How to Raise and Change the Wipers on a Volkswagen Polo or Golf

When we at autoevolution test drive a car, we like to find out what regular folks that don't do this for a living think abot it. Of course, the only people that are fond of the discreet Polo and Golf are elderly citizens. For them, reliability and refinement are more important than design and performance. Whether or not German cars are more reliable is debatable, but they are undeniably more complex from an engineering point of view.

Raising the wipers is something you need to do quite often, whether it's to stop them from freezing to the windshield or simply taking the bugs away at a gas station. However, most people don't realize you're not supposed to simply raise the wipers on a Volkswagen.

The Germans, in their infinite engineering brilliance, placed the blades and motors looooooow down under the bonnet. The benefit is that they don't produce drag, thus improving fuel economy. But when you try to lift them, the wipers hit the edge of the bonnet, which creates scratches.

So, what are you supposed to do? Every VW model built after 2007 comes with a service mode that puts the blades in the upright position. To activate it, you need to put the key in the ignition, turn it on, turn it back off again and flip the wiper stalk down. This will raise the wipers, allowing them to clear the bonnet line. If you plan to change worn blades, place a towel on the windscreen so it won't crack.