Do wiper blades dry rot easily in warehouse storage?

[MrPlow]

With the pandemic, I've been buying all of my parts online and working on my dad's rig for him so he doesn't have to go to the repair shop or store.

I usually just buy a cheap set of whatever there is at Napa in the store, usually in the $9-$14 range, I think mostly house branded stuff. Never had any issues on any vehicle with streaking or chattering, and just replace each fall for the wet season.

With ordering online from some 3rd party Amazon vendors, I went through 4+ sets of blades the last couple of months, where one after another would streak and chatter like I've never seen before, and this is on 3 different vehicles. Eventually, I did get some blades from Amazon Proper directly that do not have any issue.

I'm starting to wonder if those cheap + free shipping vendors are using old stock, maybe even stuff purchased knowingly old for cheaper than fresh retail?

I've been driving for 25 years and never purchased wipers online before in my life, and never had any issues with a single cheapo blade either. Going through so many on 3 vehicles can't possibly be a coincidence, can it?

Or maybe my fingers are getting extra greasy with age and ruining them on install?

 

[Warstud]

Buy them from Walmart where there always fresh.

 

[bullwinkle]

Ones I’ve gotten from Rock Auto close outs seem to go south pretty quickly, I’ve mostly reverted to (over-) paying for Bosch Icons, those seem to last 2-3 years! As opposed to months.

 

[MrPlow]

Buy them from Walmart where there always fresh.

Near the produce section, eh?

 

[sloinker]

Spend the money on silicone blades and they will last longer, especially in hotter/colder climates. Standard rubber wiper blades do have a short shelf and service life.

 

[MrPlow]

Ones I’ve gotten from Rock Auto close outs seem to go south pretty quickly, I’ve mostly reverted to (over-) paying for Bosch Icons, those seem to last 2-3 years! As opposed to months.

I'm really starting to think they get cruddy if the rubber stiffens up much at all sitting in storage for years or who knows how long.

The wipers I purchased directly from Amazon seemed like a high volume item and cost a lot more than 3rd party for the same thing.

 

[MrPlow]

Spend the money on silicone blades and they will last longer, especially in hotter/colder climates. Standard rubber wiper blades do have a short shelf and service life.

Considering how cheap they were selling them, with free shipping, I wonder if the larger retailers don't sell off old stock to these guys, then let the blades sit for even longer before sold on the internet? Or maybe the sellers are just so low volume they sit around forever regardless.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I have about 15+ pairs of wipers in my garage that came from Rockauto closeouts, and I've been using them for many years. Paid $2 or less per wiper. Some have sat on my garage shelf for 4-5 years and I'd have to guess they spent many years on top of that sitting on a shelf in some warehouse collecting dust before they made it to me.

I've always been completely satisfied and always get at least 9-12 months out of a set which I consider satisfactory considering the price. Some have lasted far beyond that.

Are the wiper blades made of concrete? I can't imagine going through 4+ sets in a couple months. Sounds like really cheap or counterfeit product. Does the rubber feel hard when these are new out of the box?

 

[VolvoZ]

Ones I’ve gotten from Rock Auto close outs seem to go south pretty quickly, I’ve mostly reverted to (over-) paying for Bosch Icons, those seem to last 2-3 years! As opposed to months.

What bullwinkle said....I’ve had the same experience with older stock wiper blades. Bought the RockAuto closeout wipers on a few occasions. Most of the time, you can tell they are dated product because even the clear packaging has that “old yellowed“ tinge to it. And the wipers often perform poorly immediately or within a short period of time. Based on that, have sworn off the closeout wipers. On the other hand...if they had closeout silicone wiper blades, i might be persuaded to buy closeout stock.

 

[MrPlow]

Are the wiper blades made of concrete? I can't imagine going through 4+ sets in a couple months. Sounds like really cheap or counterfeit product. Does the rubber feel hard when these are new out of the box?

I didn't really check the state of the blades, and until now, just assumed they were that way because I purchased the wrong brand.

I've purchased 100% of my blades from Napa in the store my whole driving life up until last fall. So, maybe it does have something to do with brand, I don't know.

 

[Blinker]

I stopped buying OEM wipers from the dealer because the last several sets I bought only lasted a couple of months. They sit too long on dealership shelves.

Buy the freshest you can, normally that means Walmart.

 

[Gimpy1]

Any rubber product will degrade over time. Improper storage will only accelerate this. If the product was sitting in a non temperature controled warehouse or like some of the unsold stock sitting in a display case where the sun hits them will degrade them even faster.

 

[97prizm]

Yes, this. A few years back a local store had some weird refill wiper blades. They were in a notched plastic sleeve. They lasted a few months then wore out. The manager said they buy out old stock, and discontinued items.

 

[MrPlow]

Fortunately, I might not need to buy my wipers online again if things are in better shape this fall for covid. But, if I do, it's going to be from Walmart direct.

On a side note, I've found that Walmart does a great job with online orders. All of the motor oil, etc I purchased from them online in the least year have come perfectly packaged and very fast. Where as Amazon has no problem tossing my food order into a giant box with a leaking bottle of vehicle stuff, with no padding or extra bags, let alone the fact that toxic car stuff shouldn't be in the same box as crackers and baby formula to begin with. LOL

 

[c502cid]

I have about 15+ pairs of wipers in my garage that came from Rockauto closeouts, and I've been using them for many years. Paid $2 or less per wiper. Some have sat on my garage shelf for 4-5 years and I'd have to guess they spent many years on top of that sitting on a shelf in some warehouse collecting dust before they made it to me.

I've always been completely satisfied and always get at least 9-12 months out of a set which I consider satisfactory considering the price. Some have lasted far beyond that.

Are the wiper blades made of concrete? I can't imagine going through 4+ sets in a couple months. Sounds like really cheap or counterfeit product. Does the rubber feel hard when these are new out of the box?

I have the same exact results as you.

 

[PimTac]

Near the produce section, eh?

They have a automotive section.

 

[tom slick]

I’ve bought several wiper blades at a time on clearance from Rockauto. The are so cheap I usually buy “better” ones such as Trico or Napa “Teflon”. I change blades once a year, and bought several, and they were on clearance so probably old before I got them, so some of them were at least a few years old, all have worked good.

 

[FordMan59]

I just put a new set on one of my cars over the weekend. These were some blades I'd bought long ago and had forgot about having until my wife discovered them recently. I suspect they're 10-15 years old. We've had a couple days with rain since I put them on and they're doing fine. I suspect storage conditions would have more of an impact on them than age.

 

[tmorris1]

Probably just the cheap brand more than anything. There is a lot of cheap Chinese junk on Amazon. I think wiper blades deteriorate more from sun and use than anything.

 

[RitcheyRch]

I've had good luck with the OEM blade refills.