Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my Yeti and enjoy every minute of driving it. However, just a little niggle...Has anyone else noticed that the windscreen wipers are rubbish and just don't remove any stains/marks/bird poo etc?

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my Yeti and enjoy every minute of driving it. However, just a little niggle...Has anyone else noticed that the windscreen wipers are rubbish and just don't remove any stains/marks/bird poo etc?

Totally agree on that, and they seem to like collecting dirt

I've never driven a car that would, without the assistance of washer fluid, and even then they'll struggle if it's been left to dry on in hot sun for several hours.

The one thing that might help would be to use a windscreen wax such as Rain-X, but not everyone likes those.

Totally agree on that, and they seem to like collecting dirt

Yep. They're rubbish. It's as though the rubber is too flimsy and not enough pressure is being put on them to make a tight contact with the glass/windscreen...

I've never driven a car that would, without the assistance of washer fluid, and even then they'll struggle if it's been left to dry on in hot sun for several hours.

The one thing that might help would be to use a windscreen wax such as Rain-X, but not everyone likes those.

They are rubbish when using the windscreen wash and when putting them on IMMEDIATELY after the mess/bird poo has landed...They just don't shift a thing. The wipers on my last VW vehicle were excellent...

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my Yeti and enjoy every minute of driving it. However, just a little niggle...Has anyone else noticed that the windscreen wipers are rubbish and just don't remove any stains/marks/bird poo etc?

Sorry don't agree. The wipers are not perfect but they are adequate to do the job. Being rural dwellers, we have our fair share of flying beasties and I found the wash/wipe cleared them OK. Only when they are dry and hardened did the wipers not cope. This could be said of most wash/wipe systems. The wipers coped well with the salt and snow of the last winter.

Based on my experience with my last car that did not have a headlamp washer, I have kept wet wipes in the boot. (Just for cleaning the headlights of salt in winter) Never needed them on the Yeti but I do keep a soft kitchen scourer to clean the windscreen when washing the car.

I would agree on this one. After 100+ miles motorway driving at the weekend it was like a flies graveyard

Had to manually clean the screen when we got back as the wipers werent shifting anything. Still on the factory/dealer fitted screen wash so maybe a stronger solution will help?

S

Hmmm. Seems there are mixed reviews about the wipers. I can honestly say they are the worst wipers that I've ever had on any vehicle to date...

No problems here. I now have 24000 km on the original wipers. They stay close to the glass at 110 MPH and do a decent job at that.

Granted, driving through a storm of gnats, which dry out on the glass in milliseconds, you cannot expect the wipers to get them off!. <you might wish for a higher volume of spray from the washers - mine tend to favor the non-driver's side - but that is then a balance between how much washing you want doen each time and how often do you want to fill another gallon in the reservoir.

When you do decide to relace the rubber, do be sure to buy Bosch replacements. Nothing else will do.

I don't think the wipers themselves are a problem. They feel like they're pressing against the screen with enough force to me, and they fit snugly across the entire screen.

I think the problem relates more to the angle of the windscreen itself - I've noticed (especially on night drives) that the screen seems to "attract" a great number of insects etc, which then proceed to explode with vigour against it. The resulting mess is very difficult to shift. The wipers themselves seem to be okay, but the size of the job is a problem.

I find myself running a sponge over the screen most days to get rid of the bulk of the insect remains.

Well. a little analysis of the problem leads to a differnt conclusion

Pick-em-up trucks have the same problem and some added a plexiglass spoiler in front of the bonnet to direct a curtain of air upwards from the grille. I don't know if it really worked, but somebody sold a lot of them. It was certainly less harmful to pedestrians than mounting Texas Longhorn skulls in the same place.

Edited 17 May, 201016 yr by Agerbundsen

Is there not an alternative blade that can be fitted to offset the problems some peeps are having ? Seems an odd one to have not tested something as basic as wipers, which after all come into the safety side of things ?

Is this a fairly common moan about the beast ?

:|

Is there not an alternative blade that can be fitted to offset the problems some peeps are having ? Seems an odd one to have not tested something as basic as wipers, which after all come into the safety side of things ?

Is this a fairly common moan about the beast ?

:|

I believe the root cause is that the Yeti is so well balanced for what it is, that it engenders nit picking. When things in general work so well, there is a tendency to expect absolute pefpection - which of course does not exist. Every car is a compromise. The Yeti is just a damned good compromise.

Niggles like the lack of rain gutters - no modern cars have them. Vetically oriented windshield - if you want it horizontal, try a Bugatti Veyron or a Ferrari. Muck coming off the rather large and well outside spaced wheels - well get a Polo Eco-Motion with the wheels tucked inside. Jada jada jada.

The mirror location on the non-auto lighting Yeti sucks. One of these days, I'll find a way to change it.

At 115 MPH, the wheelbase could have been longer - where would you put them? Around town and in curly terrain, they are perfect!

