Decent Wiper Blades

[nicima]

Am i the only person who cant stand the look of the aero blades wipers? i don't like them one bit and think they look nasty!

[jeebowhite]

I think you are probably are alone there :p I prefer them, rather than the triangle shape of the original arms with just four spring loaded points.

Overall, They are more bulky, but they are not too bad!

[nicima]

i prefer the Bosch wipers with the spoiler, though i have just had to order some new blades and have gone for the aero ones, maybe they'll change my mind actually having some on the car - maybe! ha!

[SeanW]

They do give a better wipe.

Although I have noticed that the current Bosch set do make a really annoying clunking noise as they change direction.

It's the first time I haven't just gone straight for Ford.

[Justin Smith]

On 18/12/2014 at 10:35 AM, Justin Smith said:

I`ve just used my car for the first time in the wet since fitting these unbelievably cheap wiper blades and they seem to work fine.

Note : as of March 2015 they`re £9.95 a pair, still cheap, but not unbelievably so.

 

Original post (3 Dec 14) :

"I bought a set of some of those cheap wipers (E Bay item number 291281195842) which I`ve just fitted to my Focus. To be frank I`ve no idea how they can make any money selling those for £4.95 (including postage ! ) but they do fit. I haven`t tried them in the wet yet, but I hopefully they`ll be OK.

A few useful points on these wipers "AP Automotive" Hybrid blades. They (correctly) sent one 26" and one 17" for my 2006 Focus. When they arrive they have the H1 adapter fitted, the one to fit the standard hook type wiper arm. This must be pulled off, and you have to pull pretty hard, in an upward direction straight off the wiper, don`t worry, underneath all that plastic is a steel frame and pin so you won`t break it. Then fit the H7 adapter, and this requires a hefty push to get it to fully locate onto the mounting pin and end up flat and parallel with the wiper. Once you`ve done that they went straight on."

 

I have to say the first set of these wipers only lasted just over four months before they split at the bottom. I replaced them with the same type hoping it was just bad luck. But the next set only lasted fifteen months before the same thing happened. The conventional wipers on my old Escort lasted much longer than that. My questions are :

Is it normal for these fancy modern wipers to only last between 6 months and a year, or, is it just that these particular wipers are crap quality, or that I`ve just been unlucky with them ?

Does anyone know of wipers which are a reasonable price (Halfords want a ridiculous amount of money for their replacement wipers) which will last a few years ?

[biff55]

i change my front wipers every 18 months or so as a matter of course , the rubber is past its best after this length of time anyway so i dont look to get anymore usage beyond this period.

i have used budget brands previously and they have worked perfectly well for the money though Bosch or genuine OEM should be better quality.

either way , £5 or £20 a year on Wiper Blades is no deal breaker in the grand scheme of annual motoring costs........

[theredfox]

they are cheap for a reason always buy well known brand makes on any thing car related

[Justin Smith]

25 minutes ago, biff55 said:

i change my front wipers every 18 months or so as a matter of course , the rubber is past its best after this length of time anyway so i dont look to get anymore usage beyond this period.

i have used budget brands previously and they have worked perfectly well for the money though bosch or genuine OEM should be better quality.

either way , £5 or £20 a year on wiper blades is no deal breaker in the grand scheme of annual motoring costs........

It`s not the money (certainly not at under £5 odd a pair ! ) it`s the hassle. Both times the wipers were working OK so didn`t need changing, then the bleedin` things ripped and I have to remember to order some and then fit them. Even worse if that happens when you`re miles from home and may not be able to fit any for days or even weeks. All i`m saying I can never remember having so much trouble with ripped / torn Wiper Blades when they were the conventional type, which, in any case, you could buy at a reasonable price from any auto spares shop, or even Wilko !

[Justin Smith]

19 minutes ago, theredfox said:

they are cheap for a reason always buy well known brand makes on any thing car related

Have you a link to such ? And how much are they ? ! ?

