The wipers work fine, full sweep when on. however when i turn them off they sit about halfway up the windscreen. incredibly annoying. im thinking the motor has gone wonky, it has 260k miles so it has done well in my book.

does this sound about right ?

 

You are saying the wipers autoreturn to that spot on the windshield, or that they stop moving when you turn the wiper switch off ??

 

they return to that spot regardless of where i turn them off, ie wiper swings all the way down while on, i quickly turn off and they return to the middle of the windshield

 

Hmmm -- without looking at the installation in person, I'd say that the mechanical registration between the winshield wiper motor and the actuating mechanism has slipped (become misaligned)