OK, the only post that showed up in the search got no responses. My passenger wiper blade is falling apart so I bought a replacement one. I cannot get off the stock wiper blade, though. I checked the manual and it says "change your wiper blades" but doesn't say how. If anyone has done it, what am I doing wrong?

 

If im correct... u REALLY have to force the blade out of the "hanger". It may be clipped on, i dont remember, so u gotta sorta twist it out of the lil hook it's sitting in. I dunno if that helps, but give it a shot.

 

I hope you got the right blades. The arm has a J hook on the end of it. Basically you pop the piece out the back of the replacement blade and push the blade towards the pivot (don't pull it) to remove it. My memory's probably quite far off, but I think that's the basic principle.

 

Hmmm. You've lost me. The blade is in there pretty good. It looks as if you have to remove/move a part to remove it, but I couldn't get anything to move, even when I hit the thing that appeared to be a button. It almost looks like I should be able to hit the button and swing down the holder and pull the blade off the bolt it's around, but it doesn't seem to work like that.

I'm sure that wasn't much help...

 

Ok, I just went outside and looked at my Lancer just to make sure I could explain it right (please excuse me if I'm including anything you already figured out but I'm putting it all in just to cover it all)...

With the wipers in normal position, look at the arm. Where it meets the wiper, it curves around. That's the j-hook part. Now pull the wiper and arm into its position away from the windshield. Pivot the wiper so that it makes a "T" with the arm (blade facing up). Now you should be able to push the wiper down (towards the car) and out of the j-hook. There might be a small clip you need to release in order to get it to slide off (I don't think the stock ones do, but my aftermarket ones have it). It will be tight, but it will come off with some finesse. Good luck!

 

Oh jesus. I didn't think of it at the time, but hearing you describe it that way, I totally see what you mean. I'll go try after work. Thanks everyone! And especially thanks to Brian for giving me the "Wiper blades for dummies" version, since I am pretty damn dumb.

 

Bonus points to Hobie. Before Brian helped with problem #1 (getting blade off), Hobie had already predicted problem #2. I got the blades for wiper arms that have a peg to attach the blade to, not the blades for the J. Back to Advance Autoparts I go, grumbling about the cost of the PIAA blades that I will be buying in a month or two from Tire Rack.

 

Don't feel bad. I did the same thing the first time.

 

So many times we find out that we've been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. That's what these forums are for... learning from other people's mishaps/mistakes, and posting ours so others don't duplicate them (which reminds me, don't put stock sway bar bushings on upside down... needed a hacksaw to fix that one)

But you will love your PIAA wipers. They should be silicon blades just like mine, and they do an amazing job cutting through the crap and keeping the windshield clear. And I believe the blades are guaranteed for 5 years! That should offset the cost completely.

 

Good job explaining it Brian I learned something too

 

Now we know, and knowing's half the battle

btw, what did you learn, Marques? Something about the sway bar or the wipers?