Wiper Blade Life

[RamFan]

Good morning folks,

How often do you find your blades are lasting?

I just replaced the OE Alfa blades on the Giulia last night with Trico Flex blades after a little over a year of usage. I've not swapped them out yet but I bought a pair of Michelin Guardian blades for the CX-5 over the weekend as the Trico Flex's I put on, on 3/31/19 are starting to chatter. I'll probably get through the end of the month with them which will put them at 7 months of use. Alternatively, the rear blade is still OE and wipes beautifully to this day, February will mark 4 years of use. Famous last words I know.

 

[CharBaby]

For me, about 1-1.5 years. However, I've had blades last 3 yrs through winter & summer, IDKY!

 

[Duffyjr]

Starting to think it's hit or miss with any brand/model you buy. I've got some Neoform's that have been on my truck for over three years and other than being a little noisy at times they wipe just fine. I've had that same wiper less than a year on an old 99 LeSabe I had when one fell apart. Have a pair of Trico AAP brand that are working on my Lucerne but are starting to chatter and are only 5 months old. I also wonder if the size has anything to do with it, the wipers on the truck are 18 inches but on the LeSabre they were longer.

If you can get a year out of a blade I think one should be happy.

 

[UG_Passat]

I replace them every year, in the spring.

 

[jcartwright99]

On my Fusion that goes through 4 season and is outside, I change them once a year with OE Motorcraft. There is nothing worse than needing to see out the window in rain or snow and having a wiper not be able to do it's job.

 

[mclasser]

My cars stay parked outside and the wipers usually last 6 months - 1 yr. When garaged, I had sets last 3 - 5 yrs.

Speaking of rear blades - The factory one is still going strong on my Pilot. I think all I've ever done is wipe it with a soapy rag once a few years back.

 

[Hall]

In SW Ohio, where we can have temperatures of 90-100º F for a month or more in the summer and snow, ice, and temperatures in the negative single and sometimes 2-digit temperatures. No matter what brand of wiper I've tried, they never last longer than a year. My car parks in the garage overnight most nights but it's parked outside for 9 hours or so while I'm at work. My wife parks outside most of the time and wipers don't last any longer or shorter for her.

 

[benjayman227]

I think the rear blade is a much less demanding application. Is it because it's shorter? Less curvature? Less frequent service? In any event, the rear blade (unknown mfg) on my Vibe is visibly torn in several places, yet still wipes clean. I've had the car 4 years, who knows how long it was on before that. I have a spare in the basement, but it might dry-rot before I replace the old one!!

Bosch Icon's on the front have lasted at least 2 winters, maybe 3, can't remember. Probably replace them for this coming winter. Autozone brand barely made it through a single summer.

OTOH the brand new Honda OEM inserts I put on the van the other day streaked on the first wipe, and continue to do so. Maybe the little metal ribs are distorted.

All our cars sit outside. My wife promises the next house will have a 2-car garage. We'll see.

 

[tomcat27]

1970 Cougar! oh wait, I've got one of those. 1970 Hemi Cuda.

 

[A_Spruce]

Yearly for me, southwest sun and heat kill 'em dead. They basically last 6 months through the late fall to spring, once the sun gets to them, they harden and are worthless.

When I bought my Burb last February, I put new wipers on it for about a month, until the rains were done, then I put the old ones back on for the summer. The new ones will go back on at the end of the month, now that temps are down and we're starting to get random showers.

I usually buy wipers at Costco because they're seasonally on sale and a good price. Michelin and Rain-X are the usual brands.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

UV and windshield cleaner are the two biggest killers of wiper blades.

 

[opus1]

The Sonata sits outside most of the time and I get roughly 6 months per set. Just replaced the set, in fact, because the driver side blade was chattering. I think that set lasted 5 months.

 

[BHopkins]

I can't say how long my wiper blades would last, as I replace them before they start failing. It is beyond me how people drive with wiper blades that don't clean the windshield, or even worse, the wiper blade is falling off. But I have a very low tolerance for wiper blades that chatter, squeal, leave streaks, etc. I expect a clean windshield with every wipe. So I replace my wiper blades annually, each fall so I will have fresh wipers for late fall and winter driving.

I use OEM wiper blades on the Outback, and except for the last set, they have performed flawlessly. The last pair streaked a little when I first put them on. But I cleaned them up with alcohol and they are doing much better. Just not as perfect as the previous sets. I believe the blades are Denso Designer.

When I bought my SL550, the previous owner had let the wiper blades wear out to the point where the blade was starting to crack and peel off. So I ordered a set of Bosch Aerotwin. I believe these are the OEM blades, as the only difference between the blades I took off and the Bosch I put on, is the old blades had the Mercedes tristar trademark molded on them, and the Bosch blades had the Bosch armature in the same location. They are a good blade, but not as good as the Denso Designer. They start to chatter real bad when they are run for an extended period, say in a long rainstorm. But they have worn very well, still looking almost new after almost a year of use.

Consumer Reports claims that wiper blades should be replaced every 6 months. Perhaps that is true if you use the cheaper wiper blades. But I suspect the better quality wiper blades would easily last 1 1/2 to 2 years.

 

[CELICA_XX]

I'm a huge fan of Rain-X and often don't even use my wipers at all.

 

[oilpsi2high]

A few years, if garage kept.

If parked outdoors 24/7, a year at best.

 

[Donald]

I think its all about using the wipers to clear off thin ice from windshield vs getting out the scraper.

I replace in spring.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by CELICA_XX
I'm a huge fan of Rain-X and often don't even use my wipers at all.

I am as well and even with much reduced wiper usage, my blades don't last any longer. I've often wondered if the Rain-X itself degrades the blades.

 

[69GTX]

I've never replaced wiper blades more than once on any car I've ever owned.

I've had cars go over 150,000 miles a couple times during my ownership. The factory ones from pre-2003 seemed to last 5-10 yrs with no problems. My current daily driver 2001 Lincoln is still on original wiper blades at 51K miles and they work fine. My previous Lincoln went about 65K miles on orig factory blades (got the car nearly new at 22K miles). My 1999 Camaro with 19K miles is still on the original wiper blades which are essentially brand new....car is almost never outside. I've only used the wipers once in the past 7 yrs....just to test them to ensure they worked.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I replace wiper blades every fall.

 

[jcartwright99]

Originally Posted by 69GTX
I've never replaced wiper blades more than once on any car I've ever owned.

I've had cars go over 150,000 miles a couple times during my ownership. The factory ones from pre-2003 seemed to last 5-10 yrs with no problems. My current daily driver 2001 Lincoln is still on original wiper blades at 51K miles and they work fine. My previous Lincoln went about 65K miles on orig factory blades (got the car nearly new at 22K miles). My 1999 Camaro with 19K miles is still on the original wiper blades which are essentially brand new....car is almost never outside. I've only used the wipers once in the past 7 yrs....just to test them to ensure they worked.


I am going to call BS on your Lincoln blades. You have almost 20 years on wiper blades. I also had an LS of that same model year, no way stock blades last that long. If they truly are the original blades, I think you hit the blade lottery because rubber degrades over time.