Shutting off your car without turning off the windshield wipers first
I’ve seen people do this, and they are up across the windshield. I always felt it’s better to turn them off and then shut off the car.
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swirlie · 31-35
The reason you shouldn't leave the wipers parked across the center of your windshield is because the first thing they will do when you turn on the ignition, is start moving back and forth across a dry, sand-covered windshield which will scratch the glass.
Have you ever noticed that if you pull on the washer lever or push the washer button BEFORE turning on the wipers, a stream of washer fluid will always spray across the windshield BEFORE the wipers actually start moving from their parked position? The purpose of this is to provide a 'wetted' surface for the dry wiper blade to move across so that the first few strokes back and forth are NOT against dry glass... but you MUST keep the fluid flowing to provide lubrication and flushing of the wiper blade itself as well as flushing of the glass to prevent scratching from occurring.
That is why you always 'park' the wipers before turning off the ignition.
Have you ever noticed that if you pull on the washer lever or push the washer button BEFORE turning on the wipers, a stream of washer fluid will always spray across the windshield BEFORE the wipers actually start moving from their parked position? The purpose of this is to provide a 'wetted' surface for the dry wiper blade to move across so that the first few strokes back and forth are NOT against dry glass... but you MUST keep the fluid flowing to provide lubrication and flushing of the wiper blade itself as well as flushing of the glass to prevent scratching from occurring.
That is why you always 'park' the wipers before turning off the ignition.