Wiper Blade Recommendations?

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Originally Posted By: Vikas
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Goodyear wipers are great if you have a Costco membership
Oh no; those are one of the worst ones that you could buy!


+1
 
Originally Posted By: Tony_Mack
I've had some Rain-X Weatherbeater wiper blades on my FJ Cruiser for less than a year and they're splitting and tearing.

I need some new wiper blades. Any recommendations?


Rain-X Fusion.

https://www.rainx.com/product/wiper-blades/rain-x-fusion/

Used to be available in Pep Boys, but they replaced them in the display with the Michelin Stealth hybrid equivalent. I've tried both and prefer the Fusion.

Whatever you do, don't fall for the "beam" style wiper blades unless your vehicle used them as OEM (and even then it would probably benefit from hybrid or conventional blades). They do a horrible job of distributing the arm spring pressure along the length of the blade. They're a true triumph of appearance over function.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Nothing lasts longer and works better than the OE Toyota inserts. Hopefully you did not throw away the factory wiper blade assemblies....as those things can be quite expensive.


I agree 100% that the best blade performance, in my experience anyway, has come from OE inserts. It doesn't matter what brand -- Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM, etc. I've always had excellent experience with OE inserts from the dealership.
 
I bit the bullet and bought new wipers from the Honda dealer. Going to install them today. Hope it takes care of the poor performance from the brand new Goodyear hybrids from Costco. Otherwise maybe my wiper arms need to be replaced. Do the springs get weak enough to cause replacement? Never experienced that before on any of my vehicles, and they seem to push against the windshield just fine.
 
I suppose the wiper arm springs could weaken over time, but I wouldn't anticipate that on a '96 Civic. I'm positive that new wiper blades from Honda (with OEM inserts obviously) will cure the problem.
 
I like my Trico Force/Onyx blades because Trico is a U.S. brand. They look great and function well in the rain; but I expected more from the,. Their HQ is in Rochester MI and I'm from MI as well so I would assume they would have their winter game down as well. Alas they don't. as a 4 season blade they simply don't work. In the winter the blades get so full of ice they jam the blade so it cannot wipe. When I leave in the morning and when I go home in the afternoon I have to smack them into the windshield to get the ice out, or use a tool to get the ice out. Also during the summer rain-x and their blades don't like each other, they skip, chatter and steak when rain-x is applied.
I eventually returned one pair because I thought all this was a defect. They had great service and sent me another pair free. But same issue.
Our 2 cars and my fathers car all have these blades and they all have the same issue.
So we will probably go back to Bosch Icons which have been my favorite and longest lasting, my mothers camaro has a 3-4 year old pair of Icons and my sisters Astra has a 3-4 year old pair as well and work fantastic.
 
I will never use anything other than OE refills again. The yota ones are like $12 for the pair, and last over 2 years, and work great!!!
 
I've used beam blades on cars where they were OEM and not OEM. Never had a problem with them. They wipe perfectly. I use Trico NeoForm for aftermarket blades.
 
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Finally installed the honda wipers, but they still leave a line where the passenger blade stops up top and changes direction to go back down. It isn't nearly as bad as the hybrids I pulled off, and at least these wipe all the washer fluid off as they swipe, but there is still a line where something is getting "smudged" at the top of its sweep the best I can describe it. I have tried cleaning the windshield with glass cleaner, and then 0000 steel wool with glass cleaner trying to stop this smudging. Any other ideas? I might try using Comet scouring powder and see if that stops it.
 
I did that on the goodyear hybrid blades (no improvement), but haven't done it to these. I've never had blades leave a smudge like this, figured cleaning the windshield several times would have taken care of it. Maybe wiping the windshield down with rubbing alcohol would help? Would scouring powder be a bad idea? Shouldn't scratch glass I don't think...
 
I doubt any of the cleaning methods described will help. I think it has more to do with uneven pressure. That part of the wiper blade presses down harder against the glass than it should and you are getting rubber deposition where the insert "flips." You can try a little Bon Ami on that area. You could also try bending that section of the blade frame - slightly - to lessen the pressure on that part.

Most importantly, set your delay timer to minimize wiping across dry glass. Go manual if you have to when it's only misting outside. I've seen plenty driving around with their wipers on continuously when the rain is too light or has just let up.
 
Originally Posted By: ryanschillinger
Finally installed the honda wipers, but they still leave a line where the passenger blade stops up top and changes direction to go back down. It isn't nearly as bad as the hybrids I pulled off, and at least these wipe all the washer fluid off as they swipe, but there is still a line where something is getting "smudged" at the top of its sweep the best I can describe it. I have tried cleaning the windshield with glass cleaner, and then 0000 steel wool with glass cleaner trying to stop this smudging. Any other ideas? I might try using Comet scouring powder and see if that stops it.


Your windshield is probably just pitted.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I doubt any of the cleaning methods described will help. I think it has more to do with uneven pressure.


If the OEMs are "beam" blades, uneven pressure is DEFINITELY a problem. Try hybrid or conventional articulated blades, they work much better. I've tried both.
 
These are brand new replacements blades (not just the rubber refill) from Honda. Regular blades, not beam style. Windshield doesn't seem to be pitted, and I don't run wipers with even remotely dry glass. I normally drive with wipers off as much as I can, even if it's raining. Once the drops get big enough, they just run off anyway. I'm confused what might be causing this. I might try cleaning the windshield again. I know I have some kind of deep clean scrub for glass, but no idea where I put it after moving. Seems like comet powder should strip the glass clean without scratching it. Am I on the wrong path here? Super fine steel wool with invisible glass didn't get rid of the problem. Then again, I haven't tried anything since installing the Honda blades. I did all that while the Goodyear hybrids were installed.
 
Seems like every glass cleaner these days had some additive to "help" shed water, fog, etc. it's hard to just get really clean glass. Dilute ammonia works great, but even that's getting hard to find. Red can Brakleen is pure tetrachloroethylene, maybe use regular glass cleaner then a paper towel moistened its that to strip any polymers/waxes left over?
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Seems like every glass cleaner these days had some additive to "help" shed water, fog, etc. it's hard to just get really clean glass.

I just recently started using the Rain-X X-treme Clean to actually get just really clean glass without all the extras, as you say. It does a great job. It actually will strip off any Rain-X treatment on the glass, and even removes Rejex.
 
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