Windshield coating - skipping wipers (new car)

[Bruno Soares]

Sucks to hear you're still struggling with this. I'm not sure what I'd do next. I don't use automatic wipers and if it's just a drizzle on the glass I let it be, I don't need to wipe away every drop that comes down, seems like very little water on the glass does make it harder for the wipers to glide, not sure why. Heavier rain just slides on its own due to glass protection so I don't normally use my wipers much at all. But on my current cars I've never had the issues you're having so I can't even say if they would be fine just by not using the automatic wipers and opting to activate it only when you know there's more water on the glass.

 

[SalmonPride]

Sucks to hear you're still struggling with this.

Thanks Bruno! Hopefully I find a solution.

Yep drizzle is manageable, I am fine with that, but I would much prefer what my Yaris had - intermittent wiper each 5 seconds or so. Can't believe a premium brand does not have this - just two rain sensors sensitivity and two constant speeds. Now in the GLC I cannot calibrate any interval wipe and that means I have to use manual wipe.

There is another problem with using manual wipe - what about traffic and rain , even if it's only drizzle the car in front would always throw some water sprays on my windshield or a puddle on the road and a car next to me splashes huge amount of water that I'd need to clean, that means to have my thumb on the single wipe constantly otherwise I might face serious issue not reacting on time.

Also this is just tedious action , that's why most of the cars have/had the intermittent wipe.

Looks like it's the water not causing enough lubrication, washer fluid is fine, strange that dry is also fine. So problem is only with water or in other words only when raining. So I guess yes - it's the coating causing all that.

 

[The Guz]

Try a glass sealant rather than a glass coating. You can do this yourself without the need of an installer.

 

[SalmonPride]

Try a glass sealant rather than a glass coating. You can do this yourself without the need of an installer.

Was thinking if that would be a solution, but I am a bit afraid to put anything else on a windshield ever again Just don't want to fix that issue and have the same happen due to a sealant. What do you think?

Still - how would you apply , don't I need to remove the coating first or you mean to apply on top of the coating? And what would you recommend as product?

 

[MisterSnoop]

I use Griot's glass sealant. You apply it like a wax. If you didn't remove the coating first, the sealant would eventually wear off and your problem will just come back (if it goes away).

 

[The Guz]

Was thinking if that would be a solution, but I am a bit afraid to put anything else on a windshield ever again Just don't want to fix that issue and have the same happen due to a sealant. What do you think?

Still - how would you apply , don't I need to remove the coating first or you mean to apply on top of the coating? And what would you recommend as product?

You will need to polish off whatever is there and apply the glass sealant of your choice. Which can also be easily polished off if it does not work.

 

[dwaleke]

With a coated windshield you can never rely on the rain sensor. It wants to wipe every drop of rain off the glass. When your windshield is coated you don't need or want that.

Uncoated windshields become a blurry mess. Coated ones you can see through the water drops with much greater clarity. I control the wipers with a single click as needed in all the cars I drive. I almost never let the car automatically wipe unless I'm driving in a torrential downpour.

Sometimes having more water on the windshield leads to greater clarity because the water is grouping together and then flying off the glass. Wiping all the water away slows down this process.

 

[SalmonPride]

Just to report back after some months on anyone that might find the thread helpful.

1st step: Coating removed completely - no help, wipers were skipping like crazy again.

That lead to only one reason - faulty design. A lot of threads in MB world forum with people complaining of skipping Benz wipers with or without coating. Also another thing - driver wiper was hitting almost each stroke the A pillar.

2nd step: Go to Benz dealership, complain on the driver wiper hitting A pillar and wiper skipping in light rain now that coating was removed. They did blame the coating at first , of course.

Solution: They fixed the wiper hitting A pillar and reported that they did not do anything else like adjusting wiper arm.
Afterwards: Skipping just almost entirely stopped ... yes I do hear it once in a while with less rain drops and it's definitely not gliding perfectly , but as I said it seems like this is a common issue with GLCs wipers and I have to accept that little flaw.

So it seems like the issue with skipping was only with the driver wiper and I guess once they fixed the A pillar hitting they did fix the wiper arm itself, although they didn't report that. Maybe fixing the A pillar did a fix on the arm as well, who knows.

I feel a bit stupid I didn't go to the dealership earlier as the coating might have not been the issue at all and I might have kept it, but to be honest - I would avoid putting anything on a windshield again. Too many unknown how the glass might react.

Unfortunately with the coating removed now light windshield scratches are already visible, but not much that can be done.

I know I said I wouldn't put a ceramic coating on a windshield again, but just curious - what do you guys think? Do you think I should reapply now that the wipers are fixed or I might fall into the same trap? I did enjoy the water repelling effect, but definitely don't want to go through the same process. Also it has the added layer of protection against wipers scratches.

 

[Rsurfer]

It sounded like you had a wiper arm adjustment problem which is now fixed. Don't think you will have the same problem because you applied a coating. If you did no one would be using a coating on their windshields.

 

[The Guz]

Try putting the coating on half the glass and see how it responds. If all is good then finish the other half.

 

[SalmonPride]

It sounded like you had a wiper arm adjustment problem which is now fixed..

Actually the dealership mentioned those arms cannot have their angle of contact adjusted, which I also find strange. They confirmed they adjusted only how far the wiper should reach to the A pillar. The springs on those wiper arms are so extremely tight that if I lift and accidentally drop on the windshield it would break it. Something my detailer has also noticed and thinks might be causing the skipping- wipers sitting really tight on the windshield.

Try putting the coating on half the glass and see how it responds. If all is good then finish the other half.

Sounds like a good option, but since I am not doing it myself it’s either the whole or none.

Actually to be honest I just recalled that a week before doing the wiper adjustment and with removed coating , I was driving in rainy weather on the highway and didn’t experience any skipping at all.

I went to the dealership just to fix the A pillar being hit by the driver wiper.

As much as it sounds like wiper adjustment that was fixed I really don’t want to go the same path on a brand new car , because in light rain I still hear the judder a bit not having the coating on.

Maybe a general question - does the glass coating , coating like Gtechniq G1 provide any extra layer of protection against wiper scratches or any light debris on the windshield. That’s the only thing I would like to reapply it for if it does indeed adds that extra protection.

 

[Bruno Soares]

Maybe a general question - does the glass coating , coating like Gtechniq G1 provide any extra layer of protection against wiper scratches or any light debris on the windshield. That’s the only thing I would like to reapply it for if it does indeed adds that extra protection.

No, no coating is hard enough to provide that level of protection, especially on glass which is really hard to scratch on its own.

 

[The Guz]

Sounds like a good option, but since I am not doing it myself it’s either the whole or none.

Actually to be honest I just recalled that a week before doing the wiper adjustment and with removed coating , I was driving in rainy weather on the highway and didn’t experience any skipping at all.

I went to the dealership just to fix the A pillar being hit by the driver wiper.

As much as it sounds like wiper adjustment that was fixed I really don’t want to go the same path on a brand new car , because in light rain I still hear the judder a bit not having the coating on.

Maybe a general question - does the glass coating , coating like Gtechniq G1 provide any extra layer of protection against wiper scratches or any light debris on the windshield. That’s the only thing I would like to reapply it for if it does indeed adds that extra protection.

Applying a glass coating is not that difficult to do. It’s not rocket science. McKee’s glass coating is fool proof. Heck you could use rain x.

Keep your glass clean and the rubber clean to avoid scratches. Replace the wipers as needed.