Two issues with my Clarity. Driver's mirror vibrating at highway speeds and driver's wiper

[Casey Martin]

I actually work for a Honda dealer but in sales not service. One of my A techs hasn't been able to figure out my two issues.

1. The driver's outside mirror seems to vibrate at highway speeds making the image very blurry. The mirror housing and mirror itself both seem to be rock solid. Yet at highway speeds it definitely vibrates an obvious amount. The passenger mirror doesn't vibrate at all. This problem has existed since it was brand new but I finally brought it to their attention this week.

2. The driver's wiper can overextended in the rain causing it to hit the windshield frame. This problem didn't start until I replaced the wipers with factory inserts. They tried to adjust the wiper motor but it is still doing it. The wipers on this car are very unique. There is no wiper linkage. Each wiper has its own independent motor and are designed to work independently but are timed so they don't hit each other. They lowered the driver's wiper on the motor but it is still doing it. Has anyone else had this issue?

 

[Thomas Mitchell]

I actually work for a Honda dealer but in sales not service. One of my A techs hasn't been able to figure out my two issues.

1. The driver's outside mirror seems to vibrate at highway speeds making the image very blurry. The mirror housing and mirror itself both seem to be rock solid. Yet at highway speeds it definitely vibrates an obvious amount. The passenger mirror doesn't vibrate at all. This problem has existed since it was brand new but I finally brought it to their attention this week.

2. The driver's wiper can overextended in the rain causing it to hit the windshield frame. This problem didn't start until I replaced the wipers with factory inserts. They tried to adjust the wiper motor but it is still doing it. The wipers on this car are very unique. There is no wiper linkage. Each wiper has its own independent motor and are designed to work independently but are timed so they don't hit each other. They lowered the driver's wiper on the motor but it is still doing it. Has anyone else had this issue?

I had issue #2 on the passenger side after a windshield replacement. Dealership was able to adjust it back to normal.


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[David in TN]

I actually work for a Honda dealer but in sales not service. One of my A techs hasn't been able to figure out my two issues.

2. The driver's wiper can overextended in the rain causing it to hit the windshield frame. This problem didn't start until I replaced the wipers with factory inserts. They tried to adjust the wiper motor but it is still doing it. The wipers on this car are very unique. There is no wiper linkage. Each wiper has its own independent motor and are designed to work independently but are timed so they don't hit each other. They lowered the driver's wiper on the motor but it is still doing it. Has anyone else had this issue?

Had my windshield replace, and they simply removed the wipers with a 17mm wrench. We took a long look at the alignment before pulling them off to make sure we put them back the same way. It sounds like it is off by a tooth (the wiper arm and bolt that it attaches to are both toothed.) I have had NO issues with mine not working properly.

1. Flip the cover up at the base of the wiper (I don't recall if this needs to be done with the hood up or down for easier access)
2. Remove the 17mm nut holding with arm to the motor bolt
3. Mark the bold and arm for current alignment
4. Remove wiper arm (it is spring-loaded and might need to have some encouragement to pop off the slots)
5. Reinstall by moving the wiper arm one notch away from the driver's side of the car.
6. Install nut on arm
7. Check wiper action and adjust again if necessary
8. Tighten nut securely
9. Reinstall cover

 

[Clarity_Newbie]

Had my windshield replace, and they simply removed the wipers with a 17mm wrench. We took a long look at the alignment before pulling them off to make sure we put them back the same way. It sounds like it is off by a tooth (the wiper arm and bolt that it attaches to are both toothed.) I have had NO issues with mine not working properly.

1. Flip the cover up at the base of the wiper (I don't recall if this needs to be done with the hood up or down for easier access)
2. Remove the 17mm nut holding with arm to the motor bolt
3. Mark the bold and arm for current alignment
4. Remove wiper arm (it is spring-loaded and might need to have some encouragement to pop off the slots)
5. Reinstall by moving the wiper arm one notch away from the driver's side of the car.
6. Install nut on arm
7. Check wiper action and adjust again if necessary
8. Tighten nut securely
9. Reinstall cover

David in TN
Not knocking your response at all...but...

One would hope the vaunted Honda "A" tech would know about this procedure. If not, I'm now more skeered to take my Clarity to the dealer then I was before reading this post.

Thanks for the DIY tip... believe I'll try to adjust wiper alignment if the need arises.

Hopefully Mr Martin will keep the forum apprised of the eventual fix.

 

[David in TN]

Pull cover off but
Take but off
Loosen wiper
Align.

Just like every other Honda that I've had. This is my 22nd.

If the tech couldn't figure it out, he was either lazy or his "give-a-crap" bucket was empty.

It really is a simple process.

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[craze1cars]

Agree this wiper thing should be a slam dunk, remove arm and reset on the spline so it doesn’t hit things. If that doesn’t work, new wiper motor replacement under warranty. Clarity wiper setup is not that special.

