poor quality wiper blades

[fflintstone]

What is up with wiper blades these days? The quality has gone down the crapper and the price has doubled in the last five years. It used to be you would put them one once a year and be good to go. You could buy winter blades and get two or three seasons out of them.
Blades used to be $4-$6 bucks each. Now they average over $10 each and they start deteriorating in 3 months, and after 6 they are falling apart. Refills? Not any more, difficult to find and then they seem to be too wide or too narrow.
All the blades seem to be made in China. Even the “premium” ones.

 

[rickycobra]

Basically the changing of times but it would be a good niche market to get into.

 

[Elkiebob]

I agree. Cheap ****.

 

[antiquarianmusings]

I've been buying Bosch brand wiper blades for years and am very satisfied with the quality. It is, indeed, unfortunate that the high-quality inserts no longer seem to be available.

 

[boiler7904]

Another vote for Bosch. I think my current set on each vehicle is their ICON series and are about 18 months old. Coming due for replacement before winter.

 

[MyKingdom]

And one more VOTE for Bosch, that is what I use on all three of my cars.

 

[mjeff87]

thank gawd I'm not the only one thinking wiper blades have gone to **** in the last few years......

what's worse for me is that I drive a Wrangler (TJ) and the cost of the puny 11" blades for it is no cheaper, and even THEY don't make it 6 months.

My wife took her car in for a CEL and state inspection and asked me to replace the blades on it so she wouldn't have to pay $15 at the shop for blades. I told her to let them put them on.....they've got to be better than what I've been buying (I hope).

Jeff

 

[bchee]

are we talking rubber or silicone?

 

[graffix000]

I agree as well with the **** that is out there now. Even spending $15+ per blade doesn't mean they will last. Pretty frustrating in my opinion.

 

[spongerich]

Jay Leno likes to tell of the time that he took his McLaren F1 in for routine service. While there, the dealer changed out the wiper blade for the bargain price of $1500.00.

It makes me feel a little better about paying $20 at Pep Boys.

 

[rhastings80]

The wife has a Scion XD and we have had good luck buying just the inserts from the Toyota dealer. That is assuming you still have the OEM blade/bracket. It is a little work as you also have to move over a couple of metal rails in the blade as well. I think also what happens is after time your windshield gets rough on the surface from little rock chips and that ends up being abrasive on your blades and they wear out much quicker vs when your car was new.

 

[mhulbrock]

Contour wiper blades out preform "traditional" designed blades. Defiantly give them a try.

 

[larry_g]

Well what do you expect. Leave your tools out in the wind, rain, and sun they will go to hell also. I bought some a few years back for the old pickup, shiney metal. Thought to be stainless but they rusted within a few months. I took them back and got them replaced under warrenty.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[JCQuick]

I'm another one for Bosch. but of course I worked for a Bosch distributer for many years and I got spoiled. Even though he is no longer a Bosch WD I still only pay about $5.00 for a complete 18" blade

 

[sdowney717]

Autozone still has some refills, but the sales clerks dont want to sell them to me.
They are half the price of blades. But they wont be restocked.
Clerk says I will regret buying the refills.
They are working fine.

 

[Interex]

I'm with rhastings -

I've tried a range of different blades from the high end Anco blades, to Rain-X, to Bosch, and finally OEM (Toyota specifically). In terms of consistent performance over 2-3 years, it was the OEM blades that prevailed. They were a little more expensive but a dealer nearby is a sponsor on a few forums that I frequent and offer pretty good discounts to members. On my girlfriend's Scion, the blades were about $18 for the set with the discount. The '07 Tundra has those fancy contouring blades so they run about $40 per set with my discount. Can't complain though, I LOVE them!

 

[turrican]

Another vote for OEM insert refills. In most cases, cheaper than new full blades from the local parts store, work better, and last longer.

