Coming up on the first time needing new wiper blades and wondering what the consensus is - should I go with wiper blade refills or replace the entire wiper blade? I noticed the original PiP wiper blades have aerodynamic coverings built into the unit, but most of the off-the-shelf replacement blade units are pretty clunky looking and not aerodynamic. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
I would go with refills, if easily available. My PiP also has those aerodynamic ones, and refills are generally cheaper than all new blade assemblies. Unfortunately, my local Toyota dealer has stopped carrying the refills for some strange reason. Also, one set of nicer 3rd party ones I installed for my Gen II Prius actually blocked the windshield fluid spray partially. Very irritating.
Get the refills. I would buy them and have them installed at a Toyota dealer. You may luck out and they may not charge you for installation. They did not charge me anything to put mine on.
Maybe it's because ours is low mileage and garaged, but with manufacture date August 2009, and purchase (new) November 2010, were still using the original blades, and they seem fine. Sometimes it's windshield that develops a film, causes the blades to jitter and/or streak.
The dealer likes to tell you best to change them every 6 months. My car is garaged also and one year old. The wipers wipe well with no streaks. I'm going to just keep using them. I think they will last a long time.
I changed all 3 at 4.5 Years 60000 miles with original Toyota inserts bought on eBay from Toyota parts dealer For 22 dollars.
