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Rainsensing Wipers w/o Tech Package?

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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 12:24 PM
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Rainsensing Wipers w/o Tech Package?

My `11 G37x doesn't have the tech package, as it wasn't available on the lot when I went to pick up a car. But, I'm really missing the rain-sensing wipers.

Is there a way to retrofit the G37 with the infiniti rain-sensing wipers?
Are there quality aftermarket products that do the trick?

Any information or advice would be appreciated!

-Ed
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 12:28 PM
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i have rain sensing wipers on my M and dont use it.

just turn it on when it does rain, no big deal.

if there is a piece of bird poop , i dont want my wipers to go on
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 12:32 PM
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Yeah, it is certainly not the end of the world. I had rain-sensing wipers on my prior car for 10 years and really liked the feature. When driving in rain I find I'm always fiddling with the interval setting... on the back roads going 30 in the rain today, it was one setting, hit the highway, doubled speed, it was another setting. Ground to a halt because of rubbernecking for a fender bender, another setting. Rain let up for a few minutes, annoying sound of wipers on dry windshield, another interval setting... rain picked up again, another setting....

-Ed
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 02:17 PM
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interested in this as well
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 02:19 PM
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I believe that sometimes manufacturers put dubious technology into their cars just for marketing purposes. Rain-sensing wipers being one of them. I can certainly see when I'm going to need to use the wipers and manually activate them.

A friend of mine had a MB with rain-sensing wipers and had his wind shield replaced by a third party (SafeLite I think). The wipers didn't work correctly until he replace the wind shield again two weeks later - this time at the MB dealer. What a pain.

Not my cup of tea, but YMMV.
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 03:01 PM
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Yes, when my windshield was smashed by ice flipping off of a truck on 95 it took them forever to get the rain-sensing windshield wipers working correctly. Apparently there is a special film on the windshield by the IR sensor that helps it be more accurate and getting it to adhere was a pain. In the end, they had to order a BMW windshield with it already adhered.

Which is why I'm worried about an after-market product.

As an aside, I really hope this thread doesn't get hijacked (like some open-source software threads) where the solution to the problem is replaced by a chorus of people saying there is no problem...

I'm not asking whether the feature is nice, I'm telling folks I've had it for 10 years and proactively enjoyed it and now actively miss it. Even if that exposes some deep seated personality flaw, I'd still like to find a way to regain what I consider a lost feature. Honestly, I had no idea how annoyed I am by it until I drove in the rain today.

-Ed
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Old Mar 7, 2011 | 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted by ebirrane
Honestly, I had no idea how annoyed I am by it until I drove in the rain today.

-Ed
I get it completely. I had rain-sensing wipers on my IS350, and never had a single problem with them. They worked flawlessly, and were a real convenience.

I know you're not wanting to go aftermarket, but this might be worth a try for the $90.

Rain Tracker Rain Sensing Windshield Wiper Controls

It has some good demo videos on youtube as well. I'm 99.99% positive that Infiniti will rake you over the coals and laugh while they're doing it if you try to get the OEM sensor, which is likely some derivative of the above.

The good news is that there's no film you have to install on the windshield, and if you ever have to replace a windshield you're only on the hook for a $12 coupler.

If you try this, please let us know!
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Old Mar 15, 2011 | 11:34 AM
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would LOVE to get this on my '09 G... sux it wasn't available when i was buying it...
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Old May 28, 2012 | 02:14 PM
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Any updates on this? I would love to do this to my 08 which had no option of auto wipers. I love this feature, even though people seem to think it's useless. The poster above mentioning all the dif settings in one drive was spot on.
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Old May 28, 2012 | 09:45 PM
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I have rain sensing wipers on my 2010 G37XS and would not recommend them. They don't work well (compared to my Lexus RX 350). I've had them checked by the dealer. Sometimes they come on when the car starts with a dry windshield (Arghhh!). They often go too fast or too slow for conditions. In this case, Lexus yes... Infiniti not ready for prime time. Once you have them, you lose the ability to override them with interval settings, so when they don't work properly you are stuck. They are especially bad in in snow.
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Old May 29, 2012 | 09:09 AM
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They are kind of a gimmick more than anything. Have had them. Not needed or desired in the future.
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Old May 29, 2012 | 12:34 PM
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I loved the feature on my old Mazda 3. I really miss it now that I have the G. Seems like i'm constantly fighting with the delay interval when driving in the rain. The only time they sucked was after a big snow when I forgot to turn them off and they would brush snow into my open car door.
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Old May 30, 2012 | 02:55 AM
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mine don't work very well on my 2012. I'm going to bring it back to the dealer to have it looked at. Some days when I start up my car (in my garage) it will wipe once then stop.
The feature doesn't work very well on the G, it works really well on my 3 Series.
On the G, sometimes when it starts to mist it doesn't even wipe for a long period of time, the intervals are inconsistent, then sometimes when theres minimal it will constantly wipe and then slow down and then constantly again, very speractic.
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Old Jun 1, 2012 | 11:31 AM
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I had a love-hate thing with them on my Grand Cherokee. Can't tell you how many times I just left the wipers "on," pulled into a gas station to wash/squeegee the windshield, and got sprayed in the face with washer fluid because I forgot to turn them off...

When they work, they're great. I'm constantly fiddling with the intermittent settings on my G, especially in stop-and-go traffic.

BTW, if you drive in the rain frequently I highly suggest a window treatment (Rain X) or one of the others. Those products aren't recommended with rain sensing wipers, though.
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Old Jun 1, 2012 | 05:59 PM
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One thing I find helpful is to enable the "Speed Sensing Wiper Interval" under Comfort -> Settings. With this setting on, my '12 G37 sedan will vary the intermittent wiper setting based on how fast I'm going. Not exactly the same as rain-sensing wipers but also more predictable. I hate when my wife's Acura decides to activate the wipers because a bug hit the windshield or a little road salt got sprayed on to it. It usually winds up making a bigger mess than I started with.
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