[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Windshield Wiper Failure (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/23/2014 1:53:10 PM EDT
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My windshield wipers always fail in a spot that is right smack in the middle of my field of view as a driver.
Why is this? Multiple vehicles. Many eons of use. The wipers do a fine job on the passenger side of the vehicle. The area of the windshield I need to be clear? Nope. Fail. If I went to England and rented a car would the curse migrate over to the other side of the windshield? |
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Quoted:
I'm in the market. Recommend me, please. Quoted:
Quoted:
Bend them in a bit to make sure they have a strong leverage against the windshield. I don't mind spending money when it come to good wipers. I'm in the market. Recommend me, please. Well I am no expert, but I just bought the RainX Latitudes and they work good. You can't go wrong with Bosch either. I like the solid one piece ones. |
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You have to replace them when they wear out. My last pair lasted two weeks before it started up with these shenanigans. I will throw money at the problem and see what that does. Bosch it is I guess. I don't know what I did to piss off the Wiper Gods or even how to atone for my transgressions. 
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Quoted: Well I am no expert, but I just bought the RainX Latitudes and they work good. You can't go wrong with Bosch either. I like the solid one piece ones. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Bend them in a bit to make sure they have a strong leverage against the windshield. I don't mind spending money when it come to good wipers. I'm in the market. Recommend me, please. Well I am no expert, but I just bought the RainX Latitudes and they work good. You can't go wrong with Bosch either. I like the solid one piece ones. |
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OP read my mind. I have been bitching about wiper blades for 8 years now, they ALL suck! I used to work in a parts store, when the old Anco winter blades with the rubber cover first appeared, they worked like magic! Now, I have 6 month old Bosch Expensive-As-All-Hells that leave a streak in the middle of both sides of my windshield. I think I paid about $19 each for them. I have tried every brand from the $4 Trico (?) cheapies to these most expensive I could find Bosch's, and I'm not happy with any of them, on any of my 5 vehicles.
I started using Rain-X wiper fluid, last year, I don't know if that may have something to do with them not wiping properly, but I'm on my 3rd set of wipers and same results. They WERE better, for a short time, after I scrubbed the wipers with rubbing alcohol, but it didn't last long, maybe a month. Guess the crappy rubber they use now needs more attention. |
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Quoted:
My last pair lasted two weeks before it started up with these shenanigans. I will throw money at the problem and see what that does. Bosch it is I guess. I don't know what I did to piss off the Wiper Gods or even how to atone for my transgressions. Quoted:
Quoted:
You have to replace them when they wear out. My last pair lasted two weeks before it started up with these shenanigans. I will throw money at the problem and see what that does. Bosch it is I guess. I don't know what I did to piss off the Wiper Gods or even how to atone for my transgressions. It's possible your windshield is "off", too. Wipers are wear items, either way. Replace every 6 months, regardless of if you think you need to or not...at the very least, replace them at the same time you replace your smoke detector batteries every year (you DO replace your detector batteries, right?  )
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One more thing-it's possible that your wiper arms are worn, damaged or binding. It's very important that the pivot and spring are in good shape, move freely, and aren't worn. (I'm talking about the pivot and spring that hold the blade against the glass).
If the spring is badly corroded it's probably weak. |
| Mine did this until I went back to OEM wiper brackets and blades. The non-OEM passenger side blade would push a pile of water to the center of my vision and then the drivers side blade would lift over the pile at speeds over 60MPH. The OEM passenger blade is bent into a frown which pushes water away from the center and the drivers OEM blade has an airfoil that keeps it pushed against thee windsheild at highway speeds. |
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i buy the cheapest wipers i can find. i reaplce them every 6-7 months.
never had an issue. I used to buy more expensive wipers and then i realized they don't last any longer than the cheap shitty ones on a car parked outside all the time. cleaning the blades occasionally will also help extend their life. no one ever does that either. |
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I just went out into the rain due to the suggestions that the windshield might be suspect....and unfortunately that is the case.
