LHD Wipers Fitted to RHD Car

Faults and Technical chat for the Volkswagen ID.3
Spiderlag
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:49 pm

Post by Spiderlag »

Hi went out in the Car today only had it a week and the first thing I notice is a 2-3in wide strip of snow/ice down the drivers side windscreen. The passengers side is clear to the edge the drivers side wiper is clearly not clearing the screen to the edge on the drivers side making visibility to the front right borderline dangerous. To add to this I get a constant thick bead of water in the center of the windscreen where the wipers are not working as described, in other words clearly setup for LHD. Coming from a GTE the wiper stalk is annoying! Switching between 3 cars means I have to remember the ID3 is effectively back to front when it comes to wipers.
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ColinID3
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Post by ColinID3 »

I fear this is one aspect of the car there is no mileage in complaining about. I was looking at some Mercedes Vito's yesterday, both the old and current models have the same set up as the ID3, ie a single configuration, optimised for LHD but considered 'good enough' for RHD.
At least VW are still supporting RHD markets. Some manufacturers eg GM, in the drive for commonality, are progressively pulling out of RHD completely.
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simonrg
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Post by simonrg »

ColinID3 wrote: Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:46 am I fear this is one aspect of the car there is no mileage in complaining about. I was looking at some Mercedes Vito's yesterday, both the old and current models have the same set up as the ID3, ie a single configuration, optimised for LHD but considered 'good enough' for RHD.
At least VW are still supporting RHD markets. Some manufacturers eg GM, in the drive for commonality, are progressively pulling out of RHD completely.
The ID.3's wipers a doubly wrong for RHD:
  • Left hand wiper leaves smear across driver's view
    • yesterday driving slowly while snowing this was a white band of snow - from a safety point of view I am not sure obscuring driver's view is 'good enough'
  • The lh up, rh up, rh down, lh down
    • leaves driver's side uncleared for a considerable length of time
    • makes intermittent wiping even worse
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ColinID3
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Post by ColinID3 »

Hi Simon
This is exactly the Mercedes set up, and has been for over 15 years with the same shortcomings.
My thinking is that there are so many things that can fixed on the car, we need to choose our battles, and let the ones lie where there is precedence for market acceptability, even though it is clearly less safe than the LHD set up.
We rely on the good will of those in VW we interface with, either in the dealership or VW UK. If we push on the things that won't get a response in Wolfsburg, we sap the energy in the communication chain for fixing the issues that are addressable such as battery heating whilst charging, KMh/MPH confusions etc.
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russbaum
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2021 2:15 pm

Post by russbaum »

I reported this to the VW service desk while complaining about my touchscreen not working, the computer getting stuck in voice mode, the Automatic Lane Assist switching itself on and off and the alarm sounding randomly and the chap shrugged and said "yes, you're not the first. sorry there's nothing I can do".

So I've found a solution.

If I lean over to the right while I'm driving and elongate my neck at the same time I can stop the rain smear appearing in the middle of my field of vision.
Sorted !

NOT.
Deleted User 192

Post by Deleted User 192 »

The setup is the same in my wife's 2006 Golf Plus, but sadly the end result behaviour is worse in the ID.3

VW UK told me that it won't change - hey ho.
ColinID3
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Post by ColinID3 »

Despite my earlier suggestion that it isn't worth pursuing this with VW, I mentioned it to the service adviser yesterday when he was handing over the car after 2.1update (RFT BTW)
I expected to be told 'nothing we can do'. The response however was surprising . He said that he too had experienced "non ideal" visibility on adn ID3 when driving in heavy rain at night.
He told me he had raised it with VW UK and been told this isn't a significant issue coming back from owners, so they can't raise it with VW Germany.
His suggestion to me was to raise it directly with VWUK customer services team. He said if everyone does this then maybe a critical mass of complaints might result in action.
His last comment was that there is a possibility that this might result in a change for future owners, but he doubts we will get a rework scheme for current cars.
Still I think it is worth logging the complaint - probably using the word 'Safety' within any feedback to VW because OEM's ears seem to prick up if something is deemed to be safety related.
My concern now (following other recent posts) is how to contact VWUK and speak to someone who will properly log my feedback.
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monkeyhanger
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Post by monkeyhanger »

Is this definitely the LHD set up to blame and not crap wipers? When getting a new VW (I've had 11), it's become a ritual to have a set of Bosch Aerotwins ready to swap over the crappy Vale ones that always smear on the drivers side downstroke to leave a banana shaped/sized smear on the drivers side.
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digital
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Post by digital »

It's the LHD orientation, not the blades.
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ColinID3
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Post by ColinID3 »

in Heavy rain the LH wiper 'throws' water across the drivers line of vision, at night time the problem is worse because this becomes a 'whiteout' of glare from on coming lights.
Life Pro performance, Makena, 19" Andoya, Heat-pump, Nov'20 build, 23/12/20 delivery. Now with 2.1
monkeyhanger
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Post by monkeyhanger »

Sounds like a minor safety issue they almost certainly won't do anything about.
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Deleted User 192

Post by Deleted User 192 »

Resurrecting an old thread...

