Vehicle windshield wiper blades?

[Blue2Orange]

Tried to get one more winter out of OEM blades. 2017 Silverado 1500 4x4. Never have had wiper blades last more than maybe 3-4 years. The OEM have been treated nicely. Truck parked either indoors or in the shade of a car port. No use until all ice is off the windshield. Never used when windshield is dry.... Bosch, Tricor, RainX, Michelin.... Just too many varieties among those brands. Never could remember which one lasted the longest. So, "throw the dart" in selecting a replacement. Of course I wait until they fail. Duffus, dolt....Today, they tore a section. Dealer out of stock of OEMs. Stopped by the local NAPA and purchased their inexpensive NAPA brand. Guessing will be the opposite in durability over the OEMs.

So what is your favorite brand and model? Are their any real benefit of the "snow blades" ? Or just marketing hype? Empty slot of the Tricor Winter "snow blades". 2nd choice were the Bosch Evolution. Also out of stock. Maybe for a reason?

Personally I would spend twice as much for a pair that would last at least 50% longer. Less waste, less effort. Good thing we have gone from unseasonably cold to unseasonably warm. Fingers appreciate changing the blades in warm air vs. spit and it freezes on impact with the ground.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Bosch

 

[McMXi]

Bosch

Last month I bought Bosch beam blade wipers (ICON) for my '02 F-250 after getting a new windshield installed. They certainly work well, but I consider windshield wiper blades to be a yearly replacement item. It's not as if they're expensive, and they sure have significant safety implications.

 

[jimh406]

Bosch Icon

 

[OntheRidge]

Anco extreme weather, from Rockauto.

 

[D2Cat]

I always look at Rockauto and see what they have on closeout. Usually rain-X, trico, anco,... they are inexpensive so i buy 10 at a time. Then I have them when I need them, and the price is a shadow of what auto parts stores charge.

 

[DaveFromMi]

Rain-X blades.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

OMG……You got 8 years out of your wiper blades?

Thats incredible. Good for you sir!!!!!

I can’t recall exactly how long I got out of mine, but it certainly was not 8 years, that much I can tell you.

I get 3/4 to 1’ish out of mine. For winter, I do prefer the ones with the "rubber cover” over the joints. I am not necessarily “brand loyal” though.

Usually I get the cheapest ones I can find that have that cover for the winter snow and ice. I think it helps.

 

[KubotaHawg]

Seems like they all suck these days—I would be happy finding a brand that suck less regardless of cost, but have found they suck equally.

 

[McMXi]

Seems like they all suck these days—I would be happy finding a brand that suck less regardless of cost, but have found they suck equally.

Define "suck".

The Bosch ICON wipers I bought recently seem to do a great job of cleaning the windshield and if they last a year I'll be ok with that. I also hope that the new windshield in my F-250 lasts a year without getting chipped, or worse yet, cracked. I'm not overly optimistic that it'll get through the winter unscathed but a man can dream right.

 

[Speed25]

I'm cheap, so I just stick with OEM since they work well for me. I just shopped for wipers for four vehicles and name-brand aftermarket ones were 2x to 3x as much as the stock ones. One of the rare instances when the dealership isn't ripping you off, though I usually buy parts when they have 20%-25% coupons off parts.

 

[chim]

I buy Michelin Beam blades at Costco when they are on sale. They're on a shelf in the garage. I can't say how long they last. When they start to streak they get replaced. The beam design prevents snow and ice from jamming the mechanism of normal blades.

 

[Yooper]

Another vote for Rain-X

 

[KubotaHawg]

Define "suck".

1. Negative: Terrible, poor quality, crappy

2. Positive: A negative force or pressure applied to something to draw fluid from, eg., the experience a man ceases to receive after marrying said source of suction force

 

[Sidekick]

I use 90% rubbing alcohol to clean mine a couple times a year. Gets that acid rain residue off them that causes streaking. Just don't try it on pure rubber blades. We use oem blades and get 3 to 4 years.

 

[skeets]

What ever one fits, and they have it in stock

 

[hedgerow]

I have run Bosch ICON for years and really like them and they seem to last.

 

[chim]

Years ago one of the car shows on TV had a tour of a wiper factory. They tested wipers on all sorts of messes. To clean the glass between tests they used Bon Ami.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I use 90% rubbing alcohol to clean mine a couple times a year. Gets that acid rain residue off them that causes streaking. Just don't try it on pure rubber blades. We use oem blades and get 3 to 4 years.

Yup. From a car detailer perspective (which I'm not, I just read their forums), quality blades last much longer if maintained. If the blades and windshield are cleaned and coated the rain beads off without using the blades much, ice doesn't tend to stick and neither does dirt; blade wear and contamination is greatly reduced. Parking in the shade helps.

Personally, I think Rain-X isn't that good as it gets "greasy ," I like CarPro products. With regular maintenance I tend to get 5-10 years from OEM blades, depending on the weather.

 

[mikester]

I use the OEM blade inserts. Replace them every spring. Road salt and grime are hard on rubber.

I also Rain-X my windshields twice a year. The stuff isn't very nice to the environment but does an awesome job keeping the glass clear and reduces the need for using wipers.