Wiper Woes

[ses6jwg]

Anyone else had problems getting replacement wipers for their Corrola TS?

Bought a full set of flatblades off eBay, front and rear...

First time around, fronts were too long and the rear fitment was completely wrong.

Sent out new ones. This time front ones are the correct length, but due to the hook design on the front drivers side the wiper blade does not sit flat against the screen.

Again, the rear flatblade is a completely different design.

Has anyone else had these issues?

All my old cars were remove and refit jobs!

[BRIDGES]

You can get flat Wiper Blades up front, I had no problem with the eBay seller i bought from, not sure if I saved him as a favourite!!!

On the other hand, I couldn't find any flat Wiper Blades for our TS model. I bought a flat rear wipe once but did not fit, sent back and i just bought a new original one

[CorollaD4D]

wiperblades.co.uk is where i got my retro fit Bosch flat style wipers for the front, they are excellent! stick to standard wiper for the rear as flat ones on the rear can be tempramental

[Theorist]

first set of retro fit wipers i got off eBay were excellent . second set were terrible sent em back then the next set were no better.running Bosch normal ones now.

[farhanali89]

I had sparcos up front before they were ok but not very long lasting at all

i then purchased eBay ones that t-sport(kearon) recommended and they were perfect well recommended.

[Brandane]

My last 2 cars (VW Golfs) had the flat Bosch wipers. I found that they are good when new but don't last very long before they need replaced. Even when new they are not all that much better than normal wipers. So I won't be bothering with changing the standard Corolla ones....

[CorollaD4D]

My last 2 cars (VW Golfs) had the flat Bosch wipers. I found that they are good when new but don't last very long before they need replaced. Even when new they are not all that much better than normal wipers. So I won't be bothering with changing the standard Corolla ones....

wow, you just hit the nail on the head! i had always though it was just me with a bad set of the Bosch flat wipers but now you have described exactly what i am experiencing i think once this set is used i'll go back to standard wipers but Bosch ones.

[man-bing]

Perhaps i'm a cheapo, but i only change the blade itself, the original wiper arm and everything still the originals.

The way i do it, is take off the wiper arm, and unclip the blade from it, usually means i have to bend the holding clamp point back a little, and pull out the wiper blade.

Then, buying a new wiper arm, somewhere like wilkinson or even tesco at a costly sum of something like £1.49-£1.99 each, and again, remove the blade from it again and install back into my original wiper arm.

Takes about 30mins to change all 3 blades.

Does the job for me, and usually last about 18months before i have to do it again.

Now lets work this out, £6 to change all 3 blades or something like £30+ if i buy a branded set!!!

[nrgizerbunny]

whats the advantage of the flat ones versus the standard?

[eddieinvader]

I had thought about buying these flat blades, but I have been warned by a few people that they are nothing special and that there can be fitting issues with some cars.

My neighbour bought some the other week and the hook for fitting the wipers was designed for swinging the opposite way when he put them on he thought he was the dogs untill a couple of minutes later one flew off, he ended up turning them around which meant that the fixing clip would not clip in place so he put superglue on them

Complete was of effort and money IMO.

[madvinegar]

Best thing to do is to buy the OEM ones from TOYOTA. I have tried a lot of other after-market wipers/blades but none of them was "prefect" meaning that some did not wipe well, others were a little shorter or longer and others were making noise at high speeds.

The main difference between the standard OEM wipers and the flat blades is that the OEM wiper arm has a special wing on it that drives the air with pressure into air vents and consequently into the cabin when driving at high speeds.

If you replace the OEM one with a flat blade you will lose this function.

Plus that the OEM one has this sticker which changes colour (from dark blue to white) and warns you when the wipers need replacement.

[MR LBe]

Best thing to do is to buy the OEM ones from TOYOTA. I have tried a lot of other after-market wipers/blades but none of them was "prefect" meaning that some did not wipe well, others were a little shorter or longer and others were making noise at high speeds.

The main difference between the standard OEM wipers and the flat blades is that the OEM wiper arm has a special wing on it that drives the air with pressure into air vents and consequently into the cabin when driving at high speeds.

If you replace the OEM one with a flat blade you will lose this function.

Plus that the OEM one has this sticker which changes colour (from dark blue to white) and warns you when the wipers need replacement.

learn sumthing new everyday, I thought the wing on the oem wipers was so the air could push it against the window lol

my aero flat wipers are perfect, got them off eBay. had problems fitting at first then swapped them over and they fit perfect. havnt found a rear flat wiper to fit had 2 that wouldnt fit so gave up.

