Rain sensing wipers?

[E46enthusiast]

Hi,

I've just ordered a 318 tourer for delivery sometime in January. I've specified the rain sensing wipers and auto lights. When I queried the dealer about these options he was quite candid and said that some people found that the rain sensing wipers did not operate quickly enough to clear the screen to their satisfaction. Somehow I'd be surprised if this was the case as my experience with beemers is that everything is designed with precision. I still ordered them though as the drizzly rain we get a lot of here in Manchester makes finding the right wiper speed a real pain!
Anybody else got any experience with these and do they work for you?
Also have you found the auto lights any good?

Cheers

Kieran

[slytsi4]

I just got my 2000 328i the other day and the rain sensing wipers work great. It allows 6 levels of sensitivity to rain. It worked better then expected.

[tigerirons]

I just got my 2002 330i with the rain sensor, and I've really been disappointed with it. I gave it a shot when it was drizzling one day, but the rain sensor would not turn on the wipers until I could see nothing through the windshield....repeat...nothing. I've decided that I've drives for years manually changing the wiper speeds, I don't mind doing this again on my new car. As for the automatic headlights, they work great. You can keep it on the automatic mode, and never touch it. It turns them on very quickly if you enter a tunnel, and turns them off just as fast when you exit. A+ on the automatic headlight control. D- for the rain sensor.