Wiper Blades - I'm Losing My Mind!

Nib

The wipers on my car are only two weeks old and they're so noisy (previous set were the same) and they're not cheap crap either. It's mainly the driver's side blade. The middle of the blade is folding over and causing a very loud juddering noise. I've tried cleaning the blade thoroughly but it makes no difference. I nearly stopped the car on the middle of the road today to rip them off and fuck them into the hedge.

Help me, please..

colm_mcm

How clean is the windscreen? Deposits on the glass will wear out new blades and cause nastiness

Nib

It's pretty clean from what I can see. I haven't cleaned it with and fancy windscreen cleaners, just the usual water and whatever I cleaned the rest of the car with.

These wipers are only two weeks old. Would they really wear out that fast?

Stheno

Nib wrote: »

It's pretty clean from what I can see. I haven't cleaned it with and fancy windscreen cleaners, just the usual water and whatever I cleaned the rest of the car with.

These wipers are only two weeks old. Would they really wear out that fast?

Are they fitted properly?

My OHs car has just one wiper, but sometimes it gets dislodged from the fitting at the bottom of the windscreen that holds it and jumps all over the place.

Senecio

Use a clay bar on the windscreen. Only way to decontaminate the glass properly. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes.

JohnBoy26

What brand of wiper are they?

jca

Valeo blades are the best by a long chalk. Bosch are the worst, squeaky and juddery truly awful crap.

JohnBoy26

jca wrote: »

Valeo blades are the best by a long chalk. Bosch are the worst, squeaky and juddery truly awful crap.

what car? Are the flat blades or regular blades?

mickdw

Sounds like the angle of attack to the windscreen is wrong specially if 2 sets of blades are giving trouble.
Get a vice grip and adjust the wiper arm very slightly to adjust the attack angle.

Bigus

Check out the angle that the noisey blade is hitting the window, its / way or\ way instead of 90 degree , to adjust it lift the arm away from the screen an twist the whole arm ( using the blade as a lever ) to alter the angle of attack and stop it skipping . You need to look at this angle over full sweep to see which way to twist it to get nearer 90 deg rubber to glass ,

jca

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

what car? Are the flat blades or regular blades?

My last car 07 Octavia had flat blades, the Bosch ones barely lasted 3 months the main dealer supplied valeos were over two years old and going strong when I traded it in. I notice my local skoda dealer has a german brand of blades on a stand behind the counter, these must be the ones on my latest aquisition an 09 Octavia as it says it was fitted with 3 new blades before I collected it. They are very good at clearing the glass but sound a little "grindy" as if they were made from hard rubber.

JohnBoy26

jca wrote: »

My last car 07 Octavia had flat blades, the Bosch ones barely lasted 3 months the main dealer supplied valeos were over two years old and going strong when I traded it in. I notice my local skoda dealer has a german brand of blades on a stand behind the counter, these must be the ones on my latest aquisition an 09 Octavia as it says it was fitted with 3 new blades before I collected it. They are very good at clearing the glass but sound a little "grindy" as if they were made from hard rubber.

I find ford blades to be the best of any blade tbh, they aren't much more expensive than your regular Bosch or valeo either.

JohnBoy26

mickdw wrote: »

Sounds like the angle of attack to the windscreen is wrong specially if 2 sets of blades are giving trouble.
Get a vice grip and adjust the wiper arm very slightly to adjust the attack angle.

Before doing that I'd make sure that the nuts on the arms aren't loose. I had a car once that had very noisy wipers and loose arms was the culprit.

jca

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

I find ford blades to be the best of any blade tbh, they aren't much more expensive than your regular Bosch or valeo either.

I think the Ford blades are Valeo.

JohnBoy26

jca wrote: »

I think the Ford blades are Valeo.

I don't think the regular blades are valeo, not sure about the flat blade though. My post above was in reference to regular blades, I should of been a bit clearer on that.

Chimaera

Bosch blades are good IME. Any blade is going to perform badly if it's not fitted correctly and the glass is properly clean.

Like others have said, the blade is probably at the wrong angle to the screen so it's not flipping over when it changes direction. Get an adjustable spanner to twist the wiper arm rather than using the wiper. Do it a little at a time and test the wipers after each adjustment.

