the sensor goes below the set limit the lights will come on and then if it suddenly gets really bright again (as though you've just gone through a tunnel or into and out of a multistorey car park) they'll go off. However if the lights come on because of going under some trees or the sun starting to set or something like that and then the light level fluctuates a little bit between above the prescribed level and below it, then the lights are very reluctant to go off (obviously to stop this on and off problem that would be irritating to other drivers) and will remain on unless it becomes very bright again. As for the wipers these aren't so brillant, although they are still very good in my opinion. Obviously the wipers will only switch on if water hits the sensor, so you could have a big stream running over your side of the windscreen and nothing would happen. Also, the sensor doesn't recognise standing water that is covering the screen before you get in the car (anyone know if it's a pressure sensor for the wipers?) so again they wouldn't come on in this case. With an icy windscreen, I don't think that it is the ice that makes the wipers come on, I reckon that when you start the car and put the heated windscreen and demist on that melts some of the ice that runs over the sensor. Despite what Ford say in the handbook I leave wipers on the 'auto' setting all of the time unless the windscreen is frozen over where I'll turn them off for a few minutes until it's melted - and then back on again. What other harm will it really do? As for people seeing the auto functionality as a reason to pay no attention thing I really can't believe that for a second. Who's going to think, 'Oh it's ok if it gets dark my lights will come on by themselves.' And continue to write a text safe in that knowledge! Surely it's far more dangerous travelling along the motorway at 70mph and taking three seconds to look down and turn your lights or wipers on to the correct setting (maybe you were unfamiliar with the car). In this time you would have travelled 94 metres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstructorPiggy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 then don't look down at the controls?!?!? Wipers are at fingers reach, lights at hands reach...shouldn't need to look...thats learner town!! You should be familiar with a vehicle before you begin to drive it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 then don't look down at the controls?!?!?Wipers are at fingers reach, lights at hands reach...shouldn't need to look...thats learner town!! You should be familiar with a vehicle before you begin to drive it :) Although you are an instructor, not everyone treats driving a different car in the same way. This is a fact of life. I'd be lying if I said I looked for EVERY control in cars new to me before setting off. My GF's Avensis - couldn't tell you where the fog lights are on the dash, but I can drive it safely and not need to look for controls, what with 90% of cars all being the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewL Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 You should be familiar with these controls yeah (and I'm sure on here we all are on our own cars), but I'd bet there are loads of occurances where people aren't - like driving a hire car or someone elses. You also shouldn't text, be on the phone or eat whilst driving as you were using earlier as things people would be more inclined to do if these auto features are present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstructorPiggy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 c'mon tho guys...we are driving a weapon...if everyone viewed driving a different car as we should (becoming familiar with controls, changing seat/mirrors etc) then maybe there be less traffic colisions?? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 c'mon tho guys...we are driving a weapon...if everyone viewed driving a different car as we should (becoming familiar with controls, changing seat/mirrors etc) then maybe there be less traffic colisions?? ;) To be honest, my fists are a weapon too, and very occasionally, I forget where I've put mine, let alone found the seat warmers in someone else's car (only to find they don't have one). I change seating position, wing mirrors and rear view mirror, steering rake and reach and seatbelt hight. Pisses my father off, but tough. I think that is a bit more important than relying on auto lights/sensing wipers - but that's my opinion :) There were just as many collisions when we didn't have these features. The average mid-spec of most ranges don't have these features, and accidents still happen. So, make of that what you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithC Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Is now the time to say I can watch the telly in my BMW whilst doing 95 down the motorway? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny87 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 why not?!?!Unless its sunny i am likely to be found with sidelights on....when a car is more visible with lights than without then they are worthwile having on!! :) If its clear daylight you do not need to use you lights! Simples! Maybe I should put you in contact with my old instructor so he can teach you a thing or two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewL Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Is now the time to say I can watch the telly in my BMW whilst doing 95 down the motorway? ;) Now was the perfect time to say it! How have you managed that? I thought the tv was programmed to not switch on whilst the car's moving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Now was the perfect time to say it! How have you managed that? I thought the tv was programmed to not switch on whilst the car's moving? Easily modified - same with DVD players built into the dash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanGull Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 If its clear daylight you do not need to use you lights! Simples! Maybe I should put you in contact with my old instructor so he can teach you a thing or two! I don't see any harm in using lights during the day - motorbike and volvo style for example. Anything that increases your visibility on the road is a good thing as far as I'm concerned - however, it's certainly not essential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesilverfox Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I don't see any harm in using lights during the day - motorbike and volvo style for example.Anything that increases your visibility on the road is a good thing as far as I'm concerned - however, it's certainly not essential. Shortens the life span of bulbs of course, and if anyone has Osram nightbreakers/ Philips Xtreme power, they'll blow all the time under constant use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithC Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Now was the perfect time to say it! How have you managed that? I thought the tv was programmed to not switch on whilst the car's moving? TV in motion cable. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanGull Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Shortens the life span of bulbs of course, and if anyone has Osram nightbreakers/ Philips Xtreme power, they'll blow all the time under constant use. You're right of course, can't say that I'd considered that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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