For those of us who haven't done the rear wiper delete (myself included), I found a reliable and thrifty way to find wiper re-fills. Advanced Auto Parts carries TRICO 45-280 (28") wiper blade re-fill for $3.44. Since our rear blades are 11", you'll be able to make two slices (I used an X-acto blade, but a utility knife or scissors would work) and essentially have 2 re-fills for $3.44. I re-used the metal guides from the OEM wiper blade (direct fit), inserted snugly onto the wiper arm. Perfect fit.

Just throwing this out there for those who struggle to find an OEM fit for their rear windshield wiper.

Winner of the Best way to save a buck post of the Day!

Thank you Xymox! I just got off the phone with my local Advance Auto Parts (right before I read this post) and they said I had to get a rear wiper blade from the dealer, which is inconveniently located two hours away. This will save me a long road trip AND some money!

Huh, I tried using a refill before and ended up busting off the little tabby thing on the end of the arm. Looks like I'll have to go ahead and try again. Good think I work for Advance....

I acually just took the stock wiper that was on there and slid out the rubber blade and replaced it with another blade that i cut to size, slip in and out, no problems

Do I have a different wiper than you? I bought this replacement and it will not fit...I have a Jan 04 build date.

Thanks for the info. My rear blade is getting worn out.

Mark

To the best of my knowledge, all R50/R53's have the same rear wiper blade. Are you re-using the original (OEM) 2 metal pieces (guides) from your rear wiper? This will not work unless you re-use those.

I tried.... couldn't get it to work

Neither could I, but it got me looking! I found a perfect fit at Advanced Auto Parts. Its a Roberk 2018(All weather) wiper blade, just buy the whole wiper blade, it was $4. Then remove the wiper out of the blade, and cut it the same length of the one you remove. Then you need to grab a very small philip screwdriver and punch a hole in the middle of the top of the plastic, on the end you cut off, to keep the wiper from falling out of its little plastic holder(You'll see they did that on the ends to keep it from falling out). Then all you have to do is slide it back in from the second to the last guide, and just bend it ever so slightly to get it into the last guide on the blade on the car. This wiper blade was almost identical to the one I pulled off, I couldnt have asked for a better fit. This is on my 2003 MINI Cooper S, and it worked like a charm.

Xymox, thanks for the idea!

Xymox, my rear wiper blade is plastic, and the rubber wiper is in a plastic holder. There is no metal on mine, this a 2003 MINI Cooper S produced on 08/03.

The actual black, rubber wiper should have 2, thin, metal guides that fit into either side of the black rubber wiper.

I guess I could go take picts of this process. Maybe I'll do that.

Thats what the refill you talked about had, but the OEM one on my car didnt have this. Its just a plastic sleeve with the rubber wiper slid into it. The wiper blade I bought was the same as the OEM one, so it was a perfect fit. I would guess that certain years might have a different style...

I have the same thing as lordgrinz...I even bought one from outmotoring only to find that it did not fit my car...weird...

The TRICO blade was a perfect fit for my car - 07/04 build. The TRICO blade came with metal inserts that were wider (and obviously longer), but I just trimmed the rubber blade, popped in the OEM metal inserts and worked it back into the rear blade arm.

Good tip, I'm going to try it. I still have the original blade on my car.

I was able to get this to work on my 03, as well. Fits like a glove. Thanks for the tip. No more buying a whole arm online for $15.

I tried the TRICO 45-280 and managed to make it work with some effort on my 2006 Cooper... but the Trico is 8mm wide and the original was 7mm wide. It did fit and work but with a little squeeze!! I like the idea of cut to fit... many wiper refills offer that option.. but next time I am hoping to find a 7mm version... anyone know a model / part # for that?
Thanks

mine MINI has no metal inserts on the rear window wiper... It's an '02, so im trying to figure out how to stick the TRICO wiper in there as the base is a lot fatter than the OEM wiper blade.

alright since the base of the TRICO wiper was fat i decided to trim it down so it could fit into the tracks of the actual rear wiper. It worked! now i just have to adjust it so it wipes everything as its leaving a gap in the middle of the window in a semi-circular pattern.

Just want to say thanks as i replaced my front wipers and used your method
to replace the rear .Works great

I've never removed any of the wiper blade inserts on my'04 (dec 03 build)......

rear: to remove the insert in there now, do I need to bend out one of the brackets or do I bend the insert

front: well, same question

about the front, there've been a bunch of threads about the various high end wipers...rainX, silblades, etc...someone will say their brand was great then someone will say that brand did not work so well, but for the front what easily obtained Autozone wiper blade inserts are recommended?

I had a month old set of Anco blabes they sucked .So i replaced them with the rainx lattitude did not replace the inserts .Why because the shape of the
bracket and the pressure they apply is a important factor on how well they work .The rear wiper just pops out .A little bend and you can slide out the rubber blade .Take the metal strips there are two and put them aside
.Now take your rear blade and cut one of your front ones down to the same size rear blade .Take sand paper and run it vere so light along the wiper you just cut the clean it .Now the 2 metal strips from the rear blade insert on the second track you need to hold then in place .
Then insert into the rear bracket and snap back into place .
It has been raining here for the past two days and i'm very please with the results .

I needed to replace the rear wiper on my 02 and I was told it was a dealer item and the dealer does not sell just the rubber (of course) so I gritted my teeth and bought the whole thing (head with blade). I never considered this a possibility but I will now!

Gracias, Amigo!!

For anybody else going through this: I have the same 2003 with the plastic-framed rear blade. Advance apparently no longer carries Roberk blades.

We matched up an Anco RD24NR ($2 at O'Reilly). It's just the refill. The plastic holder is different, but the rubber slides out and slides right into the plastic frame off the Mini. It's even slightly more snug than the OEM.

Everybody here is talking 10" blades; it looks like mine is longer, as the counter guy measured it as a 12, and we cut a 24 in half which fits (a 25 might have fit better).

Thanks for the heads up Neil. I just went to my O'Reilly's and paid 3.97 for 2 refills. Mine is also 12" long. Cut one to length and now have 3 spares
Bob