Wiper blades

[JoePeddos]

Recently changed my wiper blades from my local parts shop seemed to work fine till I started getting a smear line where the blade clips onto the wiper arm. It was right in my line of vision and really bad at night with rain and headlight glare.  Cleaned the screen and blade several times no improvement so bit the bullet today and went to the main dealers. 

The blades are sold in pairs for the windscreen and I also replaced the rear wiper as well total cost £40

The new onese came with the fixing block built in on the others a separate block was clipped onto the blade then pushed into the arm.

The new blades work perfectly no smear and a clear screen which will cut down on night time glare. 

The originals have lasted 2.5 years Joe

 

[Kobayashi]

mmm... i seem have to have this problem

[KenONeill]

Well, I always buy Bosch blades, replace when they start smearing or separating, and expect to get at least 2 years from each blade; longer from the rear mostly because I use it less.

[rum4mo]

I agree with buying Bosch blades, but my advice would be to buy a set made specifically for that car or a few cars that use that type/size of blades.  When I went to replace all the blades on my daughter's late 2009 Ibiza, maybe different from this Fabia, I found that Halfords and ECP both only sold "suitable" multi application or Universal front blades for that car, windscreenwipers direct sold a model Specific set of front wiper blades, so I bought them from windscreenwipers direct and a model Specific rear blade from ECP.

 

The clue is in the part coding with Bosch, "U" means a universal that will roughly fit a few cars if you use the correct adaptor(s), "S" means model(s) specific and will not need any adaptors in fit correctly.

 

No one brave/stupid enough to invest in one of these wiper blade trimming tools?   Probably not!

[peter3197]

Bosch A556S fit both Fabia 3 and Citigo

[KenONeill]

@rum4mo - Since you ask, I find that wiper blade failures normally occur either from the pivots on the spring seizing or from the squeegee blade tearing away from the backing. A "wiper blade trimmer" won't cure either of those.

[rum4mo]

Yes, typically it is the blade starting to tear away from the main part of the rubber blade, but the last time I changed the wipers on my daughter's Ibiza it was due to them "not doing the job very well" - so instead of looking deeper into that, and she had attempted to clean the blades and screen well, I went ordered up a new set as that set were 4 years old and the car was parked outside for all that time, there was no issue with tearing and the pivots on the springs were okay, so maybe that set, while overdue replacement age wise, might have worked better if that cutter had been used on them.

 

Somebody somewhere must be buying that "amazing" tool, but there again how many people would give a chocolate teapot a chance to redeem itself, so far, not me, might eat it though.

[AGFalco]

IF you want to make your wiper blades last longer / work better then try this.

Every time you first use the wiper blades squirt the washers generously before.

 

This helps to shift the grit/dust/dirt in first sweep.

I also put some water based lubricant in the washer bottle.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[Pullock]

I've noticed alot of smearing recently with the wipers which is surprising since they are only 7/8 months old, can only seem to put it down to the snow/ice. I've tried removing them and giving them a good clean with cif but to no avail, hopefully the weather will pick up soon so I can get them replaced.

[KenONeill]

16 hours ago, Pullock said:

I've noticed alot of smearing recently with the wipers which is surprising since they are only 7/8 months old, can only seem to put it down to the snow/ice. I've tried removing them and giving them a good clean with cif but to no avail, hopefully the weather will pick up soon so I can get them replaced.

There's your problem; use a proper windscreen cleaner and not a domestic glass product.

[Pullock]

7 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

There's your problem; use a proper windscreen cleaner and not a domestic glass product.

I tried the cif because I've used 3 different windscreen and glass cleaners which had no effect, the cif actually helped for a couple of days.

[Auric Goldfinger]

Just replaced the wipers on Mrs G's Fabia and on my 230. what a different it's made.  Fitted OEM from the dealers

[CapstanPlug]

Certainly with the Bosch comments above. Used them almost exclusively on previous cars. But - I bought Skoda replacements for the Fabia a year ago - from Superskoda. 

Going just fine on the front - but the rear hatch wiper starts the juddering after about 6 months in. The new, original ones did the same. Which is why I replaced them - not worn appreciably. Just the durn judder. So I just "weathered" the noise and limited my use of rear wiper. Always use the washer to trigger the rear wiper. Always judders. 

Historically - just a quick bendy of the arm was enough to stop this - but the plastic arms don't seem amenable to coaxing !

 

Back seat passengers always jump when the rear wiper comes on!

 

So - just splashed out on a some new ones - Bosch of course this time - from Wiperblades.co.uk (excellent experience dealing with them - the very helpful Oliver sorted out a mush that I made with the order - got the Hatch ones by mistake and re-ordered the Combi ones - anyway, Oliver sorted it ! All good.)  