Where is the 560 liter boot from the Octy? - add 220 mm and it is no longer a YETI. (It would be much begger then anyway)

She has character, and it shows. Along with character goes some compromises. None of the compromises are serious.

The Czechs have been very clever. They picked the right size for the market and the right bits from the VAG supply and put them together in a quality fashion.

BMW X1 and X3, VW Tiguans, and all he "real" 4X4's shown respect on the Autobahn and get out of the way or keep in the slow lane.

Do we know if they drip water when you open the door? Or get bugs on the windshield?

Edited 17 May, 201016 yr by Agerbundsen

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my Yeti and enjoy every minute of driving it. However, just a little niggle...Has anyone else noticed that the windscreen wipers are rubbish and just don't remove any stains/marks/bird poo etc?

Sorry, don't agree. They are at least as good as any I've experienced before.

No problem with the wipers with me so far. the windscreen does act as a wall to bugs and maybe if regular hatchbacks had a similarly angled windscreen the problem would be the same. I do use Turtle Wax Clear View rain repellant which might help. It is supposed to prevent grime and suicidal bugs sticking to the screen which is probably why I haven't had an issue with my wipers.

Early days yet for me but I've had no problems with the wipers.

Past experience suggests that the type of screen wash can be a factor. I always use Autoglym screenwash. Not the cheapest but I've found it the best.

John

The real issue is that suicidal flies are getting very fussy these days, not just any car will do, these flies have taste and are sitting on branches just wishing and hoping that a yeti goes past so they can take the "final flight" and go in style!

For the record my golf is crap at clearing dead insects too, I've yet to find a car with wipers that properly clean a screen.

I think Agerbundsen has a point. Wipers have improved immeasurably since the days when a rainstorm would leave most drivers parked on the side of the road as they could not see 3 mtrs in front of them. The Yeti's system may not be the best but it does work OK. Autobulbs Direct do wipers for all the other Skoda models so I expect they will get round to the Yeti in time.

Are there no Skoda/VW experts out there who will tell us that the wipers are really from a Golf/Octavia/Tiguan etc.

Look on the bright side the more splatted thingies on the wind screen, means we've got some good weather, wiping the screen with a wet sponge to remove the dead bodies is not to much of hardship, rather been born aYeti driver than a splattered insect

Edited 18 May, 201016 yr by mellyboy

My A2 was one of the first ones and had a normal "old fashioned" wiper blade and arm. The A2 has only one huge wiper by the way. The old one was so well planted on the windscreen that it rocked the very light A2 from side to side. It was also quite a beast of a wiper in depth and very visible from the driver's seat. Thus in 2002 Audi changed the design to a new type "floppy" aero wiper. Yes it looks much smaller and nicer from inside the car - being near invisible below the bottom of the window line, BUT it does not nearly press down on the screen as well as the old type leaving streaks in front of the passenger all the time - and that whilst always using screen wash.

So my point? The Yeti has floppy wipers I presume? They look great but as a design evolution are not really a great step forward in terms of wiper design. Only problem is to change to the old fashioned type you have to change the entire arm mechanism which of course you can't do on the Yeti as no such thing exists as it does for the A2. So maybe that is why some people might think the wipers are no good?

Look on the bright side the more splatted thingies on the wind screen, means we've got some good weather, wiping the screen with a wet sponge to remove the dead bodies is not to much of hardship, rather been born aYeti driver than a splattered insect

Mellyboy has identified the root of the problem. We have had such a late and cold spring this year - as late and as cold as I can recall - and then suddenly we had a marginally warmer and more humid few days - and the bugs just exploded. Frome there being very few around, they suddenly in an instant all hatched and blighted our windscreens.

I had a yellow screen the other day from their kamikaze activities. Not only that, the sound of them hitting the screen nearly drowned out the radio. It sounded like hail.

So, my conclusion is that, because of the weather, there has been a veritable explosion of bugs that have spattered our screens - and any wiper would struggle there. I had intended to post a crit of the YETI in the wet, seeing as we've had some crap weather recently (the first since I got the car a month ago), and the only slight negative was the spatter of drops on opening the door - all other aspects I felt were admirable.

The real issue is that suicidal flies are getting very fussy these days, not just any car will do, these flies have taste and are sitting on branches just wishing and hoping that a yeti goes past so they can take the "final flight" and go in style!

Well said Yetihunter! :yes:

What's the last thing to pass through a bug's mind when it hits the windscreen?

Answers on a postcard please.

What's the last thing to pass through a bug's mind when it hits the windscreen?

Answers on a postcard please.

LOL I'm not going to say it!

John

Somebody, I think it wa ADAC, recently tested WW wipers.

The result was unequivocal: Bosch Aero wipers beat the living bejeezus out of everyting else.

Bug removal was not a criterion.

Yeti uses Bosch Aero wipers. They work at 180 km/hr - no lift and clean sweep. (Too chicken to push any further, but be my guest!)

'nuff saíd.