How To Prevent Smearing/juddering On Your Wipers.

[Cookey09]

So, the past couple of months i've had a love/hate relationship with my wipers and windscreen.

To start with, after cleaning my car a couple of months back I noticed like little smear hand marks. Even though multiple microfibre cloths were used to clean the glass and my hand didnt touch the glass at any point. This was frustrating especially when light at night shined onto the windowscreen. Soon resolved over time and wiping away any marks that came apparent.

Thereafter, the rain comes... when using my wipers they seemed to bounce over my windscreen as apposed to glide over... I havent had this problem as much this month, but last month... I was considering ripping the ch-uffing things off!

Finally, when using my wipers this week due to bad weather, they seem to smear a lot over the surface of the glass...

Im just wondering if and what people do to prevent/fix all of the above.

I must say I do every morning pour a pint of water over the screen and wipe the blades yo rid dust and muck before use. And do thoroughly clean my windscreen... (has to be said my car hasnt been cleaned in a while due to having 0 daylight time available)

Thanks in advance. Look forward to seeing what you knowledgeable lot have to say! :D

[karl46]

Sometimes its the arms that are at fault, you may find that by twisting the arms (Not the blades) to get the blade to sit on the glass correctly sorts the problem of juddering.

[Ryan_Tango]

I use rainex then clean off with newspaper until completely dry/clean, works brilliantly every time. It's worth a whirl.

[Cookey09]

Cheers buddy! I'll give it a go as soon as they play up again mate! Cheers.

[Cookey09]

Nice! Cheers ryan, I do use some good stuff i'll definately give rainex a go bud! Thanks.

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

Clean the blades with vinegar

[Paramanic]

I use rainex then clean off with newspaper until completely dry/clean, works brilliantly every time. It's worth a whirl.

A use it but don't use it in winter causes the drops to freeze lol as I found out recently lol

Clean the blades with vinegar

Never heard that one a will do mate cheers

[stef123]

Vinegar and newspaper is amongst the oldest tricks in the book

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

Vinegar is mildly acidic, which removes the road born grease from the wiper blade rubbers, which smears the windscreen & as Stef states is an oldy but a goody & works a treat - which is why I suggested it for our younger members :)

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

Fine grade wire wool dipped in vinegar is also another perfect old trick for cleaning pure untreated, uncoated glass - in the home or car :)

[Cookey09]

Definately giving the windscreen a good going over with vinegar at some point when I have the chance! Do you recommend a side of chips with it... or???

;)

[karl46]

No, The last thing you need is chips in the windscreen.

[Cookey09]

Wahey ;)

[Trewithy]

I have the same problem with wiper judder even though my screen is crystal clear. I have cleaned the Wiper Blades with vinegar and cleaned the screen with Auto Glym Fast Glass and Rainx but nothing cures it. I complained to my Ford dealer who said there is nothing wrong with the wipers, but they probably just squirted the washer fluid onto the screen which actually has a smoothing action that lasts only a few minutes in the rain. In desperation I changed to Bosch wipers. That has been a big improvement but not cured it completely. I am currently using Auto Glym screenwash which also seems to help.

[Ianb]

Hmmm I think I need to change my wipers anyway, so that may be the cause, but this problem is irritating me... Especially when you get intermittent rain... Too little to leave the wipers on "intermittent", too much to ignore it altogether... Wipers yell at me then...

[chrisroberson99]

I bought these for the 207;

Bosch A978S Aerotwin wiper Blade https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005FW4ROI/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_zfHvwb4FS3SMR

This exact pair fit the MK2 Focus too IIRC. They're good, quiet and clean well. :)

[m1tch]

I usually upgrade to the basic flat wiper sort, the older style Wiper Blades have only a few contact patches holding the blade to the screen, the flat Wiper Blades give even pressure all the way along the blade. I have never had an issue with flat Wiper Blades so I would suggest going for a pair as they are usually fairly cheap (perhaps put the old but still usable ones in the boot in emergencies).

