Wiper arms scratching windscreen :(

[DavidY]

My windscreen wipers have been leaving a mark on the windscreen for some time, but when I got round to looking at it earlier, it seems that the clips which hold the wiper blade are scratching the glass!

 

When the driver's side wiper nears the end of its travel, the angle of the arm means the clips are too near the windscreen.  The clips are metal which I guess means the scratches aren't coming off easily either. :(

 

I can't see anything obviously bent out of shape, so I'm guessing that when the wiper blade gets a bit older, it scratches but with a new wiper blade it just keeps clear - that's what I hope anyway as I'll be at Halfords in the morning seeing if they have any blades in stock.

Anyone else have this? Is there a cure? And is there a way I can remove the windscreen scratches?

[MoggyTech]

Change the wiper blades before they are so worn. Light windscreen scratches can be polished out with high cut detailing compounds and a rotary polisher. Takes ages though, and you can't remove deep scratches or you get 'lens distortion effect.' 

[glosrich]

Guess it's when the blades are old they sag and let the frame touch the screen.

Another reason to change blades before they get too old.

[DavidY]

I've only had the car 8 months or so, and as I got it second hand I didn't know what age they were- they still wipe the rain off OK.  And the car has still only done 30,000 miles which isn't that much of a total for wipers compared to past cars I've had, even if they're the ones which came from new.

 

So I'm not sure they're very old as wipers go.

 

Could it be something else? I've never had a car before where the metal parts of the wipers are even remotely near to the glass, regardless of the condition of the wipers. The clips are different to previous cars in that they seem to go around the side of the arm/blade and then as they wipe, the angle turns the clips towards the glass, which seems a poor design to me. Does everyone else's Octy Mk3 have these clips?

[Skaut]

Think they would have to be very worn before any metal parts touch the screen.  Are you sure they are the correct blades & nothing is bent?

Photograph of the clips might help.

[gregoir]

Oh yess. I remember it well. But not since the 1960s.

[DavidY]

2 hours ago, Skaut said:

Think they would have to be very worn before any metal parts touch the screen.  Are you sure they are the correct blades & nothing is bent?

Photograph of the clips might help.

Right I've been to my local Halfords and got some Bosch blades. It looks like that will stop it scratching in the short term, but probably could happen again I reckon.
I was wrong to say it was a metal part which is scratching - it's hard plastic at the edge of the clip (although I'm not sure whether that means the glass scratches are going to be any easier to shift).
As to whether the arms are bent - I'm pretty sure it's never changed since I've owned the car, as it seems like it would need substantial force to bend the wiper arms, but I don't know what happened before I had it.
I'm not about to go and apply brute force to it, but without knowing how it should look, it does seem to me that if it was bent back a bit, it would work better.  On closer inspection today I see the very top of the blade is rubbing the paintwork too at the end of its travel which can't be good.

 

I've attached a picture of the old blade when it's in the maintenance position (not sure what it's called?) and although you may not be able to see it, it is scratching at this point.
Picture of old blade off the car too - the serial number made me think it might be the original blade.

 

[Skaut]

Look different to the fittings on the replacement Bosch aerotwins on mine (sorry for the reflections). Even if I apply pressure to the arms the bracket doesn't touch the screen. 

Have found Halfords part listings are not always accurate, bought a set that were listed for mine but the blade hit the A pillar on each wipe. After refund I purchased these from a different supplier.

 

[Croat]

I think your blade is up side down!

[glosrich]

21 hours ago, DavidY said:

Right I've been to my local Halfords and got some Bosch blades. It looks like that will stop it scratching in the short term, but probably could happen again I reckon.
I was wrong to say it was a metal part which is scratching - it's hard plastic at the edge of the clip (although I'm not sure whether that means the glass scratches are going to be any easier to shift).
As to whether the arms are bent - I'm pretty sure it's never changed since I've owned the car, as it seems like it would need substantial force to bend the wiper arms, but I don't know what happened before I had it.
I'm not about to go and apply brute force to it, but without knowing how it should look, it does seem to me that if it was bent back a bit, it would work better.  On closer inspection today I see the very top of the blade is rubbing the paintwork too at the end of its travel which can't be good.

 

I've attached a picture of the old blade when it's in the maintenance position (not sure what it's called?) and although you may not be able to see it, it is scratching at this point.
Picture of old blade off the car too - the serial number made me think it might be the original blade.

 

 

David, maybe your car has had a new windscreen at some point and the wiper arm hasnt been bolted back on properly?

 

I would lift the bonnet, gently prise off the plastic cap and check the bolt is tight. The wiper arms should not touch the bonnet, which makes me think its a loose bolt.

