Got brand new wiper blades, yet they still stutter (jump/skip/jerk) across a perfectly good windshield in one wipe direction, but not the other dirextion. I can understand this after not being used for a long period, but these blades are less than 3 mos old. I've NEVER seen this problem during 50 yrs of car ownership. Now, On this Toyota pick-up it's chronic. Still occurring after 20 mins of heavy downpour.
I'm wondoring if it might not be the Rain-X windshield cleaner liquid. This is the first time I've ever used it and it's the first time I've seen this problem so severe and seemingly permanent.
I had problem with regular rainX, but the washer fluid does not seem to affect mine. Been using it for a long time. It could cause some problem with some blades. Using plain rainX put a permanent noise in the mechanism on a dodge Dakota.
I see other possibilities (in no particular order) as well:
1) the wiper blades that you bought are crap and are already hardened
2) the wiper arms aren't perfectly parallel to the windshield and need to be tweaked a little with a Crescent wrench (my best guess as to the problem)
3) something is on the windshield and it needs a good thorough cleaning (e.g. lacquer thinner, 0000 steel wool, Bon Ami, the whole nine) before it'll work right again.
Take a look at the wiper arms though, if they're biased toward the direction the blades sit when the wipers are parked that will definitely cause the problem.
I'm confused. Which blades are chattering - the brand new ones or the ones that are 3 months old? Or are they one and the same set?
In any case, I had a pair of Bosch Icon (read: not cheap) wiper blades that started chattering less than a year after I bought them. Even without a receipt the auto store gave me a new pair and installed them for free.
My thoughts also, the wipers try to "dig in" when swiping in the direction when they chatter instead of flexing a little to the backside. see chattering...
Actually I stopped using Bosch blades before the Icons were introduced, but their MicroEdge blades were my go to for my vehicles at the time. They'd last about a year or so... then I switched to PIAA silicone blades which last several years at a time.
Unfortunately my one vehicle uses special blades - not sure if there's a silicone interchange or not, but the factory blades are Valeo Ultimate - those seem to be pretty good, but I just replaced them this past winter so I don't know if they will last longer than the old Bosch blades or not. (they look very similar to Bosch Icon.) I'm hoping they last at least two years for the price ($50 a pair! from Tire Rack, more from the dealer) otherwise I'll try to see if I can fit some more PIAAs... I'm hopeful that they last though because I got full service records with the car and no indication of wipers ever being replaced, and the car was about four years old when I replaced the wipers (and they weren't that bad.) I suspect it was garaged however, don't know where it was parked during the daytime.
I am using some SilBlades on my Jeep, those have been on there for about two years and are just starting to chatter a little. Overall I prefer the PIAAs - I'd stated previously that I preferred the slightly cleaner wiping of the SilBlades, but the negatives to them are that they have a glossy metallic black finish and therefore can cause glare (have had it happen! whereas the PIAAs are typical semi-matte black) and now that I've had them on the vehicle for a while I see that they have a shorter life. I actually wore out a set of PIAAs on a company car, you could see that the wiping edge was all rounded which is why they were starting to streak, but they never did harden up and start chattering. I don't remember exactly how long they were in service but I am guessing 4-5 years.
I know, PIAA products are usually associated with overpriced crap, but I really like their wiper blades... I'm a believer.
Have you tried the Icon blades? I put them on 4 different vehicles and other than the one set that chattered - (and were replaced for free) - I'm quite happy with them.
Of course, on 2 of those vehicles, they don't get as much use because my son and I both turn the wipers off at highway speeds. Love that Rain-X washer fluid!
My wife and daughter are too scared to drive without the wipers on, but I don't press the issue. They are probably right.
Mine as been good. They worked well and lasted maybe a year. I also tried a set of RainX and the Bosch are slightly better, IMO. My new car is 111 months old and the OEM are still good, but either of those brands will be my choice when replacement is needed.
I'd be reluctant to use real steel wool on glass - even reluctant to use the synthetic stuff:
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I'd go with alcohol long before I'd consider getting lacquer thinner near the car.
The simplest solution would be to get a new set of good blades of different design and see if the problem persists. Hopefully, as DD suggested the original vendor will offer some sort of discount, especially if the new blades are bought there.
Quality control on windshield wiper blades seems to be a very iffy thing. Sometimes the inserts can be installed the other way around and that solves the problem since it changes the "angle of attack" if the blades aren't quite up to snuff. My local auto parts store doesn't even sell inserts anymore since they came back as fast as they sold them, or so the clerk said. Far fewer returns selling the assembly.
Years ago I used SOS pad with no problems, but in more recent years, do NOT try it. I don't know if they are coated, but the windshield glass will scratch with steel wool or other abrasives. Fortunately, the spot I ruined is well out of the normal viewing area.
