Rain sensor sensitivity

[twerth]

Originally Posted by judybe83

We don’t like this feature and had it turned off, couldn’t stand that scraping noise on an almost dry windshield!

BMW has OVER engineered this feature

Reviving an old post. My '07 has the same problem as the original poster's. It's too sensitive and adjusting sensitivity makes no difference. I'd rather just disable it. Does anyone know how that's done? Can I disconnect the wires to the sensor on the windshield? Thanks.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by twerth

Reviving an old post. My '07 has the same problem as the original poster's. It's too sensitive and adjusting sensitivity makes no difference. I'd rather just disable it. Does anyone know how that's done? Can I disconnect the wires to the sensor on the windshield? Thanks.

Have you had a windshield replaced? Your symptoms are often related to a sensor that is not properly bonded to the glass.

[twerth]

I bought the car used so I don't know about the windshields history. I guess I'll remove the cover on the sensor and check to see if it looks well bonded. Do you know if it will be obvious if there's a problem? Is rebonding something I can do on my own? Thanks.

[TerminatorX5]

Originally Posted by twerth

I bought the car used so I don't know about the windshields history. I guess I'll remove the cover on the sensor and check to see if it looks well bonded. Do you know if it will be obvious if there's a problem? Is rebonding something I can do on my own? Thanks.

look at the seals stamped on the window - if there is a BMW roundel, the windshield is OE, and while it may have issues, it is done to the factory specs. If there is no BMW roundel, it could have been an aftermarket one... Companies that make glass for BMW are Sekurit, PPG and Saint Goblin (or goben??)... As a matter of fact, you may have different glass manufacturer on the same car, right from the factory - all of them will bear the roundel stamp...

according to the BMW documents, the bonding process is factory only and can not be replicated outside of the factory - i would take that with a grain of salt, i am sure if you do a serch on this forum, you will find something on the contrary...

[JCL]

You can try regluing it, but the standard approach is to replace the windshield. Any bubbles between the glass and the sensor affect the sensitivity.

[big bob]

After replacing the windscreen or fitting a replacement sensor it is necessary to calibrate the sensor to the glass, which can be done with INPA.