Brian K Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 I have an 08 MKX. Two of the things I absolutely HATE about this vehicle are: 1) Courtesy wipe of the wipers. After I shut them off I get 1 more wipe about 2-3 seconds later and I would love to turn this off. Took it to the dealer but I get that 'deer in the headlights' look and they tell me they can't. Has anyone been able to turn this F$%#%^'ing thing off. 2) Heated seats turn off after 10 minutes of being on. When my butt is warm I will turn it off thank-you not some a$$hole program. Again has anyone been able to disable this auto-off 'feature. PS. The heated/cooled seat module on the drivers side has failed so I installed an aftermarket heated seat pad with a 2 position switch but I would like to keep the passenger side on till I decide to turn it off. Cost to replace the module was some god awful price so the $30 kit did the trick - but no cooled seats anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWRBB Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 Apparently, no. http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/4815-courtesy-wipe/ My 2013 F150 has the option to turn it on or off, so Ford at least has addressed it in the newer models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 I can't disable this on my 09 either. There is a work-around if it really bothers you that much. Turn your wipers on manually, pull the lever and squirt, the turn them off when finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Btw, how did you determine it was the module? What usually fails on these are the seat bottom heater pad. I assumed you checked the fuses. Believe there are three of then in this circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Has anyone been able to turn this F$%#%^'ing thing off. When my butt is warm I will turn it off thank-you not some a$$hole program. Overreact much? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Overreact much? Agreed. What is wrong with the courtesy wipe? At any speed less than highway speed, the washer nozzles spray above the wiper reach (they're designed that way so that they cover the wiper swept area even at highway speeds). That leaves some washer fluid to run down after the wipers stop which the extra courtesy wipe catches. So I can't fathom how that could become such an annoyance to the OP. But perhaps I've mellowed as I've gotten older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 So I can't fathom how that could become such an annoyance to the OP. But perhaps I've mellowed as I've gotten older. ... Or learned the an extra wipe finishes the job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omar302 Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 (edited) Off topic, but somehow related, the courtesy wipe on the 2007 Avalon was speed dependent, the faster you drove, the earlier the courtesy wipe activated until you reached a certain speed when then the courtesy wipe would not activate. Talk about details. On topic, on the 2011 & newer Edge/MKX, the feature can be disable in the instrument cluster & is also available in the body control module. Maybe a dealer can disable it through IDS. Note: After using the washer the wiper would wipe 3 times, pause, then courtesy wipe, if I manually make a wipe immediately after the 3 wipes then I wouldn't get the courtesy wipe after the pause. If you dislike the courtesy wipe due to its timing, may this would help. Edited May 15, 2016 by omar302 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 I've been driving in winter situation where there is so much salt spray, that by the time the courtesy wipe went off, there was enough new spray that it smeared everything and caused me to have to use the washer again, which resulted in another courtesy wipe, which resulted in another use of the washer and on and on... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Been there, done that and I can see how that could get very annoying... it was annoying enough without the extra wipe. But that wouldn't happen very often and there really is no good solution for that situation - even without the courtesy wipe you're going to be using your wipers (and washers) a lot when the spray is that constant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWRBB Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 I've been driving in winter situation where there is so much salt spray, that by the time the courtesy wipe went off, there was enough new spray that it smeared everything and caused me to have to use the washer again, which resulted in another courtesy wipe, which resulted in another use of the washer and on and on... I forgot why I hated that feature as well until you reminded me of the salt spray issue. That is exactly why you want to be able to control when your wipers are on on not, and not have the vehicle's software deciding for you. If they put a feature like that in, they should always give you a way to turn it off. The engineers live in Michigan and have to drive in the winter and deal with salt spray- how did they miss that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian K Posted May 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 Thanks to those that also find that also find the extra wipe annoying. The salt spray is EXACTLY the reason. (And NO akirby - I don't over react much thank-you very much for your useless comment.) I did take my seat out and the seat leather cover off to look for a heating element and see what I could find was wrong. I didn't find any heater pad or element - only a module and fan assembly that seems to provide both heat and cooling via a thermo electric system. There is a fan/venting system to allow the air to flow but for the life of me I couldn't see a pad or any type of element. So I got an after market heated seat kit and installed that. Works fine now and doesn't shut off. I did the same in a Mustang that had the annoying time off timer on the heated seats too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omar302 Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 As you mentioned & found out, the MKX uses a module with a theromelectric element & a fan. It actually uses the Peltier effect. There are no heating pads. I do not recall there being a timer for it, nor do I remember it ever cutting off. I'd guess you have something wrong with the seat climate module which controls both seats and it's the reason it is cutting off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian K Posted May 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Yes Omar - I forgot the name of that process of electric heating and cooling. It's the same system that the RV Koolatron portable fridges use. In my vehicle, neither the heating and cooling functions worked - and that module is mucho $$ so I decided to just put in a heating pad rather than replace it. In Canada, heated seats are used much more than the cooling function anyway. I see your vehicle is a 2011 - perhaps they took that annoying feature or auto-cut off out after complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian K Posted May 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 You're right Ntrain - my mistake in posting in the wrong section. Thanks for point it out. But it does seem that turning off these features isn't possible anyway. I'll be more careful where I post in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 I could move it but I think we're basically done here anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRbillZ Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Maybe the OP should have mentioned salt spray instead of just saying the courtesy wipe was stupid. Hey i can turn it off on my '15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian K Posted June 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 Well it's not just salt spray that causes the problem. It also occurs (can't be just me) when following another vehicle or from an oncoming vehicle and you get the light road spray from them too which probably contains road grime and some dirt etc.. Mostly you (or at least I) spray just enough washer on the windshield to clean it and then want the wipers to stop - just in time without streaking - sort of a timing thing. This extra wipe 2 seconds (or whatever it is) later very often causes smearing or streaking because there isn't enough fluid to wash the crap off effectively - like a semi dry wipe which spreads the dirt requiring another cycle of wash/wipe etc. etc.. I would REALLY like to turn it off - but I can't on my '08. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luminator Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 I can turn off the extra wipe on my 2015 Edge Sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian K Posted June 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Yes I think that's because of numerous complaints, Ford then made it user selectable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.