My wipers are making the most appalling squeeking noise. It's not the blades - changed them, and the noise is present even if you fold back the wipers completely away from the screen.

Noise is so loud you have to SHOUT to make yourself heard.

Does this mean coughing up for new wiper motors, or can just the bearings be changed? Any idea how much this is going to cost?

Emptied a can of WD40 into every nook and cranny (on the car, not on me), to no avail.

Not impressed with Octavia reliability. In the 18 months I've had the car (1999 "T")

-clutch master cylinder failed

-brake vacuum assist pipe replaced

-relay 109 ECU power supply failed

-rear brakes squeeking

-now wiper motors....

more faults than I had in 13 years of my crappy old Volvo 440.

Open the bonnet, and remove the rubber strip that runs across the car near the bulkhead. Then remove the wiper arms, then the 2 pieces of plastic trim to reveal the wiper assembly. Grease liberally and reassemble, might ease the noise a bit or reveal something loose.

Ta. Will get out the lard and give it a go.

Awed - you will probably need to remove and dismantle the wiper mechanism. The sticky points are the spindles that drive the wipers. You can try spraying WD40 on them and hope it runs down, but in the end you need to take it apart and clean them, regrease and re-assemble. It's fairly simple - the whole thing is just held in with 3 Torx screws. Then there is a circlip on the top of each spindle, that's all.

Mine was so stiff it took ages to actually get it apart, I was amazed the motor could still turn it (just). Cleaned up beautifully though.

Edit: Don't try and completely remove the passenger side half of the plastic trim - according to reliable sources it's bonded to another assembly underneath and will break.

A tip from K's DIY Manual. Warm the plastic scuttle with a hairdryer to make the plastic more pliable before removing the 2 large pieces to gain access to the windscreen wiper linkages. If you don't the plastic may split or break.