Bought my 208 at the start of August, been relatively dry where I live but recently we’ve had a bit of rain, and when driving in the rain I’ve noticed that there’s some weird streaking going on.
I have washed the wipers with soapy water and the windscreen with Autoglym Fast Glass but it’s still happening.
The windscreen is perfectly clear when its dry, but when its raining and I use the wipers, this streaking happens (pic is just after using wipers).
As you can see in the pic it only happens on part of my windscreen, in the top left its normal.
Doing a bit of Googling is seems like it may be residue left over from RainX or similar treatment? Would it be worth cleaning it with something strong like Isopropyl alcohol?
Have you tried replacing the wiper blades?
Tester
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Non scratching scouring powder, like Bon Ami works well to deep clean the windscreen. And new wiper blades.
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I had a car I bought used, windshield had been replaced, every 3 months I had to replace the blades, tried alternative wipers, but they all had about the same life expectancy
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I have not, but I figured since there’s bits of the windscreen that do clean fine with a clear border, it was probably something on the windscreen. I recently cleaned the wipers and they look fine
Me, next thing I’d try is what you already suggested above, isopropyl alcohol. If that doesn’t do the trick, try some some sudsy ammonia. What you have to use depends on what’s stuck on the windshield, so you might have to experiment with various cleaning agents. Something mildly acidic, like white cooking vinegar is another possibility. Don’t use anything abrasive of course, as that may scratch the glass.
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That means the wiper blades are at least one year old, Past time to replace them.
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There can be oil or chemicals on them that cause smearing even though they look good
If you can judge wiper blades by looking you have better vision than I. I live in New Mexico, can go years without using the wipers. Because it gets so hot they fail even if I haven’t used them.
Pine tar can get on windows, requires a special solvent to clean off safely. Other than that, try an isopropanol & ammonia cleaner, then white vinegar. Use a squeegee and non-lint cloth; I use coffee filters; others use newspaper.
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I also suggest getting new wiper inserts and cleaning the glass with isopropyl alcohol. In addition, if you go to an automatic car wash that applies any kind of wax or protectant, the issue is likely to return more quickly.
I have had success by using this (Zep glass cleaner in case the link does not work) Inexpensive and effective.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zep-Foaming-19-fl-oz-Glass-Cleaner/4383169?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--lwn--ggl--LIA_LWN_127_Cleaning--4383169--0--0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhcaOqMKh8wIVJWxvBB24qwCHEAQYBSABEgIAd_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
New wiper blades are inexpensive and easy to replace.
Clean the windows and put new blades on, this should give you streak free windows.
Another vote for isopropyl alcohol or straight ammonia.
Pour some on a paper towel and wipe both the blades with it and the glass area under the blades.
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Don’t clean the wipers with soapy water, use straight alcohol right from the bottle. Where I live we need all weather blades, I have received 3 years streak free from Bosch Icon blades. Kind of pricy though.
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+1
I have found those Icon blades to be very good, and more durable than most.
At a cheaper price, I have also gotten decent service from Michelin blades, and they are going on reduced-price sale at Costco tomorrow.
I had a similar issue on my car. The wiper blades were fairly new, though I did cheap out on them, I’ll admit.
I tried everything to clean the windshield, including all the things others have mentioned. Nothing made a difference.
Finally I bit the bullet and bought some new, more expensive “beam” type wiper blades. Problem solved. Your results may vary…but for me, this was a lesson learned that sometimes the simplest solution is the right one.