How To: Fix squeaky windshield wiper arm (with pics)

OK, so I finally had enough of the annoying squeak-squeak-squeak of my wiper blades every time I used them. Time for a fix!

First, I narrowed down the problem by making sure it was not the rubber wiper blade rubbing against the windshield. You can rule this out by simply lifting the wiper arms up to the locked position and turning them on. If they still squeak it’s not the rubber rubbing against the glass.

By carefully listening I narrowed down the squeak to be coming from under the large black plastic cover on the passenger side wiper. From what I have read other Gen II Prius owners have had this same problem. I discovered that you CANNOT remove that cover without removing the wiper arm assembly. But it’s not too hard.

So here’s a step-by-step "How To" with pictures.

1. Start by opening the hood and removing the two 14mm black cap nuts that secure the passenger side wiper arm. They were on there really tight.
2. The two metal arms were stuck on the shafts, so I used a 2-jaw puller to pop them off. Before that I tried prying them off with a pry bar but they wouldn’t budge. You might have better luck with this...just don’t use too much force because you don’t want to crack the plastic cowl. If they won’t budge use a puller.
3. Remove the wiper arm assembly and lay it upside down on an old towel or blanket so it doesn’t get scratched. At this point I moved the arms back and forth to confirm my problem, and sure enough…SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!
4. A NOTE HERE – you can probably just lube the arms/shafts from only the underside and it will probably fix the squeak. In other words, so you don’t have to remove the black plastic cover. But I decided to go “all the way” so I could lube both sides. Since removing the cover is a bit tricky, you might want to just do this and skip to step 9, but see steps 6 and 7 for lube notes.
5. The metal part of the wiper arm is held in the large plastic cover with 5 “tabs” that are molded into the cover. You have to carefully pry back each tab, starting at the end where the metal arm enters the cover. Use a variety of different size flat-blade screwdrivers, and some plastic pry bars if you have them. Starting at the open end, pry back the first tab and slip a plastic pry bar under the cover (on top) to keep it from snapping back into place (see picture). If you don’t have a plastic pry bar you can wrap some tape around a screwdriver and use that so it doesn’t scratch the paint. Working slowly and carefully, release the second tab and slide your pry bar under the cover a little more so they don’t slip back into place. Keep working your way toward the end, releasing a tab and pulling off the cover a little more, until all 5 tabs are released. At the end of the cover there is a final, stationary tab that holds the arm in place. Grasp the cover with one hand and pull/wiggle the metal arm downwards until it separates from the cover. During disassembly I noticed that there was some foam rubber that was glued to the inside of the cover when I was separating it from the arm, so I cut it with an Exacto knife. Or you can just rip it, no big deal.
6. Once the cover is off, clean the dirt off the arms with a rag and/or toothbrush. Thoroughly lubricate both sides of the arms/shafts with a suitable lubricant and wipe off the excess. I used “3-in-1” oil, but other stuff like WD-40 or silicone spray will probably also work. I just thought that oil might last longer?
7. Move the arms back and forth to work the lube in, and confirm that there’s no more squeak.
8. Now, install the arm back into the cover. Push/wiggle it tight under the stationary tab at the end, and carefully push it down into the cover. All 5 tabs should snap into place.
9. Reinstall the assembly over the two shafts sticking out of the cowl, in the same position that they were when you removed them. You will see a little clear “dot” in the windshield that the end of the wiper blade should line up with when you reinstall it, so you know it’s in the right position. Clever, those Japanese…
10. Tighten the two cap nuts securely. You’re done!

Time to complete this job was less than one hour. If you don’t remove the plastic cover, you can do this in about 15 minutes.

Enjoy your “squeak free” wipers!

Beachbum