I go as far as to hit the junkyard for OEM blades when I pick up an older car that doesn't have them.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I have never done it myself, but I too know a few who swear by OEM blades -- no matter what brand of car it is.
I recently had an OEM set ruined by the dealer on my Nissan, though -- it went in for thier free routine sevice which included a car wash and they used some sort of stuff that made the blades go to ****. They immediately started streaking badly and replacement the only fix.

 

[91FE]

Contour wiper blades out preform "traditional" designed blades. Defiantly give them a try.

I've got to disagree with you on this one. I was not impressed one bit with the contour blades I tried. The only reason I bit on the ridiculous price was that they were a BOGO deal at pepboys which brought the price within striking distance of the traditional premium blades. Not worth the money and didn't hold up any better.

 

[fflintstone]

I have 4 vehicles, my 1 ton truck sits 99% of the time (less than 1000 miles per year) my jeep is a 3 season vehicle. I am unemployed so all my vehicles sit too much these days. The sun seams to kill the wipers.

The wife has a Scion XD and we have had good luck buying just the inserts from the Toyota dealer. That is assuming you still have the OEM blade/bracket. It is a little work as you also have to move over a couple of metal rails in the blade as well. I think also what happens is after time your windshield gets rough on the surface from little rock chips and that ends up being abrasive on your blades and they wear out much quicker vs when your car was new.

My Toyota matrix has had the front wiper blades changed several times. I have used the Bosch blades, and while they appear to do a better job cleaning for the first three months, they still seam to fall apart quickly.
The rear wiper is only 11” long and must be purchased at a stealership. However since a Toyota dealer is a full hour drive away. I was able to buy a 22” refill set and cut them in half having 4 refills for my rear wiper.

thank gawd I'm not the only one thinking wiper blades have gone to **** in the last few years......

what's worse for me is that I drive a Wrangler (TJ) and the cost of the puny 11" blades for it is no cheaper, and even THEY don't make it 6 months.
Jeff

I have a TJ as well, I think the blades are 13” not 11” but yeah they are not any cheaper.

are we talking rubber or silicone?

Breast implants or wiper material?

 

[Kevin54]

I buy Anco's at WallyWorld for about $4 a piece and change the blades out at every other oil change. I think the rubber in most newer blades are cheaper and the dirt and stuff in the rain anymore just deteriorates them quicker. So for no more than what they cost and a couple of minutes time I always have a clear windshield when it rains. And I think the older blades really went just as fast but the older we get we just don't remember. A little trivia.... remember the old Laurel & Hardy commercial for Anco (?) blades. That's probably been 25 years ago. LOL!!!

 

[beelsr]

oem refills for me. especially since they replace them under warranty. and i know that' they're charging 2.30 per wiper so when the wtty runs out, i know the "real price"....

$4.60 once a year is pretty cheap for a clear windshield.

well, it takes aquapel, too....

 

[rodm1]

And one more VOTE for Bosch, that is what I use on all three of my cars.

me to. rain x are very very good to.

 

[OWilde]

A few years ago I had a pumice stone with an inset vee-groove on it, for re dressing the glass contact edge of the wiper blade. A few swipes back and forth, clean off the blade with denatured alcohol, worked pretty well.

I stepped on the 'stone' and it split along the vee.

I've been happy with the Michelin blades--all season, last about 9-14 months here in snowy-icy-rainy-tree sappy-bird crappy Maine.

Geoff

 

[ZeroSignal]

I have pretty good luck with Piaa silicone wiper blades. Seem to get a couple years out of them.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Another vote for Bosch "Icons" here. They cost but seem to last much longer than any others that I have tried.

 

[z28toz06]

I use anco and bosch. my wife's car eats them up. after a few months they start streaking. my pick up truck I swear I dont remember the last time I put wipers on it. It may have something to do with the vehicle or the shape/condition of the window?

list your vehicle and lets see if some makes are worse than others. Maybe older pitted windshields chip the blades up worse due to the sharp edges on the micro chips? who knows.