[Brandane]

I have found that the best way to keep my screen clear is to treat it with Rain-X, use a decent quality screenwash that will remove road grime, and stick to standard Toyota Wiper Blades.

[Parts-King]

Nowt wrong with the Toyota genuine OPTIFIT blades, work well without noise and not too bad on price either ;)

Kingo

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Look at the Corolla Links thread at the top of this page and you will see I posted a link for a company that does nothing but wipers. I would advise you to go for Toyota wipers but you can try them if you want to. ;)

[CorollaD4D]

whats the advantage of the flat ones versus the standard?

Supposedly they have a steel beam running the length of the blade which keeps even constant pressure on the blade so that you dont get un even wiping etc. they also look a lot nicer imo and are less noisey in my experience.

Best thing to do is to buy the OEM ones from TOYOTA. I have tried a lot of other after-market wipers/blades but none of them was "prefect" meaning that some did not wipe well, others were a little shorter or longer and others were making noise at high speeds.

The main difference between the standard OEM wipers and the flat blades is that the OEM wiper arm has a special wing on it that drives the air with pressure into air vents and consequently into the cabin when driving at high speeds.

If you replace the OEM one with a flat blade you will lose this function.

Plus that the OEM one has this sticker which changes colour (from dark blue to white) and warns you when the wipers need replacement.

learn sumthing new everyday, I thought the wing on the oem wipers was so the air could push it against the window lol

my aero flat wipers are perfect, got them off eBay. had problems fitting at first then swapped them over and they fit perfect. havnt found a rear flat wiper to fit had 2 that wouldnt fit so gave up.

the wing is to push the wiper against the windscreen at higher speeds to give better wipe function. nothing to do with air vents as far as i know! also in the flat aero style wiper the whole top edge of the wiper acts as a wing to push the blade into the screen so you havent lost this function by upgrading to new style wipers.

[madvinegar]

the wing is to push the wiper against the windscreen at higher speeds to give better wipe function. nothing to do with air vents as far as i know! also in the flat aero style wiper the whole top edge of the wiper acts as a wing to push the blade into the screen so you havent lost this function by upgrading to new style wipers.

I have done various tests out in the open road and when I had the flat aero blades on, the air coming through the vents was like the breath of an old lady with asthma...

After putting again the OEM wipers on, the air was coming in the cabin with substantial pressure. Try it yourself and you will see.

If this wing on the OEM wiper is used only to push the wiper against the windscreen at higher speeds, why the small wiper is not fitted with one?

In any case, you can test it yourself.

[CorollaD4D]

the wing is to push the wiper against the windscreen at higher speeds to give better wipe function. nothing to do with air vents as far as i know! also in the flat aero style wiper the whole top edge of the wiper acts as a wing to push the blade into the screen so you havent lost this function by upgrading to new style wipers.

I have done various tests out in the open road and when I had the flat aero blades on, the air coming through the vents was like the breath of an old lady with asthma...

After putting again the OEM wipers on, the air was coming in the cabin with substantial pressure. Try it yourself and you will see.

If this wing on the OEM wiper is used only to push the wiper against the windscreen at higher speeds, why the small wiper is not fitted with one?

In any case, you can test it yourself.

so you're telling me the style of wiper you use affects the pressure/speed of the air coming through the cabin climate control? even though the climate control is controlled by its own fan?

because the passenger side doesnt need to clean as well as the drivers side, makes buying a set of wipers cheaper. from the last time i looked on wiperblades.co.uk the wiper with the wing is around £3-4 more expensive than without.

[madvinegar]

Ofcourse I am not referring to the function of the climate control. When you put the A/C on (or the clima), the fans are controlled by the A/C unit. Other than that, when you turn on the A/C, you usually also turn on the button which recycles the air in the cabin (i.e. this button that prevents air coming into the cabin). I do not know how this button is called in English... Sorry...

I am referring to the part when you are driving at high speeds with the A/C or the clima turned off, and also this button that recycles the air into the cabin turned off (i.e. no A/C, no clima but you are letting the air from outside to enter the cabin).

Example. You go off on a trip. You are driving at the highway and you do not want to turn on the A/C but you do not also want to lower your windows because of the noise. So with your windows shut, you turn off the function of the air-recycle and you permit the outside air to enter the cabin.

At this test you will see that with the OEM wipers on, the air coming through the air-vents will have much more pressure.

Is it clear now?

[loljulie]

Bought a full set of wipers today including blade for rear under £20 the lot incl VAT. Toyota dealer near Southampton. Like the idea of the colour changing sticker!