Long lasting wiper blades

[human]

I have never in my life bought just one wiper blade; I've always bought them in pairs—until this week. The passenger side blade on my Impala separated so I replaced it with a Michelin Stealth blade from Walmart. Anybody ever used one of those? I used to always use Anco blades, they always offered good value for the money, but I haven't seen them for a couple of years. The reason I only bought just one blade is because the one on the driver side is still working perfectly so I couldn't justify buying two. The amazing thing is those OEM wipers are more than five years old. The car is an early 2011 model, manufactured in December 2010, and had never been garaged a day in its life, so those blades have been continuously exposed to the elements during that time. I don't know how long the OEM blade on the driver side will continue to last, but I figure even if it tears apart next month, that's gravy.

On a side note, I was surprised to find the Impala's wiper blades are different lengths. The driver side is 22 inches and the passenger side is 21. Had they been the same length, I would have put the new one on the driver side and moved the remaining OEM one to the passenger side. Oh well, can't have everything.

Daily Driver: 2011 Impala LT
Weekend Toy: 1995 Aurora

[human]

Well, the driver's side wiper blade lasted two months longer than the passenger side. It started separating at the very top a couple of weeks ago, about the time I happened to spot some Goodyear Hybrid blades on sale at Costco for $4.99. Wish I had spotted those before I replaced the passenger side blade with a Michelin Stealth from Walmart for $11.88 on sale. Oh well, what's done is done. Still, I will be interested to see which of the two blades lasts longer.

Daily Driver: 2011 Impala LT
Weekend Toy: 1995 Aurora

[sall]

Rain-X Latitudes are what I use on all of our vehicles. I clean them pretty often. Well worth the money

[Paulaurora]

Sall what do use to clean them?

[sall]

You really only need a clean cloth and wiper fluid to clean the rubber element. I usually use alcohol though. Anything not petroleum based really.

[Paulaurora]

i see but does Alcohol kinda kills rubber drys it out ?

[scottydl]

The 1-piece blades are nice, but I could never bring myself to pay upwards of $15+ per blades. I too used to buy Anco and tried Walmart's store brand a couple times but they were pure JUNK. After reading a bunch of Amazon reviews and finding a good price on a 2-pack, I bought a pair of Rain-X Weather Beaters and they have been GREAT. Very reasonably priced, and even though they are set on a "classic" frame (that looks just like Anco's and similar low budget brands) they have superior wiping capability and evenness thus far. I've had them installed for several months on our '07 Chrysler Pacifica.

[RCA1186]

I've been using Bosch Marathon's recently with fairly decent results.

[rorafan]

I've had good success with Bosch also. I really like the ANCO winter blades for, well winter, but they are getting hard to find. I used to run them all year - these things are thick and would LAST, but I don't like how they look. They also tend to pull away from the glass at hwy speeds (or uh, just above...) I've got normal ANCO blades on the 'rora now and they are holding up decently.

FWIW, Menard's had a sale last year on wiper blades for $1 each. I bought a bunch and ended up regretting it. Can't remember the brand but they are pretty bad. They form a "memory" in one direction, so they develop a nasty chatter after a few weeks.

[RCA1186]

Haha, that's where I get my Bosch's. From Menards. They are usually pretty decent on their prices. If you keep an eye out they'll have stuff like seafoam or AC Freon on sale from time to time.

[Hurricane87]

Clearly there is less sun and rain in Chi-Town than Florida. Boschs are good for about three months here.

[sall]

Mar 17, 2016 12:01:36 GMT -6 Paulaurora said:

i see but does Alcohol kinda kills rubber drys it out ?

No, it won't.