Clay the screen and then use a good glass polish to finish it.

Nib

These are Bosch, not sure what the old ones were. €22! It's a 06 Almera. They are fitted correctly, there's no play if wiggle them.

Passenger side wiper is working fine, so I don't think it's the alignment.

Thanks for the suggestions folks, I'll try the clay clean first before I go and snap them of trying to adjust them.

Chimaera

Nib wrote: »

These are Bosch, not sure what the old ones were. €22! It's a 06 Almera. They are fitted correctly, there's no play if wiggle them.

Passenger side wiper is working fine, so I don't think it's the alignment.

Just because one is good doesn't mean the other is. They're two separate components.

jca

Bigus wrote: »

Check out the angle that the noisey blade is hitting the window, its / way or\ way instead of 90 degree , to adjust it lift the arm away from the screen an twist the whole arm ( using the blade as a lever ) to alter the angle of attack and stop it skipping . You need to look at this angle over full sweep to see which way to twist it to get nearer 90 deg rubber to glass ,

It never worked for me, the steel used in those wiper arms is very strong stuff.

Noccy_Mondy

Don't have a lot of experience on bosch aero blades, but the normal ones ain't the best, they ain't too bad though. As said the Ford ones are class altogether, mine are on at least 2 years now, but need changing, and I want a set for the focus aswell. I take it you need to go to the dealer to get them?

JohnBoy26

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Don't have a lot of experience on bosch aero blades, but the normal ones ain't the best, they ain't too bad though. As said the Ford ones are class altogether, mine are on at least 2 years now, but need changing, and I want a set for the focus aswell. I take it you need to go to the dealer to get them?

You can get them online too afaik but to buy in a bricks and mortar shop the main dealer is your best bet.

ironclaw

How old is the car OP? You may need to replace the spring system that holds the arm down. If its not applying proper tension, the blade could hop and judder.

djimi

Nib wrote: »

It's pretty clean from what I can see. I haven't cleaned it with and fancy windscreen cleaners, just the usual water and whatever I cleaned the rest of the car with.

These wipers are only two weeks old. Would they really wear out that fast?

Even giving the windscreen a blast of Windoleen or the like might make a difference. It does on my car.

fmcg_scribe

djimi wrote: »

Even giving the windscreen a blast of Windoleen or the like might make a difference. It does on my car.

A clay bar is perhaps the ultimate cleaning tool for a car window never mind a car body panel. If you don't have a clay bar, household vinegar (preferably distilled) is very effective for cleaning the exteriors of car windows. I would rate it more effective than than Windolene or similar products.

ianobrien

Nib wrote: »

.... It's a 06 Almera. They are fitted correctly, there's no play if wiggle them.

Passenger side wiper is working fine, so I don't think it's the alignment.

....

If it's an '06 Almera and if it's the drivers side the wiper spindle casing is worn where the drivers wiper spindle comes up through the bulkhead. As a result, the tension on the wiper forces the spindle to rotate at an angle.

You can check this by pressing down on the middle of the drivers wiper hard. If it moves, the spindle is worn.

The cure, either replace the mounting or get a spacer made up to full the gap. My cure was to keep the windscreen spotless and regularly clean the wiper blades.

corktina

have you it on the right way round? If identical to the other side, try swapping them.

(In my view don't put anything on your screen as it will smear and you wont see out properley when the sun hits it.

naughtysmurf

I'm by no means an expert but I've found that the difference in rubber between different types was an issue, had to find as soft a rubber as possible for my windscreen, a hard rubber blade just jumped & dragged across my windscreen

RandomAccess

Maybe the spring on the wiper arm is putting too much pressure on it.
Not sure how you would confirm that other than replacing the wiper arm with another.

Carson10

I had this problem a few Years ago, the only solution is the main dealer factory blades, eg. VW. they last about 2 years, no squeaks.

jca

Carson10 wrote: »

I had this problem a few Years ago, the only solution is the main dealer factory blades, eg. VW. they last about 2 years, no squeaks.

Yep. You get what you pay for.

kirving

Which type of blades are they OP? You didn't happen to replace sprung blades with flat ones?