Help remove wiper arm & nut part number

[2009Prius]

I removed the 14 mm nuts but the wiper arm seems glued to the screw. I wiggled the wiper arm up and down quite forcefully but the screw always moves together with the wiper arm. I also tried to pull the seat of the wiper arm up while pushing down on the screw in vain. My fingers are too weak. Please help. Thanks!

By the way does someone have the part number for the 14 mm covered nut for the passenger side? One of the nut was difficult to remove and sure enough the thread was damaged.

[Patrick Wong]

It is quite easy to remove the wiper arm if you know the trick. Note that the arm is spring-loaded to press the blade against the windshield. This causes the wiper arm to bind against the wiper shaft, making it hard just to pull off.

The trick is to press down on the arm with one hand to relieve the spring pressure, then lift up on the arm where it is attached to the wiper shaft, with your other hand.

Regarding the nut that is damaged, just take it to your dealer's parts dept clerk and ask for a replacement. Don't be surprised if it has to be ordered. While waiting for that hardware to come in, you can go to your local hardware store and see if you can find a temporary replacement metric nut and washer.

If the nut thread was damaged, I hope that the threaded shaft also was not damaged. If it was then you would have to replace the wiper motor assembly which would be pretty costly.

When replacing the wiper arms, note that the windshield has two little dots that show where the tips of the wiper blades should point, when the wipers are off and parked.

[2009Prius]

Thank you! Would raising the wiper arm up (as when I clean the blades) also releave the spring pressure or not? This was what I tried and did not work. I will try your trick later. The nuts are all back on now. The damage was minor and the threaded post looks good. Thanks again!