I just had my husband change my wipers on my 06 mc. What's the deal with the plastic/metal fin on the driver side wiper? It's not on the replacements. Do I need it? Does it come off and how? I'm not sure what to call it. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks!
Dot

 

It's a spoiler to keep the wiper firmly planted on the windshield during high speed driving. You don't NEED it, but the wiper will work better if it's installed. I replaced my wipers with Bosche Icon blades, which work a LOT better than stock.

 

+1

 

@ your sig pic...

 

Did you realize this is done free once a year at the dealer while under warranty?

 

What size did you pick? I am asking because the left wiper is shorter than the right one.

 

Yea, I took mine there one day while it was raining. 4 hours later (After arguing with the SA because they HAD to install the blades for me), I had new wipers, and they even washed my car! Too bad it was pouring out and I was late for a meeting cause they took an hour to wash the car in the RAIN.

Oh, and they chattered across the window when I pulled out of the parking lot.

$25 later at Pep Boys, I had superior wiper performance (From when the car was new even) and wipers that should last 4x as long as the OEM ones.

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish... if wasting hours of your life at the dealership is worth saving a few bucks, enjoy.

 

The drivers side is 18" and the passenger side is 19 I believe. Any auto parts store will have the parts #.

 

Too bad about the bad dealer experience. I had my wiper blades replaced once a year at my regular maintenance check-ups. Always enjoyed the dealer visit, and it took about 4 hours for everything to be done. Talking to the great Tech who worked on my car, and checking out the new MINIs and BMWs was fun, as was having lunch at a nearby restaurant. Never cost me anything for any of the visits. Great dealer, (Roadshow, Memphis TN), great experience.....never had to argue about anything. Hardly a waste of my life, but thanks for your concern.

I guess I could have paid for something free and put them on myself.....but, silly me, I just didn't want to.

My other post was to remind people who might not be aware that wipers are included in the maintenance warranty.

 

First of all I would like a moderator to combine some of these redundant wiper blade posts... there's around three about the Bosch Icons. I'm just picking on to post in.

I bought some Anco Contour Blades (I was eyeballing the Bosch Icons at Pep Boys, but the price difference was about $8) and I've come across an interesting problem (Aside from some judder, but i think that's because the Ancos were cheap). The passenger side blade loses about four inches of coverage because of the curvature of the windshield.

It picks up about halfway up the windshield, but as it comes around the side it loses it again. This bothers me, but it is in no way blocking my line of vision.


Is this a problem that is common to this style of wiper?

If so I think I'll go back to the PIAA Super Silicones. On top of wiping the entire wind shield those lasted about 3 years (give or take, I was deployed for a while during that time). I replaced them because the wiper arms were starting to rust and performance had probably degraded enough to make it worthwhile.

 

common problem with some of the beam style blades. I put the Ancos on my 04 MC have the same problem but the blades are just that good I don't care. I sell them at my shop and stand behide them for my customers for a year. best blade you will ever have. my 2 cents
tony

 

Okay, i just wanted to be sure... it took a rain or two, but I think the judder is gone. I did love the PIAAs, you can't go wrong with those, but I wanted to be sure the Anco's were good too (do anco make two tiers of wipers?).

 

Just my .02 - I put Piaa wipers on. After 8 to 10 months thought they were not doing quite as well. Tried the ANCO Contour style. After one short drive in the rain I took them off since they don't contour with the windshield. Fortuneatley the Piaa wipers hadn't made it to the garbage can. Six months later still using the same Piaa blades. Some people think the Piaa wipers are over priced since they don't 'look' that much different than most wipers. If cost is a big concern, they do sell refills for the Piaa although most stores are getting away from selling refills only. If you do go with Piaa, make sure to follow the instructions for treating the windshield before using - makes them last much longer. (Yes the Piaa wheels are great too!)

 

I have just replaced the rubber inserts. The BMW inserts are all about 22 inches long and cost me $4 each. The SA's saw me with them thinking that they were way too long. As with all things BMW, there is a special tool that will cut them to size. So, they cut them down to size and put them on car no charge.

I think that they all got a good laugh looking at me looking at the blades thinking, "WTF? These ain't never gonna fit."

 

TRICO Break-To-Fit Wiper Blade Refill (#47-700) just worked fine with my 05S. About $8 for both front blades. Just break it to 18" for driver and 19" for passenger to fit to the original blades. Also works for rear.

 

Have them on both our MINIs, and they work great

Mark