 

So - the timer is running on this Bosch blade. MTBJ - Mean Time Before Judder.  But expect them to stay flexible/pliable for longer. We'll see.

 

The old ("Skoda") blade has a "set" on the rubber which points into the direction of travel from park position. (Pic 1)

Maybe it's the cold weather, that the rubber is not as flexible, and holds that "set". But both Skoda sets have been like this at any time of the year.

Also, there's a lot of wear at the point where the blade connects onto the arm, (Pic 2) which is understandable - but it means that the blade really digs into the screen on the up-sweep (Pic 3 shows the opposite side ).

 

 

     

Edited 16 February, 2018 by Dithane

[louigicornetto]

What Bosch part is the rear wiper for the combi/estate?

[peter3197]

1 hour ago, louigicornetto said:

What Bosch part is the rear wiper for the combi/estate?

A331H

[CapstanPlug]

4 hours ago, louigicornetto said:

What Bosch part is the rear wiper for the combi/estate?

 

3 hours ago, peter3197 said:

A331H

 

 

Actually, I got Bosch A403H - which even lists the NJ5 Fabia on the back of the box (NJ5 is code for Combi/Estate version) .

So - 16" - 400mm. An inch longer than the "genuine" Skoda ones, which were 15".

No problem with clearance.

 

Also - the set for the front were the Bosch A556S. Same dimensions (600/400) as the "Skoda" ones.  

 

The Bosch ones just *look* quality in comparison. So - looking forward to see how long this rear one lasts. Ordered 2 of them - to be sure, to be sure !

Wonder who makes the "genuine"  "Skoda" ones ?

Edited 16 February, 2018 by Dithane

[AGFalco]

The Aero type wiper blades always seem to wear the middle first.

A design feature, like the noisy rear wiper blade fitted to my Fabia.

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

PS Is that a stack of gold bars behind the wiper blade in picture 3 ?

[peter3197]

13 minutes ago, Dithane said:

 

 

 

Actually, I got Bosch A403H - which even lists the NJ5 Fabia on the back of the box (NJ5 is code for Combi/Estate version) .

So - 16" - 400mm. An inch longer than the "genuine" Skoda ones, which were 15".

No problem with clearance.

 

Also - the set for the front were the Bosch A556S. Same dimensions (600/400) as the "Skoda" ones.  

 

The Bosch ones just *look* quality in comparison. So - looking forward to see how long this rear one lasts. Ordered 2 of them - to be sure, to be sure !

Wonder who makes the "genuine"  "Skoda" ones ?

My original Skoda rear wiper on my combi is a 13" which is why I said the A331H. 

[CapstanPlug]

Just now, peter3197 said:

My original Skoda rear wiper on my combi is a 13" which is why I said the A331H. 

 

Looks like they fitted a variety of sizes then ! Probably depended on how near Vaclav was to the right parts bin !!   13" does seem really small.

 

The back window on the combi can get wickedly dirty - so it's good to have the extra viewing space with the 16!! 

[CapstanPlug]

On 16/02/2018 at 22:25, AGFalco said:

The Aero type wiper blades always seem to wear the middle first.

A design feature, like the noisy rear wiper blade fitted to my Fabia.

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

PS Is that a stack of gold bars behind the wiper blade in picture 3 ?

 

Yep AG,  I keep the bullion out the back.   Well spotted.

 

Actually - that's the remnants of my garden wall - the high winds blew the wall down a few weeks ago. Lousy build quality - and next door neighbour had bolted big timber panelling onto their side - downwind !  So - I was gathering the remnants together before getting to re-build. Damn thing took out  400 litres of rainwater tanks as well. The tsunami cleaned up my patio. Grrr.  

 

(looks like I missed your post - just saw it now when the "Digest" email arrived ! )

Edited 18 February, 2018 by Dithane

[Pullock]

I purchased the A556S and A331H for my hatch and they are frankly brilliant, perfect fit and so much better than the standard Skoda ones, hopefully they'll last longer too.

[AGFalco]

On 2/16/2018 at 01:19, Dithane said:

Back seat passengers always jump when the rear wiper comes on!

 

On 2/16/2018 at 22:25, AGFalco said:

A design feature, like the noisy rear wiper blade fitted to my Fabia.

 

 

I have managed to stop the noise from my rear wiper.

I took the blade off the arm, unclipped one end, then removed the blade and refitted it the other way round.

 

It has been quiet for the last three weeks so far.

A generous amount of soapy screen wash the first time you use it helps as well.

 

Thanks AG Falco