Windshield Wiper Noise

I get new wiper assy/blades and after a few months the wiper blades are just fine but they have loud noise and chatter. Anything I can put on blades or window to get back to smooth, quiet action? I use RainX. Not sure if it makes it worse. Suggestions? Or do I just go and buy new ones again?

I Don’t Know If Cleaning The Rubber Inserts With Alcohol Would Help Or Make Matters Worse. You Can Try It. Also, Try Cleaning The Glass.

I don’t know the design of your wipers. Sometimes a plastic or metal retaining clip can be removed from the blade assembly after it is taken off the car. Inserting it from the opposite direction allows one to rotate the blades 180 degrees and reinstall them.

The rubber inserts “take a set” from being parked almost all the time and then they chatter. This approach might do it. They will park and take the “set” out.

I have an Auto parts store that I use that stocks all the inserts and I regularly replace them at a very reasonable cost. Most places don’t have all the replacements and most people don’t bother with them.

I have heard of people gently bending the wiper arms so they are more parallel to the glass, but I’ve never had to tweak any.

CSA

Try flipping the blade over on the wiper arm. This worked on my Caprice when the new wiper blades chattered when first installed.

Ed B.

CSA is correct about the blades being parked so they are folded over in the one direction, and over time cause skipping. You can lift the blade off the windshield and manually fold them so the blade is parked folded in the opposite (UP} position.

A feature that some old American cars had, was when the windshields went to the park position there is a wiper arm ramp that lifted the pressure off the blades. My 2000 Impala has that feature, and the wiper blades never skips.

I guess consumers never appreciated, or realized that feature, and therefore car manufactures have dropped it.

Put some white vinegar on the rag, and run this down the wiper blades twice. With another rag already wet with clean water, wipe the vinegar off the wiper blades.

See if that works.

Tester

Thanks…number of ideas here. I’ll try em.

To operate smoothly, wiper blades must flop over from one edge to the other as they change direction…Turn on the wipers and stop them in the middle of the windshield by turning the key off. Examine both wipers to see if the blades are leaned over so the trailing edge is on the glass… Momentarily turn the key back on so the wipers reverse motion. Examine the blades again. They both should have flopped over onto the trailing edge of the blade. If not, carefully twist (bend) the wiper arm so the blades can flop from one edge to the other as they change direction. Gripping the arms with two small vice-grips makes this a quick, easy job…Please, don’t let the tools slip loose and break the windshield…Once the blades can flop from edge to edge they will travel smoothly over the glass…

This Was One Of My Suggestions, Also. I Recommend Wrapping Masking Or Duct Tape Around The Jaws Of The Vise Grips First To Avoid Gouging / Scratching The Arms.

CSA

If anyone is still following this…
There are small springs in some wiper arms that hold the arm down.
Would it be possible to shorten that spring so it hold the arm down more to prevent the skiping??

Not a good idea as the added drag might fry the motor. It may be too much through parts of the sweep.

I too thought of the arms. The OP didn’t mention the year of the car, but the articulated portion of the arm can become corroded and cause these types of problems. The entire arms can be easily replaced. I think the last time I checked, a replaement arm was about $25 at the parts store. A puller may be necessary to free the arm from its splined post, but pullers are cheap too.

I agree. I guess it could work depending on the curve of the windshield for the spring idea. Corrosion is another good idea. I have seen an arm on the back window of a minivan that you could pull it out and it would stay where you pulled it too.

“A feature that some old American cars had…”

So I’m thinking “old” – like, maybe, 1960’s are old cars.

“…was when the windshields went to the park position there is a wiper arm ramp that lifted the pressure off the blades.”

Oh, yeah! My '94 Taurus (to be donated to charity this week) has that!

“My 2000 Impala has that feature…”

2000??, 2000?? A 2000 car isn’t old!

Oh dear.

Not sure where this came from, but this information may help.