What do you replace? The entire wiper blade or just the rubber insert? I'm talking regularly, as I know eventually a person probably has to say goodbye to the blade.
Inserts or Entire Blade?
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Blade every time. I don't waste time messing with inserts. At work I will put blades on for customers if they buy them. If they buy Mazda inserts, they are on their own for installing.
I bought the Mazda inserts the first time. I then bought the Mazda value products complete wiper. I saved my old wipers and I think I am going to try the silicone inserts off amazon on the original wipers. They just seem higher quality than the value products line.
The entire blade. My Rav4 has the J-hook type. Those things baffle me. Sometimes I struggle 5 minutes to get the old blade off and sometimes it pops right off in 5 seconds.
My Camry is super easy to change blades. No fuss. I bought blades for it at my local Toyota dealer. Really nice blades.
My Camry is super easy to change blades. No fuss. I bought blades for it at my local Toyota dealer. Really nice blades.
The $5 per insert OEM Honda refill is vastly superior wiping ability/contact to the run of the mill $10-20/each blade. I ended up chucking two pairs of blades and realized the car had OEM refills and luckily saved the associated blade. I think the MDX blade is specifically designed to windshield while aftermarket stuff for their assembly line.
Nick1994
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I don't have the original wipers for my Sonata, and don't know if the originals had replaceable refills. I'd probably refill the, though.
On the Avalon I just got refills for it though. Easy to change.
On the Avalon I just got refills for it though. Easy to change.
Originally Posted By: Leo99
The entire blade. My Rav4 has the J-hook type. Those things baffle me. Sometimes I struggle 5 minutes to get the old blade off and sometimes it pops right off in 5 seconds.
Glad to hear someone else is baffled by these things. As you say sometimes pop off, sometimes take 20 minutes of fiddling. Don't get it. Both cars have this. What was wrong with the pin?
The entire blade. My Rav4 has the J-hook type. Those things baffle me. Sometimes I struggle 5 minutes to get the old blade off and sometimes it pops right off in 5 seconds.
Glad to hear someone else is baffled by these things. As you say sometimes pop off, sometimes take 20 minutes of fiddling. Don't get it. Both cars have this. What was wrong with the pin?
The entire blade. My car has the regular J-hook type. So they are not expensive
Originally Posted By: John_K
Glad to hear someone else is baffled by these things. As you say sometimes pop off, sometimes take 20 minutes of fiddling. Don't get it. Both cars have this. What was wrong with the pin?
Yep, I've done a lot of cussing at J-hook wiper blade. What you think will be a 5 minute project sometimes turns into 30 for no rhyme or reason. Worse if the blade is a one-size-fits-all with multiple adapters (j-hook, pin, etc.). My truck has the pin style, on & off in 5 minutes or less.
Glad to hear someone else is baffled by these things. As you say sometimes pop off, sometimes take 20 minutes of fiddling. Don't get it. Both cars have this. What was wrong with the pin?
Yep, I've done a lot of cussing at J-hook wiper blade. What you think will be a 5 minute project sometimes turns into 30 for no rhyme or reason. Worse if the blade is a one-size-fits-all with multiple adapters (j-hook, pin, etc.). My truck has the pin style, on & off in 5 minutes or less.
Blades on almost every car except the 911. That gets inserts because the passenger wiper is curved and a regular straight blade will chatter.
Originally Posted By: John_K
... As you say sometimes pop off, sometimes take 20 minutes of fiddling. Don't get it. Both cars have this. What was wrong with the pin?
When I had a car with pin wipers, I could easily get one off or on within 5 seconds. At first only poor quality (Anco) replacement blades were available, then none, then basic refills became unavailable. So I had to buy aftermarket blades, remove the refill from the blade, install it in the old OE blade, and scrap the rest of the new blade. Very wasteful!
The Prius uses J-hooks, which are a little tricky, but never 20-minute tricky.
