New VW Wiper Blades with Wear Indicator

I purchased a new set of wiper blades for my Golf at the dealer in Zurich today, and saw that VW has now incorporated a "change indication" into the wiper blade assembly.

The most common cause of poor wiper blade performance is not mechanical wear and abrasion of the blade surface, but degradation of the rubber material due to exposure to the sun, ozone in the atmosphere, and other chemicals. This is why new VW's ship from the factory with a set of small, disposable wiper blades installed on the windshield - the proper wiper blade assemblies are shipped in the trunk of the car, and are installed by the dealer as part of the pre delivery inspection process.

I'm not sure what exactly triggers the wear indicator on these blades, however, I suspect it is probably exposure to UV or exposure to ozone.

When these new blades are installed, the user peels a protective sticker off the side of the metal blade holder assembly, exposing the wear indicator. When the blades are new, the wear indicator is clear, therefore almost invisible. Over time, the wear indicator changes colour to yellow, indicating that blade replacement is needed. The wear indicator itself is nothing more than a very small sticker - about 4 mm in diameter - that is stuck on the metal frame.

I'm not sure if this part number is available in North America yet. The set of blades I bought were "standard" blades, meaning, not the new "Aero Wipers" discussed in this post - European Aero Wiper and Arm. I'll check next week and see if the new Aero Wipers come with this wear indicator also.

Composite Photo of Box containing Wiper Blades with Wear Indicator


[ November 09, 2002, 01:48: Message edited by: Michael Moore ]

These are Valeo blades in VW packaging.

Valeo SmartBlades

I can tell when my wiper blades need changing without any fancy "wear indicator". When they start streaking or chattering, it's time to change them.

Just like VW's ridiculous "auto sensing wipers". Wipers that turn on when the windshield senses water on it. Total ridiculous, redundant, and a waste of money.

VW sent a card to a friend of mine touting these wipers in the mail, so they are available here and now at VW Dealers.

I picked up a set of these at Target last week. $9.99/each.

I haven't installed them yet, but I could only assume that Targets price was cheaper than VWs price.

[ November 09, 2002, 09:26: Message edited by: dzcad90 ]

I prefer the anco winter wiper blades with the rubber covering over the entire appliance. I usually put a new set on my cars about this time every year. The stock blades are absolutely horrible

[ November 10, 2002, 11:33: Message edited by: jsstover ]

Yup, old timer winter blades from Anco, Trico, Bosch are the way to go. If you drive like a demon they do lift off a bit, but they don't allow chunks of ice or snow get wedged between the blade and the metal frame, making it much nicer when you brush off the windshield.

lol...

i will sell you toilet paper with built in wear senors...

when it turns brown, time to flush it..

blades crack and dry out long before they ever get to the wear sensor down here..

but you might be interested in the toilet paper..

(sorry, i couldnt resist)

Regarding identification of the wipers in Michael M’s photograph I would say they look like the old design, because the arms have cutouts/small apertures in them, whereas the arms associated with the new aerodynamic wipers are solid.

The ability of the new wiper to move more quietly across the screen is one thing, but I believe its best advantage is suppose to be that’s its aerodynamic design significantly cuts down on wind turbulence noise when the blades are in the parked position.

I had never believed that a wiper blade assembly could contribute to a lot of wind noise (at say 80mph), but having conducted some simple tests on an Audi A2 its quite amazing to ascertain that they do contribute in a big way.

For the record it is possible to retrofit the new wipers onto more older Golf models (like 2002), but how far back down the line this goes I do not know. As a guide, arms and wipers cost a total of around £60 (say $90) – so they are not dirt cheap.

Regards
John D

Just like VW's ridiculous "auto sensing wipers". Wipers that turn on when the windshield senses water on it. Total ridiculous, redundant, and a waste of money.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You're certainly entitled to your own opinion. That's fine. I see it as a significant safety feature.

Do you have them installed in your car? Have you ever driven a car with the Rain Sensors? The first time I ever experienced it was in my friend's Mercedes. During a trip, a trucked turned into his lane splashing tons of rain/water onto the windshield. His wipers automatically increased to the fastest setting.

It's very useful. The wiper motor doesn't have to work as much only turning on when it needs to be on, you can also keep both hands on the wheel. Once it's on, you're set.

I highly recommend it!

L

Thanks for dispelling that myth for me Tongsli. I never thought of the safety advantage.

Originally posted by MOGolf:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by ProjektZwoTDI:
Just like VW's ridiculous "auto sensing wipers". Wipers that turn on when the windshield senses water on it. Total ridiculous, redundant, and a waste of money.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Rubbish. It varies the speed of the wipe according the moisture on the windshield. You don't have to quickly turn them on when a passing vehicle splashes water all over your windshield, when sprayed while overtaking a truck, etc. They're a mighty fine safety feature IMHO.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you can't pay attention to traffic around you and reach up and adjust the speed of the wipers, you don't need to be driving.

It takes me all of half a second to reach up and change the speed of my wipers. Cars have come a long way in safety features, but some are just plain ridiculous.

Heck, I can't even get my new car wiperblades not to stutter for the first pass on startup let alone wait for it to do that if its wearing out...

that and this is the second time in 6k miles the things have put scratches in my windshield *grrr*

those anco winter blades last longer than any other wiper blade ive ever used. My set still provides a very clean wipe after a year, and they will probably last thru this winter.

Originally posted by ProjektZwoTDI:
Just like VW's ridiculous "auto sensing wipers". Wipers that turn on when the windshield senses water on it. Total ridiculous, redundant, and a waste of money.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Rubbish. It varies the speed of the wipe according the moisture on the windshield. You don't have to quickly turn them on when a passing vehicle splashes water all over your windshield, when sprayed while overtaking a truck, etc. They're a mighty fine safety feature IMHO.

Heck, I can't even get my new car wiperblades not to stutter for the first pass on startup let alone wait for it to do that if its wearing out...

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well then, you shouldn't be driving

It takes me all of 1/4 of a second to get my wiper to stop studdering.

What's wrong with you?

Well, if it goes continuous the stutterblades go away, but, when it starts up, its quite annoying when it stutters for the first revolution per se.

I think thats part of the reason why my windshield now has for the second time, scratches in the same path as the blades run.