Windshield Wiper Blades - WTF

[tooqk4u22]

I haven't replaced my wiper blades in a long time but I need to because they really don't work anymore.

Anyway, it seems that all of the autoparts stores in my area (maybe everywhere) have stopped selling replacement blade refills - you know the ones that don't come with arms and only costs a couple of dollars.   All of the replacement Arms are crazy.  What a scam. Anybody else see this in your area.

[BlueBeard]

I had the same problem and had to order them online.

[velocistar237]

Good to know. My wipers haven't been working well, but I think it's because I haven't cleaned them in a while. When I lived in SoCal, my wipers always collected gunk between the infrequent rains, and cleaning them made a big difference.

[Nords]

All of the replacement Arms are crazy.  What a scam. Anybody else see this in your area.

If cleaning doesn't fix your wipers, then eBay and Amazon will sell replacement blades.

I keep wiping mine clean and leaving them on the arms until the rubber physically peels off the arm.  Over four years so far, but our part of Oahu doesn't get a lot of rain most of the year.

I've wondered if windshield-washer concentrate degrades the rubber on the wiper blades.  Freezing is not an issue here, so I don't even bother with windshield cleaning fluid.  We use a whole-house water conditioner, so I just put our tap water into our windshield-washer tank.

[tooqk4u22]

I keep wiping mine clean and leaving them on the arms until the rubber physically peels off the arm. 

This is why I need to replace them, they were peeling off.

[TLV]

I'm new enough to cars that replacing the whole arm seems normal to me. I need to look into these replacement rubber blades, especially since the rear wiper on the Scion xA is a nonstandard size and nobody seems to sell the right size of replacement arm.

[BlueMR2]

Yeah, I noticed the same problem at the local parts shops.  However, the dealers still sell inserts, and *cheap* too!  $1.50 a piece for refills at my dealer vs. $10-20 for the whole blade assembly at the parts place!

[mindaugas]

I just bought some for both my cars, $53. I forgot about replacement blades without the arm its been so long. Next time I guess ...

[Paul der Krake]

I only paid $9 for a pair at Walmart... and don't recall any model being above $7 or $8 each. What are retailers smoking in your areas?

Good thing to know you can buy just the rubber though.

[Rangifer]

I usually pick up a pair of the Goodyear brand at Costco each year for 8 bucks. Worth it to me, but I live in a rainy area.

[GoStumpy]

I sell wiper blades wholesale to glass shops... I can tell you cheap ones work just as well as good ones... mine are ~$5ea and last years.  Comes with the clips to mount it to your wiper arm.

[Will]

I usually pick up a pair of the Goodyear brand at Costco each year for 8 bucks. Worth it to me, but I live in a rainy area.

I do too, and it rains here A LOT too.  I actually even got 2 sets with a coupon, and the first set is probably about 3 years old and still almost as good as new.

[Rangifer]

I usually pick up a pair of the Goodyear brand at Costco each year for 8 bucks. Worth it to me, but I live in a rainy area.

I do too, and it rains here A LOT too.  I actually even got 2 sets with a coupon, and the first set is probably about 3 years old and still almost as good as new.

Yep, $7.99 and buy one get one free with the coupon. And they are actually very good quality blades to boot.

[Forcus]

If they aren't cracked or splitting, try cleaning them with alcohol. If they are skipping or jumping, you may have a weak wiper arm (they have springs in them that are always under tension... they can wear out). Sometimes too, windshields get so rough from road grit that they can make the wipers work poorly too.

But yeah, I've bought the cheap refills, and the "high end" stuff.. they all lose effectiveness after 6 months and I saw no real performance difference anyway.

[BlueMR2]

If they aren't cracked or splitting, try cleaning them with alcohol.

I've had good luck cleaning them with just a damp cloth.  Seems like they get a lot of dirt on them that reduce effectiveness.  I was replacing about every 6 months, now it's every 1-2 years (depending on which car and how much use it gets).