Weird, I’ve lived in an extremely cold climate (Buffalo, NY), extremely hot and humid climate (Houston, TX), high elevation (South West, Colorado) and extremely dry and hot climate (Scottsdale, AZ). I’ve only had two occasions where wipers didn’t last a year. One was some Michelin blades from Costco, clearly a licensing job on some terrible blades, and the other was when I accidentally bought some blades in packaging where some scumbag returned their used blades in the packaging (found that out on my first drive home in a snowstorm at 1am). Rain-X, and Trico beam style for the most part on way too many cars over the years.
Wait WHAT? You must have some very specific scenario, I have never ever had any wiper blades last only 6 mos. Unless it was due to turning the wipers on while frozen to the windshield, which, live and learn, I haven't done in recent years.
I treat my wiper blades with the same approach as I use for my tires; the newer the rubber, the better the performance. I buy the cheap Michelin blades sold at Walmart for about $6 each and they wipe perfectly for about 6 months, then I replace them. They would probably go longer, but for $6 a piece, why mess around with the clarity of my vision while driving.? When I buy tires I buy the least expensive tires I can find with the most aggressive tread. They are usually 40K mile rated. Sure I could spend more on 80K mile rated tires, but I'd rather replace my tires with new ones at 40K miles than drive that amount of time putting the last 40K on a set of 80K mile tires. Tires ride better when new, get better traction, and have less road noise. Rubber gets harder as it ages, so the newer the tires, the better...same with wiper blades...
I hope nobody ever takes any Amazon reviews seriously as most are hit/miss for every item. I'm sure some will post whatever as part of a promotion/compensation too.
I 'treat' my wiper blades with Lucas Slick Mist every 1-2 months and I am certain it helps them last longer and perform better over the lifespan. I do buy quality blades and don't mind spending $20+ each, but I do average about 3 yrs. out of a set before they actually start to fade and need replacing.
Anything you can do to keep them soft will allow them to work better. Instead of treating mine, I just replace them...at $6 a piece, why not?
Yeah totally agree as we all have different ways to reach the same end result. I will say I find it a bit hard to find even the cheapest decent blades that cheap. My ride also has a weird size pairing, so maybe that has something to do with it.
So you hate changing oil and wiper blades but you're on a forum about changing oil and wiper blades?
Michelin blades sold at Walmart...they should be close to the same price at just about any Walmart...
I think the Michelin blades sold at Walmart are better, and are just as cheap...
Was in Ollie’s (Good Things Cheap) a few days ago and saw wipers, various brands, at a very reasonable price. Was going to buy but then I remembered I already have a stash of wipers.
