Wiper blades hitting?!

[juliusrock]

I have an 04 Mazda 3 sedan and the wiper blades are beginning to stress me out.

First, the wipers I purchased from the dealer in 2010 weren't put in place properly; I found out when I went to replace them with new wipers, which worked fine.

Those same wipers broke off when Winter began so I got new wipers - Rain-X wipers.

I got 21 for the driver and 19 for the passenger yet they would hit each other once in a while. Because the Rain-X wipers are flimsy (rubber?), when there was no snow or water on my windshield, they would bend and start hitting each other.

I said to hell with that and bought the Motomaster wipers from Canadian Tire, 21" driver and 19" passenger, and they still hit each other, though not as much as the Rain-X ones.

I'm buying the appropriate sizes so what could be the problem? Should I buy smaller wipers? Any advice would help.

[Rob23]

i have the Rain-X wipers, 21 drivers and 19 passengers side. they don't hit each other and i find they work great, my dad also has these wipers on his mazda 3 and they work great. possibly your not putting them on properly? or maybe your wiper arm is bent?

[mazdabetty]

i have the Rain-X wipers, 21 drivers and 19 passengers side. they don't hit each other and i find they work great, my dad also has these wipers on his mazda 3 and they work great. possibly your not putting them on properly? or maybe your wiper arm is bent?

+1 same here, I've never had an issue with those wipers... definitely sounds like it's the arm that's causing the problem...

[gabbygenier]

where do they hit each other.

you say the wipers were put on wrong by the dealer but were working fine. and youve broken a set (not sure what you mean by broken but ive never seen wipers break unless the rubber part comes off once they are like 3 years old) and have tried 2 other sets.

so the wipers that were "put on wrong" by the dealer worked and the 3 sets youve tried hit each other. maybe youre putting them on wrong. not beeing an ass here, just making an observation. either that or like other ppl said, the arms are screwed up

[TheMAN]

if your windshield was replaced, then chances are the windshield installer didn't reinstall the wiper arms at the correct positions... they all do that, you think they will take the time to measure the correct spot and read the manual for that information? ;)
the positioning of the wiper arms is very simple... for the passenger side, it is 32mm from the top edge of the cowl panel moulding... for the driver's side, it is 30mm.... the easiest thing to do is get a piece of masking tape, and then place the tape on a flat surface, mark the spots on the tape with a pencil, then remove the tape and apply it on the windshield... use a small flat blade screw driver to pop off the plastic cap at the base of the wiper arms, then use a 12mm wrench to loosen the nuts... push down at the joint of the arms to pop them off the linkages, adjust and retighten

it will take you some time to get it right... you may need to open the hood to get to the wiper arm nuts easily

[juliusrock]

When I say they've broken I mean that the clip that holds them in place cracked.

The Rain-X wipers were actually installed by a Canadian Tire mechanic while I was having something else done. Unless maybe he is daft and put them on incorrectly.

And in regards to where they are hitting? The passenger wiper is hitting the top of the driver wiper.

I'm thinking of getting smaller wipers... 19" driver and 17" passenger.

[TheMAN]

if they're hitting each other as you described, your wipers arms ARE out of position
FIX IT properly, not do bandaid fixes like getting crappier blades

[dj_adamix]

Hey just a small advice. Rain-X SUCK IN SNOW !! lol sorry had to use caps for that.
Few months ago i was on a mission to find a best wiper haha. i tried visionx , returned after 2 days, tried some cheap 8 buck one- returned day after, next was rain-x which worked fine for a week but then first snow came and temp dropped and it started leaving big strokes. my last choice was teflon hybrid wipers which is a combo of a flex and plastic shell that keeps it bent. Those turned out the best of all 4 i tested. i still have em and they work really well on the hgw and minus temperatures.

When it comes to your wiper arms, just get em fixed, they are most likely bent out of place. do it before they get stuck which will cause your arm motor to burn.

[juliusrock]

How much would it cost to get them fixed? Is it something I can do on my own? (Sorry for such simple questions - haven't done much work on my Mazda 3)

[mazdabetty]

I'm thinking of getting smaller wipers... 19" driver and 17" passenger.

What?! No don't do that... that's ridiculous. