Is there a reason why you made the wipers on the Kia’s so you cant put the windshield wipers up in the winter time.
Sorry, Beth, we are not Kia nor their parent Hyundai. That question is better asked of Kia corporate.
Beth , this is not the Kia manufacture site. I guess this post was made on Car Complaints web site so you need to contact KIA .
So they apparently can’t be raised in the park position but with a bit more effort on your part, perhaps you can accomplish what you want. Prior to shutting off the car, turn on the wipers. When they reach a suitable position on the windshield, turn the ignition off and leave them mid-swipe. Now you can articulate the arm and keep them raised off the window.
How does one change the blades? Whatever the procedure is for making the blades accessible for changing (it will probably be in your manual) use that for raising them in ice storms.
I can’t say how many years but I think this feature is relatively new. I always had cars that you could not raise the wipers to clean the windshield until recently. You changed wiper blades the same way, either parked or upright. Generally had to take the blade off anyway. The last time I bought wiper blades, the dealer wanted to know if I wanted them to do it or not. I said naw, I can figure it out.
As posted above, nobody here I’m aware of is a Kia rep, but I’m guessing the reason they did it that way – I presume the wiper sort of hides in a little cove below the windshield when not being used – is to minimize air drag and boost mpg a little. Maybe its done to improve the car’s appearance too. But I have to agree, that configuration doesn’t offer much advantage for the problems it apparently causes. I’ve never owned a vehicle with that wiper configuration, so never had to deal with it.