I recently pruchased and '04 MCS JCW and am loving it. I have a question about wiper bladdes. the driver's side has a diverter that appears to send air into the vent below the windshield. How important is that? Should I make sure I get blades that have the diverter? Are they OEM only?

Thanks,
Ron

 

You can buy any snap in wiper blade that is made to fit the Cooper's wiper arm. I have bought various brands of blades for $4.99 each and they work splendidly. I think the two standard blades are different lengths, but I have been buying 18"ers and they're perfectly fine.

 

That diverter is there to keep the wiper in contact with the windshield at speeds in excess of 75mph. So basically, you don't need to worry about loosing it with another wiper arm.

 

I recently bought a normal set of Bosch wiper blades for my '04 S, the ones without the small air foil. I discovered an annoying whistle when the driver's side wiper reached it's max vertical sweep. Happened every time at speed on the highway. Replaced the driver's side with an OEM Bosch blade with the air foil and the noise is gone. I'm going to stick with the originals from now on.

Eric

 

Thank you all for the replies. I just wanted to make sure it didn't have some whiz bang purpose I didn't know about.

 

fwiw...i replaced my original wiper blades with these...

PIAA 93348 Super Sporza Silicone Wiper Blade with Black Spoiler - 19"

perhaps it's because both blades now have spoilers, but i find they are noticeably quieter than the originals. i am very pleased with the performance (graceful, smooth sweeps!) and will replace them with the same when the time comes...ordered from amazon