If You See Car Headlights With Wipers, Here’s What It Means

You’ve likely seen unusual car features before. They’ll catch your eye and leave you wondering “what on earth could that be for?” Sometimes these mystery features look cool, almost as though their main purpose is just to add to the overall aesthetic of the vehicle. Other times, their function seems a little easier to parse, but they still stand out. One great example is car headlight wipers.

Why Do Some Car Headlights Have Wipers?

Volvo explains that “the windshield and headlight washers are designed to clean the windshield and headlights.” In areas where the climate is particularly wet, having a way to keep your headlights clear is rather important. Otherwise, you risk losing your visibility as storms rage.

Which Cars Have Headlight Wipers?

According to Saab Planet, headlight wipers are one more example of “pioneering innovations of Saab in its long history.” The automotive manufacturer debuted their wipers in 1970 on their SAAB 99. They billed them as a safety feature; one more way to keep visibility up. And the campaign was successful. In fact, “those headlamp washers and wipers were mandatory in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries” starting in the 1970s.

Saab may have been the first, but other luxury car makers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volvo also introduced cars with headlight wipers. The styles have changed over the years; “eventually, the high-pressure washers started to replace the wipers in the early 1990s as the headlamp shape became less and less flat, rectangular, or round.” These days, you’re unlikely to see headlight wipers in the United States unless you live in an area where your neighbors still own these older luxury vehicles. You may see updated versions of headlight cleaners, however.

Can You Install Wipers on Your Car Headlights?

Unfortunately, if you want your car headlights to have wipers, you’ll have to purchase a car that already has them. They’re controlled by the same mechanism as the regular windshield wipers. For example, when driving a Volvo, you simply “use the right-side steering wheel lever to start the windshield and headlight washers.” The wipers are integrated with the car in a rather complex manner.  In a Volvo, “when the windshield washers are activated and the headlights are on, the headlights are also washed automatically according to a defined interval.” Trying to do that kind of electrical upgrade yourself would be an absolute nightmare.

Sources

Using the windshield and headlight washers, Volvo Cars.

How it works: Saab 99 Headlamp Wipers, Saab Planet, 2017.

The post If You See Car Headlights With Wipers, Here’s What It Means appeared first on Family Handyman.

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