... As you say sometimes pop off, sometimes take 20 minutes of fiddling. Don't get it. Both cars have this. What was wrong with the pin?
When I had a car with pin wipers, I could easily get one off or on within 5 seconds. At first only poor quality (Anco) replacement blades were available, then none, then basic refills became unavailable. So I had to buy aftermarket blades, remove the refill from the blade, install it in the old OE blade, and scrap the rest of the new blade. Very wasteful!
The Prius uses J-hooks, which are a little tricky, but never 20-minute tricky.
Inserts aren't even an option these days. Haven't seen them sold in stores in a long time. Rockauto sells lots of blades though and you can usually get them on clearance in the $2 range. I used to do refills, but they were a pain to play with, needed pliers to squeeze the clips at the ends and sometimes you got cut. Easier to just swap the blades, but it is kind of a waste of the frame.
I was impressed with Honda's blade insert system when I had to address poor wiping on a 2010 Civic. A bit pricey from the dealer since it's OEM only but if you can buy em cheap somewhere else I'd stick with the OEM blade and insert setup.
Inserts only. It bugs me to think about throwing in the landfill a perfectly fine wiper blade frame. But now Subaru no longer offers the refills, and I've always stayed with Subaru OEM wipers, because I love the quality.
Last time I checked, Piaa still offers refills. But they are hard to find. Not a lot of places carry them.
Last time I checked, Piaa still offers refills. But they are hard to find. Not a lot of places carry them.
I buy the inserts. The factory blade frame is pretty good on the Acura and Chrysler I drive. I'd hate to remove that and replace it with an inferior aftermarket part.
Up until about 5 years ago I always just replaced the inserts, but now it seems they are harder to find at most part stores. I change to a winter wiper every winter from about NOV to April, so by changing from winter to summer I get about 5 years out of a insert. I keep a set of inserts for each but usually have to order them on line or get them from a dealer. Auto stores must not have much demand for them so they tend to not stock many inserts. They would rather sell complete blades at $10.00 and up rather than sell an insert blade for over $3.00 each. Thats my experience. I do prefer replacing an insert vs. replacing the whole wiper blade and insert.
I do inserts. Although the last time I went to the Toyota dealer they no longer had the exact ones for my older Camry. Seem to work fine, saves on waste. I'm not sure the blade really wears.
Wish I had inserts for my Tundra. It's like $60 for the pair. Thankfully they last a couple years.
Wish I had inserts for my Tundra. It's like $60 for the pair. Thankfully they last a couple years.
OEM inserts are the only thing I use
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
Inserts only. It bugs me to think about throwing in the landfill a perfectly fine wiper blade frame. But now Subaru no longer offers the refills, and I've always stayed with Subaru OEM wipers, because I love the quality.
Last time I checked, Piaa still offers refills. But they are hard to find. Not a lot of places carry them.
Same here, the only part that wears during normal use is the rubber insert, I don't like the idea of getting rid of the whole blade.
On all of the Honda's I currently own, they all use the inserts. The OEM inserts are cheaper than blades (9.00 for a whole set), last a long time and wipes perfectly. There's no reason I'd ever replace the blade.
As for the blade going bad, the oldest car is at 9 years and the blades are still fine.
Inserts only. It bugs me to think about throwing in the landfill a perfectly fine wiper blade frame. But now Subaru no longer offers the refills, and I've always stayed with Subaru OEM wipers, because I love the quality.
Last time I checked, Piaa still offers refills. But they are hard to find. Not a lot of places carry them.
Same here, the only part that wears during normal use is the rubber insert, I don't like the idea of getting rid of the whole blade.
On all of the Honda's I currently own, they all use the inserts. The OEM inserts are cheaper than blades (9.00 for a whole set), last a long time and wipes perfectly. There's no reason I'd ever replace the blade.
As for the blade going bad, the oldest car is at 9 years and the blades are still fine.
I can get four blades for around 8.50 for both my car and truck i don't play around with inserts.
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