If I was tempted to use steel wool or any sort of abrasive or solvent, I'd try it on a spot that is well out of the normal viewing area. I agree, there's no telling what the windshield might be made of or coated with and how it will react to the above agents. But to be fair to Nate, he listed it way down on the list of things to try. Number 1 with a bullet is "try new blades."
I've removed window tint before - even off rear windows with defrost - with lacquer thinner and 0000 steel wool before with no evident problems. However, I certainly don't just indiscriminately go after them unless a) I am in fact removing tint or b) something leads me to believe that there's some serious caked on filth that just isn't coming off with the traditional window cleaner and microfiber. Bon Ami is usually the first step though; definitely a safer choice.
However, Ed might be on to something... it does seem to me that more recent vehicles have "softer" glass than I remember back in the day, if such things are possible. Lots of sandblasting and even mild wiper scratches at only 80K miles on my current ride. I may try polishing with cerium oxide if it gets too bad.
I wonder if it is deliberate however. I have heard objects hit the windshield loud enough to make me cringe and it hasn't cracked yet.
I'm also coming around to not hating Rain-X - the guy that did the paint correction on my car applied Rain-X to the windows and it doesn't suck, as opposed to other applications that I've seen. (I've never done it myself.) I believe he may have actually used a hand steamer to clean the outside of the glass first though...! (hey, can't argue with results.) Maybe if you have one of those it's worth a try?
That must be aftermarket tinting because I distinctly remember seeing tinted glass made on some show like Modern Marvels and it consists of an extra layer of tinted plastic being added to the "sandwich" of layers before the glass and plastic are fused by heating. It would take a LOT of steel wool to remove the outer layers of glass. (0:
I scratched an aftermarket Safelite replacement windshield with a Scotch-brite dish cleaning sponge. The replacement window scarred up very quickly compared to the factory windshield with all sorts of micro-dings but it didn't ever crack like the first one did.
Exactly. Test on corner spot or above the mirror mount where scarring won't drive you crazy if it happens.
It may well be that to make it more resistant to catastrophic cracking, they have traded off hardness. Unfortunately the method of hardness testing we used to use in metallurgy shop is roughly the same tool that firemen use to shatter the windows to rescue people.
That's an interesting suggestion. I've got a Wagner roll-about steamer that should do the trick. I gave up on RainX a while back because it did make the wipers skip too much. IIRC, the RainX worked much better on the factory windshield than it did on the Safelite replacement.
Someone here talked about RainX windshield wiper fluid. I might give that a try.
Yes, exactly, aftermarket tint film on the insides of the window that has passed its "best before" date, turned purple, bubbly, etc. In that case the only option is to remove, and either retint or just leave clear depending on your preferences. (around here, "retint" is in order, it's a bit warm and sunny.)
Not sure whether a scotch-brite scrubbie pad is finer or not than 0000 steel wool... but in any case, obviously any abrasives used on glass should be ultra-fine.
I've not tried that, just the application to the glass. I also wasn't around when he cleaned up my car, so I don't have any tips for deep-cleaning the glass...
I didn't realize how much tinting windows could reduce the inside temperature of a vehicle until I bought a used van with treated side and rear windows. I've never used after-market film, though. Given the amount of trouble I have applying clear screen protecting film for cellphones and the like, I'm not sure it's a job I could do well. Too much like wallpapering. (-:
I guess it all depends on the hardness of the glass, whether it's really glass or some other sort of material and whether there's a coating on the surface.
I had a workmate who was such a believer in RainX that he would treat my windshield for free to try to convert me. Thoroughly cleaning the glass is the key to success with RainX, and he did it with microfibre cloths and isopropyl alcohol. There's also a trick to how long you let it dry, the way you buff it, etc. When I retired and had to do it myself, I realized that it was harder to do it right than I had remembered. My new policy is to avoid driving in the rain altogether.
Indeed... I watched the guys tint my latest car and there definitely is a skill and an art to doing it well. I theoretically know how to do it... but the pros make it look easy, and it's done right.
If you're considering having it done, look at the spec sheet for the various films available. I picked the most expensive tint because I wanted to stick with a legal tint level but get the most heat rejection possible, unfortunately, the more expensive films are typically the ones with higher heat rejection for a given tint level. Seeing as my car is black with a black interior, heat rejection is important! (I ended up with 3M ceramic film, and am reasonably happy with it, FWIW. I wish it rejected even more heat, but I understand that there's only so much that can be done with film.)
Color of the car makes a big difference. I bought a light blue in
2006 after having a few dark colors and the difference was very noticeable. I swore I'd never buy another dark colored car again. But I really liked the Pacific Blue Pearl on my present car so I'll take the extra heat.
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