History Main / WiperStart

* The Airbus [=A320=] plane start up checklist ''specifically'' says to check the wipers are off before powering up the aircraft. It is in the checklist preliminary for a reason, so you know someone has done this with one of the planes at least once.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyDucks'': The first time Nosedive tries to fly the Hoverquack in order to help the rest of the team, it ends in this.

* In ''Anime/ReCreators'', mech-piloting Selesia Uptiria encounters this when she hijacks a car. Admittedly she has no issue with driving it, but her experience in driving armed warmachines leads her to expect a weapon and is instead greeted with... windshield wipers.

* TheSixties spoken word comedy show ''The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart'' includes a skit entitled ''The Driving Instructor''. The [[WomenDrivers female driving student]] turns on the windscreen wipers while attempting to start the car. Bob Newhart later said that he didn't intend to offend anyone with it, and if he had wanted to, he would have made the driver Chinese.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} 2'' with the penguins' first attempt in hotwiring a safari Jeep.

* In ''Film/TopSecret'' Omar Sharif's character is in a car put into a car crusher. He survives, the car parts crushed into a cube around him. When Hillery tries to get the ballet tickets out of his glove compartment she activates the wipers, causing them to hit him in the nose and squirt washer fluid in his face.

* In another Robin Williams film, ''Film/GoodMorningVietnam'', his sidekick Garlick has a RunningGag where he keeps trying to start the motor of an already running jeep.

* In ''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]]'', Anakin does a literal WiperStart.

* In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', Russell Casse, now sobered-up, accidentally starts a missile launch sequence while preparing for takeoff. After frantically stopping it, he mutters to himself "I picked a hell of a day to quit drinking...".
* In ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' Film/JamesBond does this twice. First, when he jumps into the moon rover, he doesn't know how to start it. Second, when he hops into the crane lowering Blofeld's escape sub, he doesn't know how to operate it and drops the sub into the water.
* In ''Film/{{Critters}}'', when the alien bounty hunters first try to drive the abandoned police car, they succeed in honking the horn, blasting a hole in the roof with the mount-locked shotgun, and finally getting it started ''in reverse''. Naturally, the second time they use it, the driver looks over his shoulder in expectation that it'll go backwards again, only to shift it into first and drive forwards.
* Used for dramatic effect in ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes''. Charles activates the windshield wipers of the neighbor's car while he's trying to figure out driving it and then crashes it into the cars parked around it. The sequence is to show us how much his mental state has deteriorated.

* In ''Film/ScarecrowSlayer'', when Mary is abandoned at Caleb's farm, she finds the keys to his truck and attempts to start it. She eventually gets it going, but in the process turns on the wipers.
* ''Film/TheHotRock'': When Kelp, who is driving an unfamiliar car (in the novel it is explicitly a stolen car), attempts to flag down Dortmunder, he accidentally turns on the wipers, and drives after Dortmunder with the wipers on and the horn blaring.
* ''Film/GleamingTheCube'': Lawndale tries to make a getaway in a stolen police car, but his driver has never driven a police car before. The driver has trouble figuring out how to work the lights and sirens, turning on the wipers instead.
* ''Film/KnivesOut'': After the will is read, Marta rushes out of the house; pursued and badgered by the Thrombey family. She jumps in her car but is so flustered that she cannot get it started. She does, however, turn on the wipers.

* A [[WomenDrivers female]] designer does this on ''Series/RestaurantMakeover'' when she tries to drive Igor's huge delivery truck. Igor has to get a member of the camera crew to drive it.
* Marcia Brady does a this on her road test on ''Series/TheBradyBunch''. Slightly different, because she's actually a good driver, just extremely nervous. She also manages to cause the convertible top to go up and down before starting the car.

* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', when Ted tries to teach Barney how to drive Barney panics and turns on the radio when he wants to stop (... when going three miles an hour, to avoid hitting a dog about fifty feet away).
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''Series/FullHouse'' where Stephanie is in Joey's new car and tries to turn on the radio, only she starts it and backs the car into the kitchen, thinking the "R" on the gear shift meant "radio".

* In the ''VideoGame/LEGOStarWars: The Force Awakens'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0IJqIzO_YM teaser trailer]] (which parodies the actual ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' teaser trailer), Poe Dameron flips various switches on his X-Wing, activating the wipers, the radio (playing the "Cantina Song", of course), a ''toaster'', some sort of display that swings out and hits him in the head, and the seat adjustment.

* In ''WebVideo/MacrossAbridged,'' Claudia accidentally shoots down a Zentraedi diplomatic envoy while trying to find the air conditioner, and triggering the SDF-1's [[WaveMotionGun Superdimensional Converging Beam Weapon]] instead.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'', Sergeant Blast ends up in the Compact Pussycat (Penelope Pitstop's car). Trying to stop it, he activates the controls that apply face powder and lipstick. Granted these are not standard controls in a car, but it does raise the question of why he thought the brakes would be activated by a button on the dashboard.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "The Secret of Success", Candace tries to figure out how to steer Phineas and Ferb's all-terrain vehicle (while it's in motion). At first all she manages to do is stuff like turning the radio on and off and turning on the windshield wipers.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAssaultOnArkham''. When Harley Quinn is attempting to pilot a Blackhawk helicopter, she goes looking for the "gas pedal" and starts randomly pressing buttons on the console. She gets this trope along with several other functions, including launching anti-heatseeker flares.
* A variation shows up in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Beware the Creeper" -- the Creeper is ''trying'' to turn on the wipers (to get rid of junk the Joker is throwing at him from the car ahead) and launches the rear missiles. To be fair, he's driving the Joker's car, the controls of which are more than slightly non-standard.

