Superb L&K - May, 2026

After driving in the rain and using the wipers for a while, I’ve noticed two strange things:

1. Once the rain stops and the wipers stop running, a hazy/milky-looking area appears along the lower part of the windshield (on the outside). It looks almost like fog, but it’s definitely on the exterior. If I run the wipers again, it disappears, but after they stop, it gradually comes back, then fades away on its own after a few minutes.

2. While the wipers are operating, they sometimes leave very thin water films in certain areas rather than completely clearing the glass. It’s not heavy streaking—just fine patches of water that remain briefly.

The car is almost brand new (1.5 months old), with the original OEM windshield and wiper blades. I haven’t applied any glass coatings such as Rain-X or Gyeon. Has anyone seen something similar? Was it caused by contamination on the windshield, residue from the new wiper blades, or did it require replacing the blades?

One more thing I’ve noticed: overall, I’m not particularly impressed with the OEM wiper blades. Compared to previous cars I’ve owned, this one doesn’t seem to wipe the glass as cleanly and occasionally leaves very fine water films behind. It makes me wonder whether this is just how the factory blades are, or if mine are an exception.

Has anyone else had the same impression? If you’ve replaced the factory blades, which aftermarket brand or model would you recommend for noticeable improvements in wiping performance and overall quality?

There is probaly some residue of something on the outside of your windscreen

The OEM windshield wipers however are made of cheese and terrible, only lasted 6 months. I replaced them with Bosch wipers and they are so much better

Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear that the Bosch wipers are better; they’re on my shopping list.

My OEM wipers were poor from day 1. The blades didn't seem to sit correctly in the frame despite best efforts. Eventually replaced them with Bosch wipers and they are perfect.

Bosch wipers are the way to go.

All VAG OEM wipers are terrible and have been for a number of years.

The Tiguan ones were just fine. I bought my Tiguan in 2019 and replaced the wipers four years later. All good.

Besides that, I already swapped the OEM wipers on the Skoda for Bosch ones. They seem much better, but I’ll wait for the rain to give a final opinion.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

My Superb is now 7 months old. Initially I had this issue. Washed the screen (outside) 6/7 times over 10 minutes, cleaned the blades with the same cleaner a few times - issue has never reoccured. Bosch Blades are better, I have a set waiting for the day there are needed

I’m taking delivery of my new superb estate SE L Iv next week. I may just go ahead and get some replacement Bosch wipers as a backup based on all the wiper complaints I’m reading.

Any recommendations as to where to order them from? I’m in London, UK.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Halfords.

I always get my Bosch Wiper Blades off Amazon, good price ( a lot cheaper than what Skoda quote about 50% cheaper) and quick delivery.

2 hours ago, NascarMike said:

I always get my Bosch Wiper Blades off Amazon, good price ( a lot cheaper than what Skoda quote about 50% cheaper) and quick delivery.

Thanks! I’ll probably give Amazon a go👍🏼

47 minutes ago, benmankowitz said:

Thanks! I’ll probably give Amazon a go👍🏼

I wouldn’t worry about where you get them from. If I can be bothered, I’ll get mine from ECP or online, but only because the specific low profile sedan rear wiper is hard to find. I’ve always used Bosch, but Valero are fine too (which are what OE ones are).

You might find that the smearing is due to contaminants on the glass. The easiest thing to do would be to use some glass cleaner (or IPA, anything like that) on the windscreen before using the wipers.

Perfectly clean glass doesn’t need anything on it for water to come off perfectly - and on a brand new windscreen, there shouldn’t be any streaking or issues @travs

Many thanks for your reply.

I have ordered a pair of the compatible Bosch ones from Amazon. I’ll keep them in reserve and see how the OEM ones perform to start with.

I don’t think my new model actually has a rear wiper at all, from what I can see of the spec, which is a shame, as it helps visibility in very wet motorway driving.

On the plus side, it does tend to give the dog a bit of a jump scare if travelling in the boot on the old one, as it makes a racket when it first wipes the rear screen🫣.

In Romania, for the Superb Sedan\Liftback, you can choose the rear wiper for an extra cost, so it's not included by default.