New fton wiper inserts streak and skip - may have solved it?

SebMike · 02-14-2007, 05:59 PM

I have 15k miles on my ~11 month old Prius. The original front wiper inserts were getting streaky, so I decided to buy new ones at Toyota.

I was given inserts that came in a plastic square "tube".

I put them on my car, and had problems immediately. They were not as streaky as the ones I replaced, but they squeaked alot at the ends of their motion, and worse, the driver's side was so streaky and chattery for the top half of its motion that using them in the rain made for horrible visibility.

So I stripped the windshield with some No Touch glass cleaner/stripper (usually helps to get rid of built up road goo and rubber residue), which helped, but the problem still persisted at 65MPH+.

So I went back to Toyota and explained my problem, thinking I'd be told I was just too picky. Yeah, that happens to me, uh, sometimes. Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprised that the parts guy said "Uh huh, we've seen that a couple times. Lemme guess...they gave you the retail inserts, not the OEM ones?"

Turns out that the inserts that come in the plastic square "tubes" are one flavor of insert, but another Toyota flavor exists that come in a plastic baggy. We put the ones from the plastic baggy on the car, and the difference was immediate, even in the parking lot. I haven't tried 'em in the rain at 65MPH+ yet (the real probem), but these seem to be way better.

The parts guy went on to explain that the rubber/compound in the 'retail' inserts is harder and tends to last longer. The rubber/compound in the "OEM" inserts is softer.

(Just occurred to me I should have gotten the part number for the softer ones.)

Alrighty then...

Mike

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02-14-2007, 05:59 PM	#1
SebMike Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Bay, CA Posts: 55 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I have 15k miles on my ~11 month old Prius. The original front wiper inserts were getting streaky, so I decided to buy new ones at Toyota. I was given inserts that came in a plastic square "tube". I put them on my car, and had problems immediately. They were not as streaky as the ones I replaced, but they squeaked alot at the ends of their motion, and worse, the driver's side was so streaky and chattery for the top half of its motion that using them in the rain made for horrible visibility. So I stripped the windshield with some No Touch glass cleaner/stripper (usually helps to get rid of built up road goo and rubber residue), which helped, but the problem still persisted at 65MPH+. So I went back to Toyota and explained my problem, thinking I'd be told I was just too picky. Yeah, that happens to me, uh, sometimes. Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprised that the parts guy said "Uh huh, we've seen that a couple times. Lemme guess...they gave you the retail inserts, not the OEM ones?" Turns out that the inserts that come in the plastic square "tubes" are one flavor of insert, but another Toyota flavor exists that come in a plastic baggy. We put the ones from the plastic baggy on the car, and the difference was immediate, even in the parking lot. I haven't tried 'em in the rain at 65MPH+ yet (the real probem), but these seem to be way better. The parts guy went on to explain that the rubber/compound in the 'retail' inserts is harder and tends to last longer. The rubber/compound in the "OEM" inserts is softer. (Just occurred to me I should have gotten the part number for the softer ones.) Alrighty then... Mike