My 2002 Toyota Sienna needs new wiper blades again. The originals did not give a lot of trouble, but the mid-priced replacements, whose brand I forget, probably from Wal-mart, tend to squeak and squawk when it gets below say 50 degrees. In colder parts of the country, it gets really nasty during intermittent operation.
I am based in McAllen, so maybe they sell hot weather blades here, but I have never heard of such a thing.
I am guessing that the material is getting stiff when it’s cold. So, maybe I should just pay the large premium and try Toyota stuff again, but it seems one should be able to get replacement blades that are good in the cold.
Anyone have any ideas, as to problem and good brands? Wal-mart; Autozone; etc; are all places I can buy. And, at Toyota prices, I can afford almost any brand. I am not ready to try dual blade devices, though, Personal doubts involved.
I’ve heard good things about Rain-X wipers, haven’t tried them myself yet though - but I will do in the very near future.
A great wiper saver is Rain-X treating your wind shield, before you apply this your windshield needs to be very, very clean. I usually treat mine every 3 months. Ajax scouring powder and steel wool does a good job of removing traffic film and grime from the windshield just make sure you thoroughly hose all of the Ajax off your car afterwards. You won’t believe how dirty your windshield is until you’ve done this.
Once clean and dry, apply the Rain-X, even if you just clean your windshield you’ll be amazed at how much this improves wiper performance once all the tree resin, oil etc is removed.
A clarification, sorry. The problem is not a failure to clean. The replacement blades cleaned fine. The problem is a lot of noise, that I call squeaking and squawking, when they operate in colder weather. I am guessing it is the material which stiffens in cold, but I never heard of such a thing before. Thanks for tips.
My last two pair have been Bosh Icon and Michelin. The Bosh performed well and performed longer than others I have used. The Michelin appear to be almost exactly the same thing with a slightly different attachment system. I have not had them long enough to judge life.
Having read your stuff for a long time, I am assuming since you made no mention, they did not make weird noises. So, I will take a look at them. Not sure where to buy them, but assume one trip will hit Advanced Auto parts and Wal-mart. (I am at north edge of town, and Wal-mart is the closest store to here.)
First, I gotta’ wash my car, not something I do often. Driving back from Mexico Friday, it was rainy and the highways were dirty.
If th3 rubber is not square to the glass, you will get this noise. May need to bend blade to correct.
Decision made and new ones installed.
When I got the old, noisy ones off, they all said Bosch.
I went to Wal-mart to look first. Here are their choices, all prices for the 24 inch size.
- Pylon $2.87
- Anco $5.47
- Michelin $5.97
- TripleEdge $7.27
- RainX $8.47
- Glider $13.57 They claim to be made by TripleEdge, and are made differently.
My car takes: driver: 24 inch; passenger: 18 inch; rear: 17 inch.
I decided to try the Michelin. No real reason except Mr. Meehan is a long-time contributor here, and he is using them. If they are noisy, I will probably try Rain-X next, then Toyota originals.
While looking things over and noting the new wipers in my maintenance book, I nearly had a heart attack. My last recorded oil change was May 10, 2007 at 119,000 miles, and the car now has 134,000+ miles.
I was shocked. I am very careful to change my Mobil-1 15,000 mile Extended Performance every 7,000 miles of highway driving, and I always check mileage records when I come back from Mexico, and just before I return to Mexico. I couldn’t believe I forgot it!
But, then I checked my other records. I bought 3 new Toyota filters on April 10, 2007, and used one in an oil change on 5/10/2007. But, when I checked the tool shed, there is only one of the three filters left. So, my honest opinion is I changed the oil as planned, and simply forgot to record the change.
Also, the dipstick is down about half a quart, which is normal for the 7,000 miles. And, the oil still looks good.
Had me scared for a while.
Thanks for encouragement.
I can tell you from personal experience that Pylon wipers are CRAP. Of course, they don’t cost much, so one is probably getting full value for the low price.
I used Triple-Edge wipers once, and they seemed to work well for awhile, but after a few months, they began “wobbling” as they moved on the windshield. A close inspection revealed that the mounting holes had become greatly enlarged over the original size, thus leading me to conclude that the metal in the frame of the blade was substandard and was too soft for that type of application.
I have used Bosch blades with mixed results. My best results have been from OEM equipment made in Japan and from US made Anco blades.
Wow! Neat! That is useful information! If I get the noise again, I will look the blade over very carefully. I am not sure how to tell, but I do know from my former career in a contract defense plant that if one studies things very carefully, one can figure out a lot.
That does make sense now that you have pointed it out. The only other cause I could imagine was the rubber getting cold, and that didn’t make sense.
Coupled with the posting below on wear out, this could be linked, if the part was floppy or something.
This sounds like a vote for Toyota parts. Thanks for tip on this. I didn’t realize there was so much to know about wiper blades!