 

[spongerich]

I've found that occasionally cleaning the windshield with some Bon Ami helps. It really gets rid of lots of the embedded grit that damages the blades. Makes a hell of a mess though, and you need to be careful about rinsing it off before you wash the car or it tends to scratch the paint.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

+1 on the bosch, Ive got a set on the Yukon and Lesabre, both over 2 years nows, both ready for replacement.

 

[djjsr]

The wipers on my daily driver are 7 years old. I use this stuff on the windshield .............

 

[apong23]

I use bosch, used to use the oem replacement inserts but my stock wipers were getting faded from the sun. I didnt want to paint them, so i went with bosch.

 

[strnjss]

I've found that RainX wipers last for a really long time! They're pretty cheap too. I used to have to replace my wipers every few months, but now I do it only once or twice a year. They work until they start to shred apart too. None of that chopping, and drying out and not wiping properly.

 

[Dale]

My Jeep YJ has silicone blades going on 9 years or more and they are now drying out. You might try those. www.siblade.com

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have to agree that the new wiper blades are ****. I think there is another problem too, it the windshields. They are laid back so far and the aerodynamics of the vehicles contribute to poor wiper performance. Since the windshields are laid back, the wipers have to be longer, I remember when a 17" wiper was long.

We replaced a set on the fire engine the other day as the ones that were on it were ****. Oriellys had some newer wiper blades, which I forget what they were called. The had a small air foil on them to help keep the wiper down to the windshield. They were more money, close to double, but they had a mail in rebate which put them close in price to some of the better blades.

 

[fflintstone]

I've found that RainX wipers last for a really long time! They're pretty cheap too. I used to have to replace my wipers every few months, but now I do it only once or twice a year. They work until they start to shred apart too. None of that chopping, and drying out and not wiping properly.

Sorry but in what universe is replacement twice a year lasting "a really long time!"

To all the other posters, cheap Wal-Mart blades start at $6 not $4. Anco’s rain X and others start at $10. Bosch are usually a buck more. My cars sit out in the sun and are not garaged. I use rain X fluid (great stuff!) maybe that kills blades I don’t know. All I know is for my 4 vehicles if I want good wiper performance I have to replace them far more frequently than I did ten years ago.

 

[strnjss]

Sorry but in what universe is replacement twice a year lasting "a really long time!"

To all the other posters, cheap Wal-Mart blades start at $6 not $4. Anco’s rain X and others start at $10. Bosch are usually a buck more. My cars sit out in the sun and are not garaged. I use rain X fluid (great stuff!) maybe that kills blades I don’t know. All I know is for my 4 vehicles if I want good wiper performance I have to replace them far more frequently than I did ten years ago.

In my universe, where snow and ice cake onto wiper blades like crazy, and you have to physically break it off in order to drive anywhere.

And where oil and road **** gets all over the blades all the time.

And where my cars aren't parked in garages, and are exposed to the elements 24/7/365.

And in a universe where just about any other blade in the same exact price range lasts for only a few months, while the RainX have lasted at a MINIMUM of 6mo to a year.

The last set I've bought has been on over well over a year so far, and are still good

 

[StingRay]

We have Toyota's that the factory blades have lasted over 10 years on them. What ever I replace them with last about 6 months. There is something wrong with that. In the old days you slid a new blade into a cartridge. Today they push replacing the whole thing. It's a scam right up there with razor blades that you 15 bucks for a package of.

 

[pop pop]

Buy OEM (they are fresher, shelf life matters!), clean them frequently with ammonia solution, re lube them with graphite on a paper towel. Clean the windshield often. Wiper blades last years, not months.

 

[fflintstone]

I drove the wife’s mini van today (son calls it the “poopymobile”)ha-ha. In the light rain it was apparent that I need a new blade, at least on the drivers side. I replaced them in March when I took off the winter blades.
All I am saying is they should last at least a freakin year! And why are good ones $10 and up?
Not to long ago a whole blade was $5!

 

[Torque1st]

The best results I ever had was using Rain-X on the windshield and NEVER turn on the wipers.