If you have concerns about the LHD nature of the front wiper position and sequence such that the passenger in a RHD car gets a better view in wet weather than the driver, please report it to your dealer - with video evidence if you have it.

I spoke to the VW UK Executive Office about it for the second time today, that's what they've advised.
MotMot
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Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:04 pm

Post by MotMot »

Having had the car since Thursday - I did wonder if the wipers were set up correctly for rhd. Seems to sweep the left first then right etc…

Is there a central vw email address we could send a complaint/issue too rather than our (sometimes beleaguered) dealers?
Deleted User 192

Post by Deleted User 192 »

MotMot wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:33 pm Is there a central vw email address we could send a complaint/issue too rather than our (sometimes beleaguered) dealers?

That's exactly what I did this morning, only for the VW UK Executive Office to refer me to the dealer.

If you want to do the same, it's executive.office@volkswagen.co.uk

I have since spoken to my dealer, they are now also talking to the Executive Office, and a technical query has been raised - as my dealer said it's a design/build issue, not something they can magically resolve themselves.
Philapousis
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Joined: Wed May 18, 2022 12:12 pm

Post by Philapousis »

If it been approved then it must be safe!! Why aren't they taking us seriously!!!

Screenshot_20220518-131000_Outlook.jpg

monkeyhanger
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Post by monkeyhanger »

All feedback provided to the factory, to be filed in the bin!
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G43FAN

Post by G43FAN »

Philapousis wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 12:15 pm If it been approved then it must be safe!! Why aren't they taking us seriously!!!
They have taken it seriously, they have replied which means they took time over your enquiry.
The wipers have been approved for use in the UK, if your not happy with that then you should be approaching the Vehicle certification agency not VW. I've never understood people's issue with it, both sides of the screen are swept,

I believe a number of other marques do the same and have for a few years certainly BMW and MB, albeit they are also German.
gailjon
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Post by gailjon »

G43FAN wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 7:59 am
Philapousis wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 12:15 pm If it been approved then it must be safe!! Why aren't they taking us seriously!!!
They have taken it seriously, they have replied which means they took time over your enquiry.
The wipers have been approved for use in the UK, if your not happy with that then you should be approaching the Vehicle certification agency not VW. I've never understood people's issue with it, both sides of the screen are swept,

I believe a number of other marques do the same and have for a few years certainly BMW and MB, albeit they are also German.
I find the wipers very poor when the rain gets herder. The rain is flicked across the screen to be left on the driver's side for the seconds until the wiper moves it, then it is flicked onto the screen again. If the wipers are fine, then why are they different for driving on the right? The wiper was designed to be effective and safe for that market so should be reversed for LHD markets.
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Deleted User 1733

Post by Deleted User 1733 »

gailjon wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:30 am
G43FAN wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 7:59 am
Philapousis wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 12:15 pm If it been approved then it must be safe!! Why aren't they taking us seriously!!!
They have taken it seriously, they have replied which means they took time over your enquiry.
The wipers have been approved for use in the UK, if your not happy with that then you should be approaching the Vehicle certification agency not VW. I've never understood people's issue with it, both sides of the screen are swept,

I believe a number of other marques do the same and have for a few years certainly BMW and MB, albeit they are also German.
I find the wipers very poor when the rain gets herder. The rain is flicked across the screen to be left on the driver's side for the seconds until the wiper moves it, then it is flicked onto the screen again. If the wipers are fine, then why are they different for driving on the right? The wiper was designed to be effective and safe for that market so should be reversed for LHD markets.
The entire wipe process is done in under 1.5 seconds on intermittent wipe, that goes down to a fraction over 1 second when on continuous slow speed as the left wiper remains slightly higher, and under 1 second when in high speed, However the factory fit wiper blades never seem to be up to much and that's from years of owning various brands.
Big277wave
Posts: 141
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2022 11:20 am

Post by Big277wave »

I think my biggest gripe on this one is when going around a sharp right bend when it's raining heavily. As the screen is steeply raked the blind spot from the A pillar is already large, the wiper doesn't go anywhere near to the edge of the screen on the drivers side then drags the water back over the edge of the screen on it's way back down leaving a substantial blind spot.

Yes the drops flicked off the end of the wiper blades are annoying but they don't really block much of your view, but still it would be better if they could modify the design for right hand drive cars.
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