I recently learned a lesson with regard to my wiper blades. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
I replaced my blades. Not the first time I've done this, but this is the first time I've used rainx blades. I can never remember what sizes to get, so I looked it up in the catalog - Driver side = 26, passenger side = 18. When I put the blades on, I noticed that the top of the driver's side blade was very close to the bottom of the passenger's side blade. I compared the old blades with the new ones and found the new ones to be a little longer - almost an inch - than the old ones. However, I made sure they worked and there were no problems.

A month passes. Wipers worked fine when needed. On the weekend, I washed the car. This involved lifting the wiper arms up to clean the blades and windshield below them. On Wednesday, it started raining here. I start the car after work and turn the wipers on and things go nuts. Wipers banging and fliping over - wiper arms bending - scared me. I wasn't expecting that.

What I think happened is this. When I put the arms down after washing, I must have got the driver's side blade behind the passenger blade somehow. When I turned them on, the blades got tangled. The drivers side arm bent before the blades released. I was able to bend the arm back into shape, but the blade was messed up. Both blades now flopped back and both as they moved.

My fix. I got the arm back into a descent shape. I put new blades on. This time 26 on driver's side and 17(not 18) on passenger side. Things seem to be working fine now.

Has anyone else had this happen? Or, am I the only lucky one to experience this?

 

Is it wrong that I laughed at this?

No but, I think you're the only one.

 

I can laugh about it now too. It's all fixed with little financial impact and no lasting damage.

 

if I put the coltspeed aero blade, which is RHD, I guess I have problems with the measures? who knows that ..
Thank you.!

 

how are the RainX quality?? I always buy the OEM blades at Mitsubishi.. something about applying RainX window wash which really ****s up your car because of the chemicals they put inside.. It's suppose to let rain water drip off the glass easier, but it actually smears the glass..

 

I use PIAA blades in all my cars, and those have to be the best wiper blades on earth!

 

Go to Chemical Guys Website and buy their clay bar kit and Jetseal 109. Next time you clay and wax your car clay and Jetseal 109 all your glass.

It has the "RainX" effect without the chemicals or the smearing plus it lasts for about 6 months easy.

 

Thats a crazy wiper story... that sounds dirty :-D

While we're on the subject, I'd like to mention something about wipers and windshields in general. If you have a rockchip within the travelpath of the wiper and have over-time used them, you'll wear a pattern into the blade (easily noticable when a new windshild is installed).

 

 

I never liked putting the Rain-x product on the windshield. You either needed to be going highway speeds or it needs to be raining very hard to notice the effects. But, in light rain or at slow speeds, it just left streeks.

I usually get the cheapest blades I can find knowing I'll replace them in a couple months anyway. This last time I got the nicer Bosch blades and I'm very happy with them. I'll have to see how long they last to know if it's worth it.

 

You're not alone. I bought the rain x wipers as well and they are too long. Mine have never gotten tangle up but they do touch and smack against the windshield. When these wear out I'm going to buy a smaller size.

 

There is nothing like OEM quality wiper blades. I find that cheaper or more expensive aftermarket products never seem to be as good as OEM. You will always get the right size and they last longer with OEM blades.

 

As long as you buy the right size and install them correctly, I'll take the fancy Bosch wiper-blades over OE any day.

And who is the OEM for Evo X OE blades, anyway?

 

I use the Bosch Icons on my Evo and they have been great. Much better than the OEM ones.

 

I didn't know much about Bosch so I did some reading and stumbled across this nifty write-up on Bosch and Rain X, its not really a comparison but this guy was pretty **** about having his window cleaned. Personally I think he installed ones with a curve not suit for his windshield-type.

http://www.carbibles.com/productrevi...xlatitude.html