[DavidY]

20 hours ago, Skaut said:

Look different to the fittings on the replacement Bosch aerotwins on mine (sorry for the reflections). Even if I apply pressure to the arms the bracket doesn't touch the screen. 

Have found Halfords part listings are not always accurate, bought a set that were listed for mine but the blade hit the A pillar on each wipe. After refund I purchased these from a different supplier.

 

 

 

Thanks for that - it's very useful.

When I compare with my photo I can see that blade in yours is more-or-less parallel with the windscreen pillar, but mine is at an angle where the top of the blade hits the paintwork.

 

I'm assuming we've both put the wipers in the maintenance position by holding down the wiper stalk after switching off ignition (?) so they should be the same. Also mine has more of a twist in the blade

 

1 hour ago, glosrich said:

 

David, maybe your car has had a new windscreen at some point and the wiper arm hasnt been bolted back on properly?

 

I would lift the bonnet, gently prise off the plastic cap and check the bolt is tight. The wiper arms should not touch the bonnet, which makes me think its a loose bolt.

 

I don't think it's touching the bonnet at all in my case.

After looking at skaut's photo I'm more tending to believe my wiper arm has got bent at some point, and that's the cause.

[gregoir]

My original blades  look just like that. The plastic bracket is close ~6mm to the glass. A bit concerning.

[KenONeill]

Not directly related to any of this, but I can bend a wiper arm using both hands to bend it where my thumbs touch it. Sorry, but I can't supply a photo.

[Skaut]

1 hour ago, DavidY said:

When I compare with my photo I can see that blade in yours is more-or-less parallel with the windscreen pillar, but mine is at an angle where the top of the blade hits the paintwork.

 

I'm assuming we've both put the wipers in the maintenance position by holding down the wiper stalk after switching off ignition (?) so they should be the same. Also mine has more of a twist in the blade

 

Not quite parallel, closer at the top than the bottom & different camera angles may be deceiving but agree your blades appear closer to the pillar.  As Glosrich suggested probably worth checking the arms are secure & haven't rotated on the spindle.  Possibly not tightened after removal but can also occur if wiper motor is operated when blades are frozen to the screen.

[speednut]

My drivers wiper arm have just done the same thing took it into Bickerton in Sheffield to be told not under warrenty,the arm is bent and will cost £93 fitted, ****ed off to say the least .

Car is a 66 plate reg last September only done 3500 miles in it and they are trying to say outside influences have caused the problem

[speednut]

Forgot to add the car is a Skoda Fleet I have it on a PCH deal for 2 years

 

[glosrich]

At that age and miles I'd have a word with Skoda customer services, they should pay for that or at least contribute.

Might also want to check the bolt is tight, might be as simple as that.

[DavidY]

I won't get a chance to check the bolt in daylight until the weekend.
But it *feels* secure and while I can see how a loose bolt might cause the arm to hit the windscreen pillar at the end of the travel, I don't see how it could cause the twist in the blade. If the blade angle was loose, I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed when changing the blade last weekend.

So I still think it's a bent arm which has happened somehow. I'm sorry for others with the same problem (although it is a bit of confirmation that I'm not the only one).

It's not a like-for-like comparison as the photos are from different angles, and my red lines are a bit approximate, but look at my attempt to show the blade angle on mine (first photo) compare to skaut's helpful photo.  Look at the bottom of the windscreen for comparison of the blade angles vs the windscreen edge.
 

[glosrich]

Looks like your wiper arm isnt sat on the motor spindle straight/squarely, or maybe the wiper motor and mechanism is loose or has moved, but that's not likely. 

 

If you push the bottom of the arm at the hinge point towards the screen with the palm of you hand, and it moves a lot, you'll see if its loose on the motor spindle.

[DavidY]

7 hours ago, glosrich said:

Looks like your wiper arm isnt sat on the motor spindle straight/squarely, or maybe the wiper motor and mechanism is loose or has moved, but that's not likely. 

 

If you push the bottom of the arm at the hinge point towards the screen with the palm of you hand, and it moves a lot, you'll see if its loose on the motor spindle.

Thanks for that.
I've been outside and tried to waggle it, but it seems pretty solid as far as I can tell in the dark.

I tried it in the Service position too, but it still seemed solid.
I should get the chance for a proper look in the daylight over the weekend.
But I'm still tending to suspect the arm is bent and that's the cause of the odd angles.

[DavidY]

Wiper arm has been replaced and it clearly was the reason for scratching (although I don't know how it got bent).
When in the service position, it is a lot more parallel to the windscreen pillar (like Skaut's photo), and doesn't hit the painted area any more. 
Plus it looks a lot less likely to scratch the windscreen any more, although the scratches themselves still remain.