There is a depression right in my view area. I think the glass is warped. I guess I can bend the windshield wiper a bit to try to compensate. FML. Oh well. This is the fourth windshield on this car anyway. |
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Living in WA, windshield wipers that work well are pretty important 6 months out of the year. I too got tired of windshield wipers that seamed to smear
water right in my line of sight, so I ponied up for some of the expensive single piece blades that supposedly give better contact and alleviate the smearing. They worked well, but they also seemed to move slower across the windshield from the increased down force. A year later my wipers started having issues turning on and eventually stopped working all together shorty thereafter. Turned out the wiper motor was burned up. Replacing that was a serious pain in the ass, not to mention the cost of the motor. I can't say for sure that the spendy wipers were the cause, but after spending hours trying to get a new motor installed and aligning it, no freaking way will I ever buy those one piece wipers again. I won't take any chances they might have been the reason the wiper motor went out and I will just deal with the shitty vision or use rain-x. |
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Quoted:
I'm in the market. Recommend me, please. Quoted:
Quoted:
Bend them in a bit to make sure they have a strong leverage against the windshield. I don't mind spending money when it come to good wipers. I'm in the market. Recommend me, please. I have tried them all from $5 each to $20 each one never works any better than the other... with only one oddball set of crappy wipers out of the box the ideal thing is to replace them every 6 months no matter what |
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Quoted:
I have tried them all from $5 each to $20 each one never works any better than the other... with only one oddball set of crappy wipers out of the box the ideal thing is to replace them every 6 months no matter what Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Bend them in a bit to make sure they have a strong leverage against the windshield. I don't mind spending money when it come to good wipers. I'm in the market. Recommend me, please. I have tried them all from $5 each to $20 each one never works any better than the other... with only one oddball set of crappy wipers out of the box the ideal thing is to replace them every 6 months no matter what Yep, that's what I said |
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Quoted: Mine did this until I went back to OEM wiper brackets and blades. The non-OEM passenger side blade would push a pile of water to the center of my vision and then the drivers side blade would lift over the pile at speeds over 60MPH. The OEM passenger blade is bent into a frown which pushes water away from the center and the drivers OEM blade has an airfoil that keeps it pushed against thee windsheild at highway speeds. Volvo? My OEM blades are like that, and work better (and last longer) than any aftermarket that I've tried. Best prices I've found for OEM parts is here. |
| OP does it happen with new wiper blades? Perhaps the wiper arm is bent. Best solution I've ever had was razor blade the window clean - take the time get it spotless. Follow up with raincoat or simular product, followed up by a coat or 2 of carnauba wax, if done correctly and wiped thoroughly you will literally see the windshield clear itself |
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how old is the vehicle? 2004 Camry White Bread Edition. This is windshield #4, not counting the repairs (chips). As for the question about washing the car I was confused. Wash? Car? Never. The mud on the bottom of the car keeps it from rusting. I do clean the glass with a product called Sprayway. It works pretty well and removes bug residue and hippie tears. As for my low I.Q. I figured out all on my own that I had to stop licking the windows as that only made things worse. I wish I was smart enough to figure out the mystery ingredient in windshield washer fluid that makes it so sweet and delishus. I bent the blade (they are two weeks old. I don't know the brand. I buy the heavy winter blades cause we have this winter thing to deal with up here) and it helped somewhat. It made the world look a bit less like an expressionist painting. Or perhaps the world really looks like an expressionist Edvard Munch painting? Hmm. Deep thought. Need to ponder. |
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Thanks for the link and info on these thingy's.
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Thanks for the link and info on these thingy's. Quoted:
Thanks for the link and info on these thingy's. I have no idea what those are but I suspect adding them to the car requires an approved Form 1 and 2 tax stamps. |
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Thanks for the link and info on these thingy's. Quoted:
Thanks for the link and info on these thingy's. Lulz, their just tensioners. 'wiper snuggies' or, some such. They're for weak wiper arms. Used them on both of my old pickups, worked fairly well. There are different lengths, supposedly though I've only seen one size. Most autoparts stores had them a few years ago, no idea about now. |
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Wipers are wear items, either way. Replace every 6 months, regardless of if you think you need to or not...at the very least, replace them at the same time you replace your smoke detector batteries every year (you DO replace your detector batteries, right? )I go YEARS between wiper replacements. Every 6 months??? |
........................................which came earyl this year
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I just go with the cheap Trico blades too. Replaced every year before the vehicle goes in for state inspection. The last time I tried more spendy blades, the rubber got hard within a couple months and they chattered across the windshield. Keep the engagement surface clean. Think about it-the windshield catches everything from the road; oil and grease, dead bugs, acid rain, etc You can stop the chattering sometimes by using de-natured alcohol on the rubber blades. Also works good for normal maintenance to stretch out blade life. |