Regarding mirror...same thing...it is under warranty. Any dealer that can’t fix it so it doesn’t shake/blur would simply get a new one from Honda and replace the assembly under warranty.

 

[2002]

It really is a simple process.

As a reminder to everyone whenever working with wiper blades, even when just replacing the inserts, and most certainly when using tools, always keep in mind that a $1,000 windshield is just inches away.

 

[Casey Martin]

The wiper was adjusted. Everyone here is so quick to insult dealerships and the techs. The wiper doesn't over extend every time. It mainly only happens when the wipers are on for a few minutes. The wipers are simple on this car. Each wiper is on its own motor with no linkage. At this point it appears the motor is faulty. When it is fixed I will post what the fix was.

They offered to replace the mirror assembly and I will probably have that done. I was hesitant because the glass and mirror housing don't seem to be loose. My gut feeling is the motor assembly that moves the mirror has some play in it. I'll post my results after it is fixed.

 

[blastfurnace]

The wiper doesn't over extend every time. It mainly only happens when the wipers are on for a few minutes.

Same issue...it happens randomly, not every time. Curious about what the dealer says the fix is.

 

[Casey Martin]

Same issue...it happens randomly, not every time. Curious about what the dealer says the fix is.

Does you do this: it appears it going to stop at the point that it should then it sort of snaps past that point and hits the windshield frame?

What makes it strange is the inconsistency of it. Almost like the motor has stopped extending but it under pressure and moves past the point it should like it under spring pressure and it releases.

 

[blastfurnace]

Does you do this: it appears it going to stop at the point that it should then it sort of snaps past that point and hits the windshield frame?

Yep, that is exactly right. Sometimes it doesn't snap past the point, sometimes it does.

 

[Casey Martin]

Yep, that is exactly right. Sometimes it doesn't snap past the point, sometimes it does.

That is my exact issue. The tech did move the blade down one tooth on the wiper motor but that didn't correct it. It looks like the blade "slips" at the last second allowing it to over extend. I replaced the inserts once a few months back with factory ones.

 

[Casey Martin]

My wiper issue is fixed. They ended up replacing the wiper motor. That corrected the issue.

The wipers on the Clarity are fairly simple but unique. There is no linkage. Each wiper has its own motor and basically work independently of each other. I don't like this design at all. In the winter they can easily get jammed. If one blade moves slower than the other because of snow causing more resistance on one side they can then hit each other and get stuck. That happened to me a few times this past winter. Maybe that caused the over extension issue that I was having? That has me very concerned for the longevity of the wiper motors living in RI. Only time will tell.

 

[Danks]

My wiper issue is fixed. They ended up replacing the wiper motor. That corrected the issue.

The wipers on the Clarity are fairly simple but unique. There is no linkage. Each wiper has its own motor and basically work independently of each other. I don't like this design at all. In the winter they can easily get jammed. If one blade moves slower than the other because of snow causing more resistance on one side they can then hit each other and get stuck. That happened to me a few times this past winter. Maybe that caused the over extension issue that I was having? That has me very concerned for the longevity of the wiper motors living in RI. Only time will tell.

From what I experienced, I would not think it had anything to do with the snow wiping. Here's why. As I was driving my brand new 2019 back from Buffalo I ran into rain. I put the wipers on intermittent and after a while noticed the overextension slap. It seemed to slap about every other wipe. I theorized that the wiper was hitting dry windshield, sticking, and then slapping when it overcame the stick point. So I slowed the wipers to let more water build up on the windshield. The slap went away. It did this consistently. It also started slapping again when the rain let up resulting in a dryer windshield. I just slowed the wipers down more and the slap went away.

 

[Casey Martin]

From what I experienced, I would not think it had anything to do with the snow wiping. Here's why. As I was driving my brand new 2019 back from Buffalo I ran into rain. I put the wipers on intermittent and after a while noticed the overextension slap. It seemed to slap about every other wipe. I theorized that the wiper was hitting dry windshield, sticking, and then slapping when it overcame the stick point. So I slowed the wipers to let more water build up on the windshield. The slap went away. It did this consistently. It also started slapping again when the rain let up resulting in a dryer windshield. I just slowed the wipers down more and the slap went away.

I know what your saying and that is similar to the problem I was having. Unfortunately my problem got progressively worse. It was over extending even when it was pouring out and it wasn't set to high speed.

 

[AlAl]

They offered to replace the mirror assembly and I will probably have that done. I was hesitant because the glass and mirror housing don't seem to be loose. My gut feeling is the motor assembly that moves the mirror has some play in it. I'll post my results after it is fixed.

Any update on the mirror replacement? I have the same issue. Although I suspected it had more to do with how far the glass is extended to the left; wind might be lapping the back of the glass

 

[Casey Martin]

Any update on the mirror replacement? I have the same issue. Although I suspected it had more to do with how far the glass is extended to the left; wind might be lapping the back of the glass

Nothing yet on the mirror.

 

[Wdave]

Huh I never noticed it but my mirror does the same thing at highway speeds....