Wiper Blade Replacements

[econometrics]

I replaced my OEM wipers after a year. They had started getting pretty spotty there at the end. Got some Rain-X high end ones. They suck. 

 

I'm going back to Bosch now that rainy season is upon us here in TX. 

[Tahoe02]

I also agree with Grumpy. I have had GM products for a long time and have always used OEM wipers with no issues. This thread is kind of like what is the best oil. Many different opinions but bottom line just use a good quality product. 

[BIGDOGx]

As others on here have stated Bosh are the best, not even up for debate.

 

Bosch is a direct oem replacement blade but of better quality, unlike 90% of the other blades on the shelf most of which have the incorrect mounting adapters which is why the person above with rain-x blades thinks they suck, because they simply don't fit our trucks right..

[SPASierra]

I have an issue with my driver side blade chattering and smearing right at the attachment point.  I bought the truck used, and it was that way when I got it.  Switched to the Bosch Envisions, but it is still there.  Probably a tension issue, and I need to either reseat the arm, or bend it back a bit.  Anyone else have this problem?

[Grumpy Bear]

1 hour ago, SPASierra said:

I have an issue with my driver side blade chattering and smearing right at the attachment point.  I bought the truck used, and it was that way when I got it.  Switched to the Bosch Envisions, but it is still there.  Probably a tension issue, and I need to either reseat the arm, or bend it back a bit.  Anyone else have this problem?

 

We had one that smeared like that and it turned out is was a hard spot in the rubber. Now as you have had this happen with two consecutive blades.....replace the entire arm. I am assuming a good piece of glass that is clean of course. 

[SPASierra]

On 3/2/2021 at 1:13 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

 

We had one that smeared like that and it turned out is was a hard spot in the rubber. Now as you have had this happen with two consecutive blades.....replace the entire arm. I am assuming a good piece of glass that is clean of course. 

Yeah, the glass is good.  I even went as far as clay barring the windshield.  I'll just order a new wiper arm and give it a whirl.  Thanks for your input!

[Grumpy Bear]

6 hours ago, SPASierra said:

Yeah, the glass is good.  I even went as far as clay barring the windshield.  I'll just order a new wiper arm and give it a whirl.  Thanks for your input!

Give a shout when you get it done and tested. I'm interested in knowing how this works out for you. PM is good too. 

[todd308]

did you ever get the new arm installed and how did it work out?   I've noticed my 20' AT4 is smearing bad right where the attachment point is on the wiper on the drivers side, you can see by the line at the A pillar from the water it's losing contact with the windshield for about 1.5" where the arm attaches right at the end of it's stroke.   Tried different wipers and same problem.   Can the arm tension be adjusted on these or are they no longer adjustable?

[SPASierra]

did you ever get the new arm installed and how did it work out?   I've noticed my 20' AT4 is smearing bad right where the attachment point is on the wiper on the drivers side, you can see by the line at the A pillar from the water it's losing contact with the windshield for about 1.5" where the arm attaches right at the end of it's stroke.   Tried different wipers and same problem.   Can the arm tension be adjusted on these or are they no longer adjustable?

They replaced the arm under warranty last week. The blade is still streaking, although not as bad. I haven’t put a new blade on it yet, but will be doing that tomorrow morning. I’ll update after that.


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[RyanbabZ71]

My current stock wipers are almost two years old and are now just starting to “fail”. I also got my windshield with aqua-pel. These are the stock best wipers on any vehicle I have owned. I purchased the OEM ones to replace these


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[OnTheReel]

14 hours ago, SPASierra said:

They replaced the arm under warranty last week. The blade is still streaking, although not as bad. I haven’t put a new blade on it yet, but will be doing that tomorrow morning. I’ll update after that.


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I have dealt with the same issue and wound up replacing my driver’s side arm too. It was like $25 on eBay brand new GM.

Still streaks at the top but no longer leaves a giant streak under the attachment point. The original arm was indeed bent, probably from snow.

[GN2018]

When I had my ‘18 Silverado, I bought some Direct Fit blades from NAPA.  They were crap.  I returned them.  Someone recommended the Trico wipers at NAPA so I tried those and was very happy with them.  I think the OEM blades are probably best, but I haven’t found them for a discounted price yet.  Now that I have my ‘21, I’ll try looking again.  I like to have some on hand.

[todd308]

6 hours ago, OnTheReel said:

I have dealt with the same issue and wound up replacing my driver’s side arm too. It was like $25 on eBay brand new GM.

Still streaks at the top but no longer leaves a giant streak under the attachment point. The original arm was indeed bent, probably from snow.

I wonder if that's what happened to mine, I don't remember seeing this issue last year at all, and I'm super picky about my windshield being clean etc.  so it drives me crazy.  I started to notice it this spring.    That said if all it takes is some snow to bend the wiper arm maybe I should buy in bulk!

[todd308]

Interestingly I never did try replacing the arm the wiper attaches to as some other's have mentioned.  However, I did just swap my 20' for a 21' and I can say the 21' wipers work fine, both with the factory blades and Bosh.  So if I notice this again after another winter, I think my first step will be to replace the arm the wiper attaches to.   That said, if that's really what's bending/twisting it's a pretty poor part, I lived in ND for 30+ years and never had a wiper arm bend.  The 20' AT4 couldn't even survive one very mild PA winter.  

[todd308]

Just as an update, my conclusion basically is that of various wipers I've tried Bosh/Michelin/OEM the OEM ones seem to be the best over time.  Not sure what the difference is but non-OEM ones quickly do the same thing I noticed in my OEM ones after about a year, they streak on the drivers side under where the arm attaches.   If I replace with OEM they seem to be fine.    Which is funny because in 35+ years of owning vehicles I've never had one where the OEM wipers were the best option.  

 

I almost wonder if there's too much pressure on the wiper at the arm and it's wearing out/fatiguing the wiping edge there faster.  Either way seems like it's not a bad idea to have a spare set of OEM wipers and an arm on hand.