Do I have to buy VW windshield wipers?

GrampaPete

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Location
SE Wisconsin, between Madison and Milwaukee
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon - SOLD
I bought a couple of Bosch Icon blades but they are for the J hook type arms. I am surprised and confused that these blades don't seem to be correct. What choices do I have for the wiper arms that are on my car?

Thank you,

Pete
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
Did you look up blades from www.worldimpex? You could also shoot idparts.com an email and they may be able to point you in the right direction. They helped me when I needed new trunk struts and saved me a TON of cash. Or you could get a decent discount at motorville and use their new online system of ordering parts to be shipped right to your house. Their web is www.vdubparts.us
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
The Icons should have come with an adapter to work with your arms. Mine did.
 

Alchemy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2000
Location
N/A
TDI
None thanks to dieselgate
Goodyear is now making something similar to the Bosh Icon, and the rubber insert is easily replaced which keeps cost down. I bought ours at Costco, but other places may have them as well. At Costco they were $8 each.

The replacement rubber parts can be bought through Impex. http://www.worldimpex.com/item_detail.html?sku=178825
 
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rydogg

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2008
Location
Indiana
TDI
Passat
I've been using Rainex replacements that fit my Passat with no problems. They retail for ~$25ea but you can usually find a sale once or twice a year that bring them to ~$10ea price range. I will usually stock up then. Start with Amazon.com and check locally too.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
the oem blades are quite good
While the later models use a different design, I have to agree on a 2003 set of oem windshield wipers. After 170,000 miles and/or 8 years, they just keep on keeping on. My ("new") replacement oem set is going on 7.5 years old, still in the packaging.
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
I got tired of prying my OEM wipers apart to remove the blade and replace it. I went with the Goodyear ones at Costco and they work fine.
 

Fishninja

New member
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Location
N.Florida
TDI
05 Passat TDI
I have replaced mine once in 200k with geuine vw wipers from the stealership for 22 bucks each and there still wipin good, so with that kinda service ill keep on payin the stealership for wipers.
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
NAPA sells what I would call OEM quality wiper blades for under $20 each. On the B5.5 wagon, they are incredibly simple to replace. Not sure what the references to prying wipers apart is all about....
 

Alchemy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2000
Location
N/A
TDI
None thanks to dieselgate
Not sure what the references to prying wipers apart is all about....
Regarding the 'prying the wipers apart'...

You can replace just the rubber wiper piece on Bosch Icon blades, but there is a tab that holds the rubber securely in place. You must pry that tab up first before sliding the old one out and installing the new one. Takes a few minutes, but I forget about that darn tab every time and realize it after struggling for a few minutes.

The Goodyear ones are very similar in construction to the Icons but do not have the tab.

Steve
 

butcher

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Location
Ontario Canada
TDI
01 Golf GLS/05 Passat Wagon GLS/06 Jetta TDI DSG
I change my wipers once a year, I hate streaks. So I changed the wiper arms to a 2000 model passat, easy to change and cheap from the local vw parts guy($10 for both) now I don't have to worry where to buy wipers.

The older Passat arms are generic fittings so any wipers work on them.
 
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