I also use the vinegar trick, or indeed just some window cleaning fluid and a cloth, its amazing how much muck comes off the blades when you do clean them - also remember to clean the area on the screen where the wipers park, the blades might be clean, you use them once then they get dirty again as they wipe into the dirt at the bottom of the screen.

When you are also cleaning the wipers, give the headlights and tail lights a clean, especially as there is a lot of road muck being chucked at cars at the moment - will improve visibility as the headlights will have the correct output.

[Ianb]

My current ones are the floppy type, very basic in design, they were brilliant a year or so ago....Actually it could be nearer 3-4 :/ better get them changed!

[Cookey09]

This problem still isn't fixed. I can't use my wipers in the rain. Light rain. They're fine. Heavy rain, when I need them the most, they're just the worst! Juddering, bouncing across the windscreen! 

This was before I got some new wipers... 

Installed the Bosch am246s two days ago. 

Still... Juddering, bouncing down the windscreen. 

Help!? I think it's the wiper arms? Too tight maybe? Pushing against the windscreen? 

Much appreciated. Thanks. Cookey. 

[stef123]

Is there any play in the wiper arms/linkage? 

[cjay1]

is it juddering both up and down the wipe cycle or just one way. i used silicone blades to stop the judder on mine. only down side they only last about 6 months before they need replacing. but i only ever get the cheap ones off ebay  

[TomsFocus]

Are you still using the same glass cleaner as the first time this happened!?

Did you lean on the wiper arms while cleaning the screen at all? (I've seen short people doing this, not an issue I have though lol)

[Bobr]

On 25/11/2015 at 4:58 PM, Trewithy said:

I have the same problem with wiper judder even though my screen is crystal clear. I have cleaned the wiper blades with vinegar and cleaned the screen with Auto Glym Fast Glass and Rainx but nothing cures it. I complained to my Ford dealer who said there is nothing wrong with the wipers, but they probably just squirted the washer fluid onto the screen which actually has a smoothing action that lasts only a few minutes in the rain. In desperation I changed to Bosch wipers. That has been a big improvement but not cured it completely. I am currently using Auto Glym screenwash which also seems to help.

I had this problem with a previous car and changing the blades didn't work.   I changed the wiper arms and that cured the problem.

[Cookey09]

3 hours ago, stef123 said:

Is there any play in the wiper arms/linkage? 

Any play? Linkage? 

The nut here, is tight, can't move it with my hand. 

 

3 hours ago, cjay1 said:

is it juddering both up and down the wipe cycle or just one way. i used silicone blades to stop the judder on mine. only down side they only last about 6 months before they need replacing. but i only ever get the cheap ones off ebay  

It's just in the down wipe cycle, before replacing them it did it on the up cycle, not often though. But at one stage every wipe I had to squirt screenwash.... 

Ive heard about silicone blades, but heard mixed reviews... 

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Are you still using the same glass cleaner as the first time this happened!?

Did you lean on the wiper arms while cleaning the screen at all? (I've seen short people doing this, not an issue I have though lol)

I've used autoglym Fast glass previously but in a bid to try solve/hinder the issue I've used the autoglym car glass polish. 

http://www.autoglym.com/products/products/car-glass-polish

i haven't used this excessively either. Nah, can't say I've leaned on the arms either, I'm 6ft, no need to lean on them, aha😂 

3 hours ago, Bobr said:

I had this problem with a previous car and changing the blades didn't work.   I changed the wiper arms and that cured the problem.

I've always said to my dad that I need new wiper arms, he recommended buying a second pair of new wipers... To no avail. Still juddering/bouncing.... 

It's really frustrating, especially with the Sh*t whether our country has! 

Many thanks. Appreciated. 

Cookey. 

[Trewithy]

Its a bit of a coincidence that this topic has come come up again as I took my car back to Ford last week. The mechanic was a bit perplexed and said that changing the wiper might not cure the juddering, which is only happening on the drivers side, however I managed to persuade him to try it. Going in on Thursday for a new wiper arm and new blades. I'll let you know how I get on.  

I worked out it was the drivers side by standing in the rain when the wipers were on and lifting the arms one at a time. When I lifted the passengers side the drivers side continued juddering, when I lifted the drivers side the passenger side operated smoothly.