Rear Wiper blade replacement

[efusco]

I almost never use the rear wiper, but somehow the rubber blade has a tear at one end and I'm afraid I'm going to get a scratch on the glass if/when I do use it.

I purchased a complete replacement blade at Wal-mart yesterday (the entire assembly, not just the rubber blade) and tried to put it on today only to find that there's no way it would fit (even though the little computer said it would).

I tried just pulling the rubber blade out of the new assembly to replace the one in the old assembly...but, alas, the notches/grooves are a different width and thickness and it's not interchangable.

Ultimately I'd prefer to keep the old assembly since it's textured plastic that matches the car better than a cheap shiny metal one would. But this isn't a life & death thing for me, I just need a safe working rear wiper.

If anyone knows a specific brand that does fit and will work I'd appreciate the info...otherwise I guess I'll just cough up whatever ridiculous amount the dealer's parts shop charges for such things.

[Charles Suitt]

Hi, Evan...

I tried just replacing the blade with a generic one without success.... even filed down the end of the arm width a little trying to make the blade fit. When I saw it wouldn't really work right I gave it up and paid the Dealer Price ($15.39 + $1.27 Texas Sales Tax) for the replacement blade - Part 85242-47010. That did fit the old assembly.

Thanks for your continuing informative posts.

[efusco]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ Sep 20 2006, 03:34 PM) [snapback]322437[/snapback]</div>

Hi, Evan...

I tried just replacing the blade with a generic one without success.... even filed down the end of the arm width a little trying to make the blade fit. When I saw it wouldn't really work right I gave it up and paid the Dealer Price ($15.39 + $1.27 Texas Sales Tax) for the replacement blade - Part 85242-47010. That did fit the old assembly.

Thanks for your continuing informative posts. [/b]

Thanks Charles, not the news I wanted, but not a huge deal I guess. May try Pep Boys this afternoon just in case, but I'm not too optimistic.

[TucsonPrius]

I just purchase the refill at the dealer. But mine was $3.33 last year and $3.35 this year. Part number 85214-10100.

Thanks,
Shawn

[efusco]

Cool, thanks Shawn. That's a price I can swallow a bit more easily.

[oldensign]

If you can find just the insert (at $3 up), do yourself a large favor and use that. The rubber of the blade was actually torn a bit in my 2005 Prius.

My wife bought the entire rear wiper blade at the dealer ($15) for mine (her 2006 is identical). However, the plastic arm gets so brittle from exposure to the elements that it is extremely difficult to get the wiper off without destroying the arm. A small piece of plastic on the arm acts as a retaining spring for the blade, and it snaps easily. There went another $46 for a new arm. Now we're up to $61, not including sales tax. To avoid scratching the rear window, I put a condom (actually, a vinyl glove) over the broken end of the wiper arm.

I had to hacksaw the remains of the wiper arm to remove it from the drive shaft. Prying it off using the glass as a bearing surface seemed a really awful idea, so I just cut a large number of slots in the wiper arm until I could finally pull it straight away from the hatch.

All things considered, it was a royal pain, but could easily have been worse. To change the rear wiper in the 2006, I'll try to find just the blade itself. It is not a standard size, of course - seems to be 15-1/2 inches.

Has somebody found a source for just the rear hatch rubber blade itself?

I put Rain-X Latitude blades on the front of both Prii, and the improvement over Toyota blades was amazing.

[hellolisu]

I just paid for my rear window wiper on Toyota Bargain Parts.com
Part number 85214-10100 $2.74

[alanh]

85214-10100 is just the refill. 85242-47010 is the whole wiper.

[kohnen]

I bought a 14" refill that used plastic (as opposed to metal) for the part that is held by the housing.

Pulled the old refill out, compared lengths and cut the new one to match the length of the old one with a sharp knife (which is why a plastic refill works better) and slid it in.

[Paul R. Haller]

Boy, my dealer charged me 22$ for a replacement arm and wiper. He said no insert available. Typical dealer horse hocky!
Paul R. Haller