New wipers for the Volt

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Aug 3, 2017
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I noticed recently that the wiper blades on my Volt stopped clearing as well and figured it was about time for a replacement. The blades came on the car when I bought it, I have no idea what they were but I'm pretty sure they were Trico contour blades based on the adapter style they used to attach to the wiper arms.

I'm a big fan of contour blades, and through the Volt forums I learned that the OE blades are actually a "spoiler" design contour blade that have a dedicated left and right blade due to their shape. Call me crazy, but I actually like keeping this car original so I went ahead and ordered the OEM blades. The cost was $55 for the pair.

If there's any Volt owners on here, the PN's were 22742323 and 22742324. I didn't get any pictures of the packaging, but my local dealer had them next day and they said "Made in Belgium", leading me to believe that Bosch is likely the OE supplier.

Here's an eBay link to a pair: 2011-2014 Chevrolet Volt wiper blade set

So far, they work great. Very smooth and quiet. I probably could have gotten similar results from a cheaper set of blades, but what the heck. Sometimes being cheap doesn't always result in a win.
 
I was just gonna say, get OEM.

$55 for 2 wipers isn't that bad, that's what the Bosch wipers run from the auto parts stores.

While you're at it, clay bar the windshield.
 
Yeah, cheapest isn't always FTW.

Do you Phx guys buy good wipers? In the heat & sun they don't last very long. When we moved here I was advised to buy lower priced wipers and change yearly.
 
I stopped purchasing OEM blades. For my GM vehicles I kept getting OEM blades from various local dealers with production dates that were several years old. I’ve purchased maybe 10 sets of OE blades and all had production dates that were over a year old. They never lasted long and sometimes had performance issues right out of the bag. I buy all my blades at Walmart now for freshest stock.
 
I've been putting GM blades on the Canyon because of a prior experience with Rain-X blades. The adapter on the Rain-X blades was never quite right for the Canyon wiper arms (top button). They clacked back and forth in the mount, and never wiped right, so they were quickly replaced with GM. The GMs are now a couple years old, and one of them tore last week, so I ordered a set of Michelins on Amazon for next-day delivery (I couldn't get a set of GMs quickly enough to beat the rain). They're weird looking, but so far they work well, and the attachment is secure. They look like the back end of a '81 Trans Am moving across the windshield. They have an integrated "spoiler" that probably does nothing but ruin aerodynamics.

I HATE the Michelins I just put on the Focus. The driver's side blade on these cars are huge, and if they aren't rigid enough to support their own length, they flex during the wipe, and flutter across the glass. The OEMs didn't do this, but the Michelin blade for this car stinks. I'll be replacing them with Motorcrafts long before they wear out.
 
I buy brand name blades for about $8 a set on Rock auto.
$55 is nuts.
Any other vehicle, I'd be right there with you. However, between the asymmetrical design of the OE blades and the wiper arm to blade attachment style (as WylieCoyote noted about his own Canyon) there just really isn't a better option.

I tossed plain old Trico coutour blades from work on the Jeep when I got it and I'm more than satisfied with them. They ran be about $15 for the pair.
 
This. $55 is a new tire or battery, not wiper blades.
Speaking of, I just put a set of brand new 195/60r15 Firestone Winterforce 2's on my sister's car, and I found them for $27 each from Tire Rack. That really does make my wipers look like a rip...

Oh well, I'm still satisfied!
 
Nice to see Bosch wipers still made in Belgium. I think now they only make OEM wipers there.

The premium Trico wipers are made in the US (Ultra, Titan, Maxx), and some NWB wipers are still made in Japan.
 
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