wiper blade refills

I bent over and got the 20" full replacement blade from one of the advertisers on Prius Chat. It was like 60 bucks, but I hated the stock rear blade and didin't want to go to Toyota each time I needed a new rear blade, so now I can use any standard blade. (the problem is that the mounting mechanism Toyota used on the stock arm does not fit any wiper blade industry standard)

For the fronts I got a pair of the new Bosch constant pressure design. I think a couple of company's have them now.

http://www.boschautoparts.com/Products/WiperBlades/Icon.htm

These are really the greatest advancement in wiper technology, ever.

 

I just stop in a a local Toyota place. I think it runs about $13 ($5.80, $3.92 and $3.40 for driver's, passenger's and rear inserts, respectively) to get replacement inserts for all three blades. Perfect fit, and they work.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

Yes, they absolutely do double as winter blades.

 

I absolutely love PIAA Super Silicone blades. Been using them for almost 2 years. Worked as advertised, http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/piaa/w...adesprocess.jsp

Of course, you can find other websites that sell cheaper than tire rack. I believe I got the wiper blade inserts for around $8-$9 each.

 

Another positive experience with PIAA Super Silicone blades. Very quiet and it does not leave streaks. It lasted longer than Toyota OEM rubber blades.

 

I just bought Rain-x blades at Pepboys as a complete snap-in replacement. Going by the Pepboys book, the recommended driver's side is 1-2" shorter than the original, and leaves about a 1" un-cleaned area over on the passenger side. Does anybody else have this problem with replacements? In sunny California, you hardly ever need them, but it did rain this weekend, and the unwiped area is kinda annoying.

 

I like the Trico Triple edge silicone wiper blades from Walmart. They are about $7-8. They have a lifetime warranty. When they wore out I just called them up and they sent me a full new set for free. I am not sure if they will send me replacement sets for life, but it was nice getting one set free. They have pure silicon blades and the work really well.

 

The thing I like abou the Bosch Icon blades is that there is NO bridge. It is a constant pressure spring along the blade. It really does produce a remarkable difference in how well the blade clean the window. PLus looks cooler.

 

I've replaced just the rubber blades several times on my Prius and Tacoma (very similar), and it's not very hard. I buy the refills Toyota. You don't have to remove the wipers from the arms but it makes it a bit easier to work on. One end of the rubber blade is wider and is held there by the assembly. I make note of which side the wide part of the blade is held on. I don't think it matters but in case there is a reason I don't see I keep it the same. There are two stainless steel inserts in the rubber blade. Grab each one and pull it out. Then remove the rubber blade. Put the stainless steel inserts into the new blade, the notches in the stainless go on the narrow end of rubber blade facing out. Also the stainless is bowed out in the middle away from the glass. Next just thread the blade back on and pull it until the metal hooks into the rubber blade indents. It's pretty easy once you do one and it took me way more time to type this than it would of to replace all three blades.

 

I haven't tried those but guessing by the ads they are only +50, the Philips Xtreme Power halogen bulbs just blow away all other light bulbs I have ever seen. They are not quite as bright as the HIDs on my Prius (no halogens are), but they were worth every penny.

The Philips are advertised as +80 which are the highest rating I have ever seen. There are also the Osram NightBreakers which are claimed to be +90 but several car club reviews on the Internet argue that they are not as good as advertised so I happily went with the Philips and have not regretted it.

 

No, it's not. I do it all the time. It uses a heck of a lot less resources than replacing the whole blade.

Only for the aftermarket. If you go with an aftermarket blade assembly, you are locked into replacing the whole assembly every time you need a bit of rubber, for the rest of the life of the car.

Takes a little more time to do it right, but it's worth it.

 

Sorry for a "me too" post, but me too. I'm now a fan of those blades. I got them from tirerack.com.

 

We couldn't get blade refills at Advance Autoparts for our 2005 Prius, so we bought the refills at a local Toyota dealer. They were annoying to replace, having to remove the old inserts, saving the metal ribs and putting them in the new blade refills. I've never had to do that with other Toyotas (we have two Camrys) and I found it annoying. It rained today and all three blades appear to smear the windshields (front/back). Can't tell if I did it wrong or if the blade refills are bad. The owners manual was useless in terms of replacing the rear wiper refill, so check out http://john1701a.com/ for help with that. Good luck - Jefe.

 

I don't think Osram NightBreaker is US DOT Approved but Philips X-Treme Power bulb is. For that reason, you will probably not see the NightBreaker at your local stores.

 

I have had the Bosch Icon on my Insight since March and they work great and look good. Got a HCHII in May and it had the same type on it. I think it's a different brand though.

Put a set of the Icons on the Prius 6 weeks before we traded it in.

The new 08 Touring had the old style blades on it. I thought it would have the updated style.