Wiper Blades

I recently replaced my blades & bladeholders with aftermarket ones by Bosch (11.99 a pop ) I was even able to remove the "wing" from the OEM driver's side and put it onto the Bosch.

Well, at first I though they were GREAT! But now they appear to be wearing out & starting to skip...

Has anyone found a good replacement that lasts??

Excellent question! I have the Bosch blades too that are starting to streak and will soon need replacements. I don't remember what I paid but it was significantly more than $12

I have found that you can extend the life of most blades by using the blade cleaning kits available from most auto parts stores. The 'kit' is just a sponge with a slash cut into it (so it rubs both sides of the blade) and a bottle of liquid that smells like alcohol.

Rick

I never had good luck with aftermarket wipers [including the Bosch], so I went back to OEM. And the OEM have functioned the best for me, without any hitches. They get to streaking fairly quickly, but so did the Bosch. I think this is due to abrasive particles on the windshield cutting at the rubber lip before they are wiped away.

If you have already disposed of your oringinal OEM blades, you have probably also thrown away the spring metal strip that fits into the OEM blade to stiffen it. If so, you will need to purchase a whole arma assembly to go back to OEM, because the replacement OEM blades do not include this metal stiffening strip.

Toward getting rid of chatter with the ones you have, notice which way the arm is going when it chatters; it is usually in one direction. Useing two cresent wrenches, twist the flat-thin part of the arm assemble to change change the drag angle of the blade. Working in small step, one may be able to work out the chatter. I had to do this with the Bosch. It worked for a while, but then they started to do it in both directions. So out they went.

I hope this gets more replies. The wipers are the ONLY thing that I have been dissatisified with since purchasing my Jetta. My wipers have streaked since day one and they are also sometimes noisy (the drivers side one makes a "bang" at the bottom of the cycle infrequently). I have been thinking of changing them already (only 6600 miles on my car) with something better. I have even thought of the expensive wipers that go on the W8 Passat but quite pricey.

Let me know if you have had similar experiences.

Ok, I don't know about the rest of you, but my '02 Jetta came with Bosch blades from the factory. Just this week I decided to replace the blades after winter. I picked up some Bosch Micro Edge Excel ones as the replacement, for about $12 a piece. I noticed two big differences:

1. The driver side blade is almost identical to the factory Bosch, except it has no place to screw on the plastic wing. In fact, not only does it lack the screw holes, but the actual blade holder (the metal part) is just slightly longer on one side, making it impossible to attach the wing. Argh!

2. The passanger side replacement blade is straight, while the factory one is definitely curved. I don't mean curved when you press the spring-loaded rubber blade, I mean the actual wiper is curved (when looking at it from the top). I don't know what difference this makes to the wiping performance, if any.

I haven't tested the new blades yet, but they appear to be exactly like the factory, except with some extra micro ridges towards the top of the blade. I'll let you know how well they work when Mother Nature decides to pour water all over this city tomorrow.

Sometimes you can get just the rubber inserts, and reuse your factory blade assemblies. The Bosch replacements are different, I know what you mean. Those Micro Edge Excels are very good, though, but the regular Bosch ones are not!

I thought Bosch supplied the OEM wipers for VWs, but my NB wipers have no markings. They are still working good.

Bosch definately was the OEM on my wife's 96 Grand Cherokee. The originals lasted alot longer than any name-brand replacements I have used, including Bosch. The strangest thing is the blades I just replaced on it were some cheap-ass off-brand that lasted so long I can't remember where I bought them. I think it's been about 15 months! I went to the regular places I go and couldn't find any more so I bought a regular Bosch ($8) and a Micro-Edge ($12). Will the micro-edge last 50% longer? Will it do a 50% better job? Eventually we'll know the answer.

It was supposed to rain all week, but I haven't seen a drop since I bought them. Something to keep in mind for vacations maybe?

After searching and not finding replacement refills I bought OEM replacements for my 00 Jetta. The new drivers side blade is 21 inches but the wing is about 1/2 the size of the original with a much smaller cord (width) and shorter span (length).
The new wing is also built in and can't be removed like the original. So they've (Bosch) changed their design slightly. I saved the originals in the hope that one day I will come across a suitable refill.

Cheers

1) If your car is less than 1 year old, VW will replace wiper blades for free. Just complain to the dealer. Mine were awful after just 6 months, all 3 were replaced at the 5K checkup.

2) I discovered that my windshield had some nasty gritty stuff embedded/stuck in it, it was tearing the blades up, causing smearing. At next wash I used a single-edge razor blade to scrap the little bumpies off the glass. [I think it was a wax residue, or tree sap, or paint spray, or something]. Worked great, blades then worked flawlessly.

When you wash the car use a dobbie pad or similar to clean windshield, and if necessary use razor. DO NOT, repeat NOT, use one of those green scotch-pad sponges, that thing will scratch your windshield - THEY ARE VERY ABRASIVE! - I found that out the hard way!

http://www.silblade.com/

despite the fact that they come avail. in ricey colors they are a quality product.

3 years and 80-90k mi. and counting and they perform flawlessly, very happy with them. All we ever do is wipe them down with an alcahol pad at most filups.

I took the blades out of the frames they come with and used them as inserts into the stock frames, they are the same size and fit perfectly into the frame guide "teeth".

Clean the windscreen and use some Rain Away. I find it really helps the wipers.
hth

Does Rain Away do anything about all the crap and oil that gets on the windshield from daily driving? I am trying to figure out a way to get rid of the oil spots on mine

Oil spots? huh?
but then I use. . . . . .

seriously, I think the Rain Away, Clean Screen, etc. type product does help the wipers keep the 'screen clean.

(If you go fast enough you really dont need the wipers.)

I have used Rain-x for years and it really helps the wipers clean the windshield. Also if you are going fast enough, sometimes you don't need the wipers.

I've found that Bon-Ami is best for cleaning the glass, cuts through all the grease/bug-guts with no scratches. Just my 0.02.

bmike you have stumbled on an old, old car window cleaner secret. I can remember the adds for this household cleaner back in the 50's when I was a kid. My dad used it to clean his car windows back then, it was also mention in a auto magizine call Popular Machanics (50's or 60's not sure when) as an excellent way to remove road grime. Works great, and doesn't scratch.

I helped replace some NB blades at this weekend's gtg...the replacement parts were simply the rubber pieces (one for each blade)...re-insert the 2 metal strips in the proper track of the rubber piece and then slide the assembled 3-piece set-up thru each clasp of the wiper arm starting at the bottom....piece of cake.

Tried a cpl doses of Rain-X on my Honda once -- caused me more problems than it solved. Seems once you use the stuff, you are stuck with re-applying it as it wears out in a very uneven pattern.....NDAI, rain-x will never grace any of Jake's windows.

T

How long do you expect blades to last? Depeding on environmental conditions, six months to one year is about normal. I replaced my Golf's wipers last August with OEM blades from a dealer in Canada. They still work well, though I clean them occasionally with alcohol.

How do I use or apply Bon Ami to clean the windshield? A lot, a little, diluted?