Toyota SightLine Hybrid Wiper Blades

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by The Critic, Feb 9, 2018.

  1. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Toyota has been encouraging their dealerships to sell the SightLine Wiper Blades for service replacement instead of the replacement inserts. Lexus is marketing these same blades as "Lexus Advanced Technology Wiper Blades." There is also rumor that the wiper inserts are being discontinued in favor of the SightLine Wiper Blades, but this has not been confirmed.

    For my own curiosity I purchased a pair of the SlightLine Wiper Blades to try out. They retail for $19.99/ea, but you can purchase pairs on eBay for under $30 shipped. See the attached pictures.

    From an initial test, these wiper blades look good and wipe very well. They are a little bit noisier than the factory inserts so it will be interesting to see if these SightLine wipers continue to perform acceptably in colder weather once the rubber ages. The fit/finish of these wipers is pretty good, but the locking tab is a bit on the flimsy side. Overall, I definitely think these wipers are a better value than buying Bosch or Rain-X wipers at their normal retail prices.
     

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    #1 The Critic, Feb 9, 2018
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    mine are 6 year old originals. snow, ice, dirt, water, i can't believe how well toyota rubber holds up.
     
    #2 bisco, Feb 9, 2018
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  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    When your parked and have the wipers at the highest speed, does your prius rock left to right also?
     
    #3 Grit, Feb 9, 2018
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  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    These look like they're still conventional jointed blades, right?

    I've become kind of partial to the one-piece beam style (like the Bosh evolutions or icons), as they don't have the joints to get iced up in winter weather and keep the blades from conforming to the windshield.

    (Back in the day, before the beam styles, there were "winter blades", a conventional jointed blade all covered up in a fugly rubber boot to keep the ice away from the joints ... but just having no joints seems like a more elegant solution to the same problem.)

    -Chap
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Feb 10, 2018
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  5. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I buy replacements at Sam's Club or Costco, I believe they are made by Goodyear.
     
    #5 padroo, Feb 10, 2018
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  6. WolfpackBill

    WolfpackBill Senior Member

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    Love to see its' durability. I've always been a fan of replacing the blade inserts. $20 on eBay for OEM inserts and they usually take me about 10 minutes to replace all 3 blades.
     
    #6 WolfpackBill, Feb 10, 2018
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i put a bosh on the drivers side of my dakota, great refill, works perfectly.
     
    #7 bisco, Feb 10, 2018
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  8. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    My 2006 Dakota still has the original wiper blades on it come to think of it. I don't ever remember using them.
     
    #8 padroo, Feb 10, 2018
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  9. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    The Bosch one-piece blades have not worked well for me in other applications. Can't say that I have tried on the Prius. IME the one-piece wipers do not have enough pressure points to maintain good wiping performance on curved windshields.

    I have never tested this....but I suppose I can check.
     
    #9 The Critic, Feb 13, 2018
  10. prmp945

    prmp945 Member

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    @The Critic : do the Sightline wiper blades have inserts available, or do you need to replace the entire wiper blade every time? If inserts are available, do you have PNs?

    When I purchased my car the OEM wiper blades had been replaced with cheap aftermarket ones, so I went to my dealer for the OEM blades back in 2016. I did this so I could use the OEM rubber inserts. In hindsight, I believe my dealer provided me with the Sightline blades. I assumed they were the original equipment because they had the Toyota logo on them and fit perfect.

    Now 2 years later, I need new inserts. I purchased new OEM inserts from Amazon and although they are the same length and profile, they are too wide to fit in the blade assembly. The Amazon reviews lead me to believe others are having the same problem. Here's a photo of what I mean - the bottom shows the thinner inserts found in my wipers (which I believe are Sightline), and the top shows what is apparently the OEM insert (which I believe may be for the original wiper assemblies, not the newer Sightlines).

    61OKTs5YhtL.jpg

    Any insight? Thanks!
     
    #10 prmp945, Jul 21, 2018
  11. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    That's been my experience with my Honda Fit. The one piece blades just don't have the same number of pressure points, so during the wipe cycle they catch and drag very easily. The one piece blade is just too flimsy.

    I spent quite a bit for one piece Bosch, and am thinking this winter of switching back to the less popular older style blades with "metal" and more built in pressure points on the glass.
     
    #11 The Electric Me, Jul 21, 2018
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