Lights with Auto Wipe?
 

I was driving the X3 yesterday, and it was still light out but it started to rain, and so I put the wipers into auto mode, where they did a sort-of good job of sensing the rain. In both my X5's, the headlights would come on with the wipers, no matter what position they were at. And, here in Illinois, is the law, whenever wipers are on, lights are on. But it didn't work in the X3. The light switch was on auto, too. Anybody know?
(BTW, the auto position is kind of hard to find. On the X5, it has a great little button and corresponding light. It works great. On my Saab, even a drop of water will set the wipers off, yet it never wipes too much. Those Swedes! :))

The light and rain sensor are independent in terms of function. So yes, if it rains but is light outside (sometimes on cloudy days), it is up to you to turn on the headlights manually. However, if the switch is in the Auto position and you hit the foglight switch, the low beams will come on.

The switches and stalks work the same way as the E46. No complaints here. I'm starting to wonder if I'm one of very few people who understand how/why the Germans engineered stuff a certain way. Maybe my logic just is in sync with theirs' ;)

Saab, not swede :nanana:

my bleedin' volvo won't wipe worth a damn except for torrental downpours

People from the country Sweden are called "Swedes". That is what I was talking about. :confused: :)

I always wondered why the two auto settings do not work together.

You can stop wondering. Most people (and car manufacturers) don't understand the meaning of the word! :rofl: I also think that's why most of us here chose BMW for our "Driving Experience" :thumbup:

I certainly deal with a lot of illogical situations and reasonings throughout my daily routine at work and it's really nice, but rare, when I come upon something that makes something even close to 'logical' sense!

To trueX5er:
I'm probably a control freak when it comes to functions on my car but I think the auto sensing wiper system works great on the X3! I didn't think it would work as well as it does when I first got mine and didn't use it at first. Then one day I decided to try it out and was blown away by how well it functioned. Now I never control my wipers manually.

I don't find the X3's auto sensing wiper position hard to find either, it's just one click up from off (how hard is that? :confused: ). Don't think I need a light to tell me if it's on or not either. The thing I had to get use to was resetting it if I turned the car off with the wiper switch in the auto position. You have to turn it off and back on again after restarting the car. To me that seems to be a mistake on the electrical engineering/programing end but there may be other reasoning behind the choice I haven't realized yet. Personally, I'd rather have to turn it off after restarting than reset it. If it wasn't raining anymore the wipers just wouldn't wipe but if it was they would continue to wipe for me automatically.

More to your point, that 'Lights on w/ Wipers' setup sounds like it would be a great safety feature for BMW or any manufacturer to include in all their models. What confounds me is that they already have such a simple feature working but don't implement it in all their models.

I think the idea is that the wipers don't just try to start automatically when you turn the car on and the front glass is fully covered in snow ;)

Anyway, you don't even need to turn if off and back on (down and up). Just turn the rotating switch to another sensitive position. I think there's four positions, and I just switch between two and three to turn the auto wipers back on.

That's the point...both the E53 and E70 have it...(so probably the rest of the 3,5,7 models), yet it is absent on the X3. It probably wasn't on the E46, and that's why. But it's the 2007 model....they've had time....even a '99 grand cherokee has this feature.....:dunno:

The E46 cabriolet certainly has both auto lights and wipers (as an option). My wife has it on hers, although you can't get the auto dimming exterior mirrors - internal only.

We also had it on a 2002 Seat (VW Group) Leon Cupra R, although the option was later deleted from UK spec models and only available on the continent - and we get more wet weather!!

Seems to be becoming more common on 'run of the mill' models now though. I guess if BMW do it then it must be a 'good' idea for everyone else to copy............... ;)

Works On Mine
 

I don't know if my 2005 X3 is different, but everytime it rains and the auto rain sensing wipers are on, my lights come on automatically. I just assumed that because when it is raining, the sunlight isn't as bright. Maybe it is just coincidence but it's a feature that works with mine.