Wiper Blades Skip and are Noisy

OEM or aftermarket blades and refills?

 

I recommend deep cleaning of the windshield with
Rain‑X® Deep Cleaning Windshield Kit

also if you just changed the insert maybe it's time to get complete blades.

 

If the blade skips in one direction and not the other try twisting the flat part of the wiper arm, so that if the blade is lifted of the screen slightly it is at a right angle to the screen. The blade should flip from side to side slightly so that it's edge is trailing the direction of it's movement.

John (Britprius)

 

The reason I asked is that I have seen reports of some of the aftermarket one's not working well, while other's are saying the OEM one's work better. I have been using the RainX brand, but they don't seem to hold up well. I am considering switching back to the OEM and see if they work better.

If the glass has a lot of residue on it, and the blades have been dry for quite some time even ours will skip a beat or two until the glass is wet. The only thing that really helped me is to try to keep the glass as clean as possible.

 

Inserts? The whole wiper is $ 6.98 at Walmart.

 

Just rain x it!

 

As I said try twisting the flat part of the wiper arm (not blade)with a pair of pliers or grips so that when the blade goes across the screen the edge of the blade is trailing if you twist too far the blade will skip in the reverse direction, but you can always twist it back a little. Let us know how it goes.

John (Britprius)

 

I just bought Bosch MicroEdge (that's the metal arm and the rubber wiper part) at NAPA. $10 and change for driver's side and $7 and change for passenger. So, I paid just over $18 in total for both -- Not bad . And NAPA put them on for free.

They claim the Bosch last very well.

 

I would imagine no matter what brand you use wipers don't last up there. That's rugged country. Even the meese wear LL Beans vests.

 

Yes, the 'rascally rodents have gone a bit gentrified, they seem to ignore the natural seeds and nuts and love to feast on shredded wheat and Cheerios, which I find in various places. Funny thing -- house is totally mouse-proof and I have no idea where they are getting their supplies (my cereal boxes have no paw prints). Closest neighbor is about a half-mile away and I think he mostly lives on Budweiser.

I wonder if FedEx delivers to mice?

Funny thing though, my wipers are the original "off the boat from Japan" that came with the car, so they have lasted like four years. Must be because we have no ozone up here....it's not from lack of use, I use the wipers continually from September to June.

Hope the Bosch last at least a couple of years....

 

I bought the Bosch Icon single beam blades about 5 months ago at a rather premium price of almost $60. Bosch up front and a Trico on the rear. I was having the skipping blades problem on the front windscreen at highway speed, where I spend most of my driving time. They worked fine tooling around town. We don't get much rain here in the desert, but when it does come you better have good wipers. Ozone levels during the summer months get pretty high so I will see how well these hold up. They claim a 40% improvement in useful life, whatever that means.

 

My driver side blade is skipping now on my '05. I replaced it last year with a Duralast from Autozone and it worked well for awhile. The passenger side is OEM, probably the factory blade in fact, and is working fine.

I found Denso blades which I think are original and I might give them a try.

 

I've got some variety of bracketless wipers (probably Bosch or Goodyear) on my windshield and they're fantastic. My parents had recently discovered Goodyear's ResponsEdge, and I was pleased to discover bracketless wipers on my Prius when I purchased it used last month (I'd have replaced them otherwise). They don't leave lines like other wiper blades that held the rubber edge with small metal clips. I haven't had a problem with skipping unless it's real dry.