So after like after 50 trips to the dealer i finally get my keyless locks and manual ordered. So I swing by my pops place, and the first thing he says is "ey mon, wot is dat on yo wiper blade?" I'm like "oh it's just the metal part of the blade" and finishes my sentence with "that totally scratched the top of your new car... congratulations." So i high tail it back to the dealer half expecting them to say "too bad so sad" but as luck turns out i bump in to the owner who tells me to bring it in and the shop/detailers will take care of it. He also asked what else he could do and as soon as i told him about my missing manual and remotes he got on his people to take care of me... lo and behold 20 mins later i got my remotes! Sorry about the rambling but i just wanted to vent...and also warn people to take a look at thier wiper blades!( and no, not even a screeching sound coming from the wiper either... damn scion sound proccesing system )

 

Hmmmm... one of the thin shiny metal strips from the rubber insert on my xB started coming out, too. I caught it before it did any damage and got it back in where it belongs, but I no longer trust 'em - especially with as much action as the wipers see in THIS part of the country.

My dealer wants to replace the wiper inserts for free, but since the replacements are the same design, maybe I'll look for an aftermarket insert instead...

Anyone else have this sort of thing happen?

 

I swapped out my stockers with some high quality silicone blade assemblies right out of the box. And they have a carbon fiber finish on them also.

 

Re: "Silicone" wiper blades.

I stay away from silicones blades because at night I can see a coat of silicone on the glass that adds glare. Could be I got a bad set of silicone impregnated blades.

I like RainX but only for the rear window for the same glaring reason.

Kerry

 

the metal came out on me an scratched the top of the car the dealer repainted the area with no hassels

 

those sound nice! do you recall the brand? part number? I think i'll swap blades sooner than later.

scary stories--- and even a new RS2 has this same risky blade insert?

youch!

 

How did that happen to scratch the car??

 

yeah^^^^^

 

my guess (am a good guesser, usually) is that the -stainless steel flat strip- molded inside of the rubber blade-proper, pierced its way out the end of the blade.

from there it worked out more and more. high speed operation of the wipers speeds the process for sure.

izzat it? five cents fine owed and overnight in the doghouse if I guessed wrong

 

Use wax for the rear and side windows , cleans and shines them I've never had any glare.

 

Scifly is totally correct, that's how it happened. On tuesday i'm gonna drop it off and have them repaint the top... then curse them out for not doing my paperwork correctly to get my tag.... two hours in line on a sat. morning wasted....I love my XB but I wanna drop kick the dealer

 

Am very grateful that you made this report.

Yesterday I studied the Toyota wiper blade. It is not a good design. This is surprising!

all there is to retain that stainless strip is one, 1/16th" nib of natural rubber at the two ends of the rubber blade

Now, if that upper-end nib tears or pierces, there is nothing to stop the insert from walking out and whipping your paint at the roof line

am shocked they would make such a design.


Now, go to the auto parts store, everybody, and get wiper blade assemblies which have a barbed notch on the strip-inserts. The barb design positively captures the inser strips in the claw..

late edit: see page three for Tom's instructions to use simple -inserts-
Inserts (the blade rubber and spines only) are cheaper than whole assemblies

xB uses a standard 20" wiper.
late edit: A 19" blade assembly looks better and fits better.
I just got the Nekoi's exchanged for the 18 inch version, and to my view they look
better and work just as well as the 20" stock length. Try the sizes out for yourself
get what -you- like.

I got the "carbon texture look", "pure silicone inserts" Nekoi Tokyo blades sold at the local auto parts store. The lithographed carbon fiber-look is funny/fake looking. what really makes this JDM part fun is the inked legend on the wipers: "Powerful Technology"


sidebar: silicone RUBBER is what these "better" blade edges are. This has nothing to do with silicone oil or silicone wax, etc. Silicone rubber is soft, is much more UV and chemicl resistant than natural rubber. Silicone rubber is less tough than natural rubber, but in compensation it does not age-harden like natural rubber.


So much for the Itchy and Scratchy show. everyone knows better now...

 

I got mine from advanced auto. they are called aero foil, 19" wiper part number-11-5195for the carbon one. made by nekoi Tokyo.... they come in single pack. they had carbon fiber plus afew different colored anodized chrome, red, and blue. good luck. they had quite a few so there should still be some there.

 

after only having my box for a mer 1 month i'm heading down 66 during rush our in pouring rain, had wipers on full tilt... Then i here a "scratch, tick tick, scractch, tick tick" so i pull over, and found the metal spine of the whiper blades slid out, and scratch the paint on the roof..... well after going to the dealer and getting it fixed, they only buffed it out, and to this day you can still see it..... i'm worried about how much of the clear coat did they remove? what happens 5 years from now and it starts to rust? had the car a year sence this happened, so not sure there is much i can do....

 

Thankfully, I'll never have this problem because I will NEVER turn on my rear wiper. Actually, without some serious thought, I couldn't think where the switch is for it.

 

i never used my rear wiper just because it doesnt do anything anyways.

 

well the funny thing is, mine wasnt the rear wiper..... mine was the front passanger wiper....... so watch out..... even to this day, i dont like turning the wipers on full tilt just for that reason..... i've already pinched the end of the wiper to advoid it sliding out again, but guess better safe than sorry.....

 

If that was me I would make them repaint it. if you can see it its not done right.

 

one of my front wipers did the same thing and I caught it about 1/4 inch before it scratched anything. I've never had a car wiper do that before. Horibble design. So is the rear wiper. I like having a rear wiper but that cheap bulky plastic has already started to discolor. I may rmove it someday. Rain-X all the way!

 

nonono, it is indeed the front wipers!

HERE, the other day I met with squarepants. We did a run down to Key Largo in my RS2.

In Key Largo we picked up a set of the "carbon fiber" look Japanese JDM blades, to put onto his Box when we got back to the parking lot in Cutler, where Wellie's box waited.

HERE.. his Toyota/Scion blade was doing this. I did not make this up. It was caught just in time by incredible luck.. and because this thread alerted me to the risk

(one minute while I imageshack the picture that squarepants/Wellington just emailed to me)