For those of you who have owned the car through the previous Winter -- how are the OE wiper blades with snow and ice? I notice that the layout seems to be a better all-weather design but how does the actual rubber wiper blade hold up or are there specific winter blade replacements (with more durable rubber blades)? I don't want to rip up the OE blades if there are replacements for winter ice and snow.

Hey Donald (NWestern NY) - if you had the snow that Buffalo did last week how did your wipers fare? =)

 

One thing that is often overlooked is the load on the wiper motor. The OE wiper blades place a predictable and manageable load on the motor. Any other blade with altered charcteristics for friction may cause premature aging of the motor and the wiper linkages. I personally know of a case where Honda refused to warrant the failed motor because its owner decided to use a high friction double edge blade.

Now, I've already used the wipers in snow this year. They work OK. The coverage at the top middle of the windshild is poor - but fair overall.

What I do to really improve things such as preventing ice and erosion of the blades is to coat all windows with a synthetic paint sealant (2 summer coats). Followed by a good refresh of Rain-X. With Rain-X alone, you will not even need to use the wipers that much because at speed, the water will just bead and roll up. Also ice formation and adherence to the windshield is be much lower thus reducing the need to scrape the ice.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Sorry if this is common knowledge, but I am curious... do you put a paint sealant on the windows? also, do you have any examples of products that are good for this sort of thing?

 

Sure.

I use Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant.

There are a few others that will also go a good job, buth over the years we just found this product to be the slickest (nothing sticks to it) and lasts for a whole year of weather abuse.

Cheers;

MSantos