Need to park in filthy, dusty lot at work. (Dust from a stone quarry I think). On my cars, I replace wipers & blades more often than average driver. Replaced wipers & blades on Prius before second oil change. Go to neighborhood parts store. They install. Not sure of brand, I think Trico. Used them on three cars now. Now my point: I now notice a small crescent shaped area on windshield on passenger side where neither top of drivers side wiper nor bottom of passenger side wiper clears the glass. Was this always there and I just didn't notice? Is replacement drivers wiper to small? Does owners manual give info on length of blades? Does anyone here feel like walking to your Prius with tape measure? Thanks.
you didn't notice. It's less noticeable than on some cars where that crescent is really far up the windshield. It's just the design of the wipers and windshield and the crescent is barely noticeable unless you actually look for it
You didn’t mention what year of Prius you got but judging from your # of posts here, I assume that you got the new ’05 model, am I right? For ’04-05 Prius, stock driver’s side wiper blade measures a lil’ over 26â€. There is enough room for 28†wiper blades. Stock passenger’s side wiper blade measures a lil’ under 18â€. There is NO additional room for anything larger than 18â€. When your existing Trico replacement blades turn bad, you should really look into using PIAA Super Silicone refill blades (you don’t need the complete replacement arm, just the refill blades should work). PIAA Super Silicone constantly coats your windshield w/ silicone and that prolongs their lifespan big time. They last many times over stock wiper blades. The pair on my SUV lasts me over 2 years and they are still very usable. I too live in the NE with lots of rain & snow. PIAA also has this Super Sporza wiper arms with integrated spoiler. The spoiler presses the wiper onto your windshield harder when the car is in motion & that further enhances wiping. Wipers that last this long is good for the environment, too.
Thank you both. Yes it is '05. Had PIAA lights in past; Know they make good stuff. What I wonder is, do silicon blades cause a "Rain - X" like effect? I did not care for "Rain - X". Instead of watching road, I tended to watch beads of water travel up windshield.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(devo1182\";p=\"86760)</div> I think PIAA makes much better wipers than halogen bulbs (and I sell PIAA bulbs). :wink: Yes, your windshield will have this RainX effect as water now beads on the surface. But it doesn't stay on as winds move them away quick, leaving you a clear vision. I can imagine why RainX is a pain as it doesn't last long at all, but what else don't you like about the RainX effect if you don't need to manually apply it?
It left a film on windshield that caused wipers to streak. Woman at parts store took residue of this film off wipers with her finger nail. This was after I had them replaced. Shameless plug: If anyone here live's in Pgh. east suburbs I am talking about Luzader's.
I hear ya. But the PIAA Super Silicone wipers leave absolutely no residue on the windshield, on the blades, or any where. Yet its water repelling effect is consistent & very long-lasting.
RainX leaves no film if you apply it according to the directions. But I do wish it had a longer lasting effect.
Yes RainX works great initially (like in the first day or 2) but its effect diminishes too quick. Glaco, a similar product from Japan, lasts much longer. I am now testing RainX windshield fluid...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jeepien\";p=\"87394)</div> I beg to differ, after 8-10 years the buildup on the windshield was noticeable and I could feel very fine ridges where the wipers scraped into the film. The fogging this created was a pain in any weather. A razor blade glass scraper only removed some of the residue.
For ’04-05 Prius, stock driver’s side wiper blade measures a lil’ over 26â€. There is enough room for 28†wiper blades. Stock passenger’s side wiper blade measures a lil’ under 18â€. There is NO additional room for anything larger than 18â€. I have my new wipers from Walmart. I cannot find any directions to remove and install new arms. Anyone with directions are welcomed to relay to me. HELP>
You probably just mean the blade, right, and not the whole arm? I found the post I am quoting below to be helpful. The blade comes off quite easily, if you remember to push the release tab. (I didn't know to push the tab until I saw the post below, and thus had a hard time.)
Arm = thing attached to the car, never needs replacement. Buy from dealer. Blade = ~$15 easy-to-replace thing attached to the arm. Buy from Walmart, etc. Insert = floppy ~$5 awkward-to-replace rubber bit that fits into the blade and actually touches the glass. Buy from dealer.
It may depend on the brand. I successfully installed a Bosch Icon 19in on the passenger side (419A). I would recommend this upsize in addition to going to 28 on the driver's side, else the Icons will clear noticeably less than the stock blades.
