Hi guys

Hope you can help with my problem.

Basically my wiper blades on my Mk2 Octavia (2005) have been giving me problems for quite a while. I purchased the car just over a year ago and decided to fit Bosch blades. This resulted in the driver's side blade hitting off the pillar on full sweep so I got the wipers adjusted. However after snow slid on to my windscreen in December the blade began hitting the pillar again. So I took the car to my local Skoda dealer (Westendskoda Edinburgh), and asked them to adjust the wiper arms. However they stated they could not get them to sit properly which I thought was unusual. I asked if it could maybe be a wiper blade issue as the blades would be around a year old so they tried out their own Skoda wiper blades and this appeared to work.

 

However on New Year's day whilst driving in high wind and rain the driver's side wiper began to slow slightly and began to bend alarmingly before reaching a full sweep. A loud clunk of something like plastic hitting the glass could also be heard. This gave ma a fright so only used the wipers when I really needed to. 

 

Last night things really took a turn for the worse when my drivers side wiper went completely out of sync with the passenger wiper and they began to collide. I ended up with just the passenger blade working as I managed to manually push the drivers blade up to a vertical position and I had to get the AA out at this point. The AA guy suspected there was too much movement in the wiper arm on the driver's side as he said the arm was scuffing the underside of the bonnet. He could not easily access the panel underneath but he did tighten up the wiper arm screw which he said had become loose.

 

So guys based on this info what do you think could be the underlying issue? Is it the linkage that needs replaced? Or something else maybe? 

Thanks

Fred.

Sounds like the nuts have not been tightened properly and the wiper arms have been moving on the pins from the linkage. The wiper arms sit on the pins which are a 10 or 12 pointed star, and so maybe one or the other have rounded off creating the more serious issue you faced last night.

Thanks for your reply adamal. Do you think it could simply be a check or replacement of the pins that may be required?

It is just a guess but if I am right, probably the best result would be the arms rounding off rather than the pins as the pins are probably part of the wiper linkage.  It should be easy enough to check if you remove the caps (which just lever off) and nuts.  Be careful not to lose the cap in the engine bay (which I have done!!).

Thanks again adamal. I don't even have a spanner to check this lol. Would it be a 13mm spanner required? The plastic cover disintegrated apparently when I asked him to put the cover back on before he left. Could that imply there has been a lot of play between the wiper arm and the spindle?

I guess it could yes.  It is a 13mm as I recall.

Thanks adamal. I think I will purchase one of those today. Not too happy with my local Skoda dealer as they obviously never looked at the core problem as to why my blades were moving and I even purchased their own blades at £38. I will be having a word with them on Monday!

I had the same issue with an astra i stupidity put the wipers on with snow on the windscreen. My drivers side wiper was then hitting the drivers side pillar vauxhal wated £350 for a new one including fitting.I ended up getting one from e bay and got a mate to fit it. £60 pound for the part £30 for my mate hopefully yours is not the same problem. 

They probably just changed the blades and stopped at that.  By the way you can get them on eBay for half that (search Bosch A937S for front pair for a 24inch/19inch pair).

Hi firefox2

I sure hope it isn't as bad as your situation. The AA guy did say there is a lot of play in the area where the wiper spindle is located and that it should not be moving around like that. Until that covering is fully removed I will not know the route cause but i will be making sure this is sorted out once and for all.

If the splines on the shaft/wiper arm are rounded, try a bit of aluminium tape around the shaft and tighten securely before you start spending £'s.

They probably just changed the blades and stopped at that.  By the way you can get them on eBay for half that (search Bosch A937S for front pair for a 24inch/19inch pair).

Hi adamal

I did get them online last year but I put my trust in my local Skoda dealer to fix the problem so took the hit on buying their expensive wipers lol. This does however give me good ammunition when I speak to them on Monday. I will of course update this post with my findings to help any others who encounter this problem.

If the splines on the shaft/wiper arm are rounded, try a bit of aluminium tape around the shaft and tighten securely before you start spending £'s.

Hi MicMac

Thanks for the advice-duly noted. I do have a Scotsure warranty valid until March 2015 so hopefully that will cover the cost of any major repairs required if necessary.

Update

Took the car to Skoda who could not find any fault with the wipers. The only thing they could think that could possibly be causing a problem is the wiper arm connection is showing signs of wear as they stated it took a bit of effort to get the wiper arm tightened fully. They told me to bring it back if it happens again.

I knew a guy years ago that had a mk2 octavia when i got mine he had a similar issue not as bad as yours. But the drivers side would sometimes hit the pillar. I had a look at it and it was the splined pin that the wiper arm bolts onto that was rounded i put a few washers in and locktite on the threads and tightened the bolt down it worked for a few months during the summer so the wipers werent used that much. We ended up going to the scrappies and gettin a whole new linkage think it cost 10quid and that solved the issue.