[Justin Smith]

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 9:37 AM, Justin Smith said:

 

Original post (3 Dec 14) :

"I bought a set of some of those cheap wipers (E Bay item number 291281195842) which I`ve just fitted to my Focus. To be frank I`ve no idea how they can make any money selling those for £4.95 (including postage ! ) but they do fit. I haven`t tried them in the wet yet, but I hopefully they`ll be OK.

A few useful points on these wipers "AP Automotive" Hybrid blades. They (correctly) sent one 26" and one 17" for my 2006 Focus. When they arrive they have the H1 adapter fitted, the one to fit the standard hook type wiper arm. This must be pulled off, and you have to pull pretty hard, in an upward direction straight off the wiper, don`t worry, underneath all that plastic is a steel frame and pin so you won`t break it. Then fit the H7 adapter, and this requires a hefty push to get it to fully locate onto the mounting pin and end up flat and parallel with the wiper. Once you`ve done that they went straight on."

 

I have to say the first set of these wipers only lasted just over four months before they split at the bottom. I replaced them with the same type hoping it was just bad luck. But the next set only lasted fifteen months before the same thing happened. The conventional wipers on my old Escort lasted much longer than that. My questions are :

Is it normal for these fancy modern wipers to only last between 6 months and a year, or, is it just that these particular wipers are crap quality, or that I`ve just been unlucky with them ?

Does anyone know of wipers which are a reasonable price (Halfords want a ridiculous amount of money for their replacement wipers) which will last a few years ?

The same type have just ripped again, after about one year, probably only about 5 or 6,000m. I know I`ve said this before on this thread, but it bears repetition, I never had this problem with the older conventional type blades, even cheap ones from Wilko.

Does anyone know where I can get blades which last longer than one year / 6000m but don`t cost a ridiculous amount of money. I think £20 for a pair of Wiper Blades is EXPENSIVE, I`d have though you could expect a reasonable pair for £10 surely ! Wilko Wiper Blades are between £2 and £4 each ! !

[Dee_82]

I picked up some PIAA blades after hearing a lot of good things about them and its unlikely id ever need to replace them ever again, they way I figured it that, a couple of blade changes would pay for the Silicone blades.

So anyhow,  PIAA should be renamed POS. 

I'm sure they are fantastic and mine where for a few weeks, they did a fantastic job of clearing the windows without any residue being left and minimal washer fluid needed when dirty, but they soon lost their ability to clear the window properly leaving big streaks of window covered in residue / dirt.

after raising the problem with PIAA and the folk I got them from, I was told.

"Your not using enough wiper fluid" 

I did try any point out that one doesn't normally need wipe fluid whilst its raining but I didn't get anywhere, it seems universal fit blades are not always universal, even if they say they will fit the car, the window might not be the right shape.

They had their chance to do the right thing and they failed, crap product (on this car) crap after sales service, ill be getting normal rubber blades before long 

since you aught to be replacing them rubber blades regularly anyway I don't see the point in spending a fortune on them. its not like you get more than 12 months out of a good branded set 

 

[Justin Smith]

I got a 26" wiper blade from Wilko for £4. It fits and seems to work pretty well. I`ll get back on here when it finally fails to tell you how long it`s lasted ! I can`t see it being that much less, if at all, than the ones I`ve been buying on e Bay. Note that I had to order it in to my local store, some larger stores may stock them though :

http://www.wilko.com/car-care-products/wilko-flexible-frameless-wiper-blade-26in/invt/0427245

I couldn`t find a 17" blade on their site and couldn`t bring myself to pay £13 for one blade at Halfords and even then it`s their own brand, not a Bosch. Interestingly Halfords recommend a 16" blade (FW02) for the passenger side (when bought separately). To be frank I can`t see a blade 1" shorter making much difference anyway, so I`ve ordered a 16" from Wilko for £4, together with another 26" one because I like to keep a spare driver windscreen wiper blade in the car. The Wilko one comes on reasonably sturdy plastic packaging so will be perfect for that. You really don`t want the driver blade to fail whilst you`re on a long journey, it`s raining and you haven't got a spare.....

http://www.wilko.com/car-care-products/wilko-flexible-frameless-wiper-blade-16in/invt/0427237