Ten Years Ago, Mitsubishi Didn’t Install The Correct Wiper Switch. Now I Can’t Turn On My Rear Wiper

If you follow me on any sort of social media or anywhere else I’ve been shilling my writing wares, you’re probably familiar with my 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Objectively a bad car, I’ve fallen in love with it over the little over a year I’ve been the owner. It’s slow, can’t go all that far, and takes forever to charge, but also manages to be entertaining on a track. It’s also it’s the best thing I’ve ever driven in snow, due to its low center (and rearward) of gravity, super skinny tires, and complete lack of power.

It also has no way of turning on the rear wiper. I have a rear wiper arm, motor, and blade, but no way to turn it on. The previous owner explained this to me, but like my mama always told me, I “don’t believe that fat meat is greasy.”

At first, when I bought the i-MiEV I assumed it was just an elderly or unwitting owner who may have been confused about how to operate the i-MiEV and its entirety. After all, the previous owner of my example was an elderly lady, who never needed to drive all that far from her grandkids. It was her last car, as she gave up driving for good.

I figured there’d be a button or switch somewhere in the interior. Or, maybe the stalk itself needed to pivot back and forth, like the Ford Fiesta.

Did Mitsubishi make the rear window wiper optional, but instead of omitting the assembly, they decided to omit the switch? That would be odd, but I guess not uncommon; lots of modern cars already have the optional equipment installed, but the actual features just aren’t accessible to the consumer. I’m not talking about Tesla or BMW-level software paywalls, I’m talking about how, say, modern Hyundai and Kia products often just need steering wheel buttons to have access to cruise control, if it’s not equipped. Yet, that wasn’t squaring up with the window sticker, which said I had a rear wiper. What the hell was going on?

Well, it looks like Mitsubishi didn’t install the correct wiper stalk, from the factory.

According to my owner’s manual, my wiper stalk should have an extra twist provision that allows me to turn the rear wiper on and off. Mine does not. If you don’t believe me, check this photo right here.

I don’t know how someone didn’t catch that before the car escaped the factory, it’s not like the car was a huge seller; only 2,200 made their way to both the U.S. and Canada.

I asked the previous owner about it, who told me that they did try and get the problem rectified by the Mitsubishi dealership. They wanted somewhere in the $150 to $200 ballpark to replace the stalk with the correct one, which seems silly, considering it’s Mitsubishi’s fault in the first place.

Although it seems like the i-MiEV uses a bespoke part for its wiper stalk, I’m betting that it actually does not. Most manufacturers have a generic bin for switches and stalks, and I’ll bet that someone accidentally installed one from a sedan-shaped car that wouldn’t have a rear wiper. Shooting from the hip, I purchased a used one from a Lancer Sportback, which I’m pretty sure will work.

Let’s hope and pray the rear wiper motor isn’t completely seized up from more than a decade of lying unused.