It doesn't rain that much in San Jose, does it?Only when necessary. On three VW diesels (they are out in the elements 24/7) They have lasted 11 years to 4 years. The jury is still out on the third one as it is only 2 years old (2012) So far I have used oem replacements. If anyone can clue me in which aftermarket replacement wipers can last past 11 /4 years, I'd consider switching. Three tricks that I am guessing will extend wiper life: 1. use of rain x or rain x type products on the windshield, they seem to reduce friction as well as letting a lot of water sheet off 2. when using wipers using the variable wiper interval settings 3. using a scotch brite sponge one with the scour pad and on some schedule running it up and down each blade with a soapy water solution to remove dead rubber.
Got to love this "global warming" We also got to Tahoe a lot (winter ice, slush, rain and snow)It doesn't rain that much in San Jose, does it?
Interesting. I'm a long time time Rain-X user and have never had an issue with blade life. One of the advantages of Rain-X is that, since you rarely need to use your wipers, the blades last much longer. Our 2011 still has the OE blades on front and they still perform like new when we need to use them.happy to see so many responses on this thread.
Interesting to see that 70% report changing when necessary (Reactive), although I wonder what that means for each responder, and 26% report changing once yearly (Pre-emptive).
My blades are sixteen months old (!) and are finally beginning to streak. Think it's time to replace them, though only after a good cleaning to see if I can squeeze a little more time.
I used to be a Rain-X user many years ago but got bored (frustrated) by the application process and replacing so many blades. The Rain-X was drying out my blades and causing them to crack early.
Thx for all of the responses everyone!