* In ''Film/StarWars Episode I: Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Anakin does a literal WiperStart.

* In ''anime/ReCreators'', mech-piloting Selesia Uptiria encounters this when she hijacks a car. Admittedly she has no issue with driving it, but her experience in driving armed warmachines leads her to expect a weapon and is instead greeted with... windshield wipers.

* ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'': In one episode, Buzz is trying to take control of a derelict ship. The first button he presses the turn signal. He then deploys the cup holder. After pressing every other button and failing to accomplish anything (although he does make the wipers work), he finds the crew. Turns out the "cup holder" is actually the steering wheel.

* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', when Ted tries to teach Barney how to drive Barney panics and turns on the radio when he wants to stop (... when going three miles an hour, to avoid hitting a dig about fifty feet away).

* In ''Film/ScarecrowSlayer}}'', when Mary is abandoned at Caleb's farm, she finds the keys to his truck and attempts to start it. She eventually gets it going, but in the process turns on the wipers.

* Used by Costa Gavras in ''Z''. Yves Montand's character suffers heavy head wounds, and a passing car is summoned to bring him to hospital. The driver demonstrates utter incompetence by executing the trope. [[spoiler:In the next scene in the prosecutor's office, it is revealed that he is in reality the general's personal driver, and that the unmarked car belonged to the police. He was in fact trying to sabotage the victim's rescue.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAssaultOnArkham'': When Harley Quinn is attempting to pilot the helicopter, she goes looking for the "gas pedal" and starts randomly pressing buttons on the console. She succeeds in activating several other functions, including launching missiles.

* One preview of the game ''SteelBattalion'', which came with a specialized $200 controller to simulate driving a HumongousMecha, mentioned that the previewer--after being fired upon--panicked and hit a bunch of buttons, ejecting the fuel tank and turning on the windshield wipers.

* In a memorable scene in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Franchise/{{Batman}}, ComicBook/MartianManhunter, and TheFlash are trying to figure out the controls of an alien space ship on the front steps of Wayne Manor. [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn]] admits that he doesn't know how to fly the device, and TheFlash suggests pressing buttons. The first one activates the ship's weapons systems, blowing a large hole in the side of the mansion and irking Franchise/{{Batman}}.

* A Wiper Start is only the first of many things to go wrong with ''Mike's New Car'' on the ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' DVD.

* In a commercial for ''TwistedMetal 4'', [[MonsterClown Sweet Tooth]] brings his souped-up ice-cream truck in for service. His midget clown sidekicks aren't all that familiar with the control scheme...

* There is a {{Metroid}}/{{VideoGame/StarFox}}/{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} crossover short called ''Metroid Confusion'', in which {{Space Pirate}}s stole an Arwing from [[VideoGame/StarFox Fox]]. Every button on the ship plays ''Whalers On The Moon'' from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''...and they are trying to Grandma's ''delicious cookies'' back from the jerk, Samus.

* In ''WebVideo/MacrossAbridged,'' Claudia accidentally shoots down a Zentraedi diplomatic envoy while trying to find the air conditioner, and triggering the SDF-1's [[WaveMotionGun Reflex Cannon]] instead.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} 2'' when the penguins' first attempt in hotwiring a safari Jeep.

* In TheFilmOfTheBook ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'', Creator/RobinWilliams' character accidentally opens the sun roof of a car when trying to start it. Played for suspense rather comedy, as this almost lets giant poisonous mosquitoes into the vehicle.

* One preview of the game ''SteelBattalion'' came with a specialized $200 controller to simulate driving a HumongousMecha which mentioned that the previewer-- after being fired upon-- panicked and hit a bunch of buttons, ejecting the fuel tank and turning on the windshield wipers.

** The difference between cars designed for right-hand or left-hand drive from scratch and have the controls in the standard places verses those that were cheaply converted for local conditions by simply moving entire the steering column across. The light switches and the wiper controls end up the opposite ways round, much to a driver's annoyance.

** And older Ford models had the horn (!) on the turn signal controls, leading to many interesting combinations of the two.

* In ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' Film/JamesBond does this twice. First, when he jumps into the moon rover, he doesn't know how to start it. Second, when he hops into the crane lowering Bloefeld's escape sub, he doesn't know how to operate it and drops the sub into the water.

** Since most ambulances in the United States are Fords, many [=EMTs=] and Paramedics will end up doing this when trying to turn on the headlights, because most Ford [=E350s=], the usual model ambulances are based on, have the windshield wiper control on the left hand side where the light controls are on most regular cars. Or do the inverse when their (often 24 hour) shift is over and they're going home in their own cars.