Teflon windshield wiper blades worth the money?

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Jan 20, 2017
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I was on RockAuto to order brake pads and looked at windshield wiper blades. Most are priced from $2.50-$7.50, with one as much as $14, with about 5 different grades.

They have ACDelco, Anco, Bosch, Motorcraft, Peak, Trico.

Not knowing which is better I was going to order Trico Teflon for $7.78. Teflon seems to be good?
 
Teflon is just marketing.

ProjectFarm did a good wiper blade test series.




But none of them are teflon coated

................................

Back to the OP.. it had Teflon coated Tricos years ago. I did like them, but they didn't hold up in the winter time, as the rubber separated from the frame.
 
I'm doing that experiment now with Michelin Teflons on one vehicle, and middle-end blades on 2 others, all put on around the same time.

No results yet, as driving has been heavily impacted by COVID work-from-home and distance learning, but they are holding up at least as well as the Rain-X blades (which I DON'T like the fastener clips that keep flipping up).
 
Because, as I mentioned, Teflon is just a marketing gimmick. The actual blade construction and materials matter 100x more.
This is what I believe now.

I always bought cheap blades on RockAuto and changed frequently (Valeo, Trico, whatever). This summer I got a used car with Bosch icon beam blades and now I am sold. Getting them at RA or other discounters might mean they are, say, $6.50 vs. $2 each, but I am sure they'll last twice as long and be twice as good in the interval.
 
Glad you are having good luck with the Bosch icons. The local AZ recommended them to me and they haven’t been great for me. They streak and smear in my case. I use rain-x if that makes a difference.
 
We sell Trico blades exclusively at my shop. We will not sell the trico teflon blades. I put a set on my car when they first came out because I generally try new things like that on my own before we decide whether or not to sell them. They chattered horribly and did not clear well. Our vendor warrantied them out for another set and gave me a set for another one of our cars to make sure it wasnt something odd with my car. It wasnt, the blades just sucked that bad. For a conventional metal frame blade stick with a trico exact fit and you will be quite happy
 
I’ve had the Trico Teflon Shield blades for a few years now no issues. The factory wipers were crap from jump on my car. But I also garage this car so that will help any wiper blade for longevity and performance.
 
I used the teflon Trico blades years ago, didn't know they were still around. They seemed to work well, and not stick to the windshield of it got really cold.
 
Trico TeflonShields are probably my favorite. They last a good while on my cars that're parked outside, whereas other blades are garbage in chipped windshields (maybe due to the Teflon?).
had the Trico Teflon Shield blades for a few years now no issues. The factory wipers were crap from jump on my car. But I also garage this car so that will help any wiper blade for longevity and performance.
The factory blades were trash on my Elantra as well.
 
I’m partial to PIAA which are silicone. I’d suspect that anything that improves (reduces) friction, and is soft enough to comply with windshield surface irregularities, while also being firm enough to move dirt out of the way, will do well.

I think some Bosch blades are coated in graphite.
 
We sell Trico blades exclusively at my shop. We will not sell the trico teflon blades. I put a set on my car when they first came out because I generally try new things like that on my own before we decide whether or not to sell them. They chattered horribly and did not clear well. Our vendor warrantied them out for another set and gave me a set for another one of our cars to make sure it wasnt something odd with my car. It wasnt, the blades just sucked that bad. For a conventional metal frame blade stick with a trico exact fit and you will be quite happy
hey Tim, wanted to thank you personally for your post.. I have been having issues with my Bosch Excel+ blades for awhile but this last set only lasted about 4-5 weeks and started streaking, etc.. I did clean the windshield with Bon-Ami to make sure nothing bad was on the glass surface but that didn't solve the issue.. Ridiculous.. the blades were only a couple weeks old!

I went over to the auto parts store and got the trico View (conventional blade) and finally!!! A clean wipe! I had given up on Trico years ago when I didn't think they were that great, but hey that was many years ago. Things change.. But what you said just kinda hit me and thought what do I have to lose for $20 (each blade was $10)?!!

Guess it's the little things that make me happy, but the blades worked well now, I did have to clean the driver's side blade but now it's perfect.. The passenger side didn't need that and had an odd "check mark" kink at the attachment point. That blade (18") was made in mexico but the driver's side (used a 21 instead of a 20") was made in china and didn't have that kink at the attachment point.. interesting.. anyway thanks for the post!
 
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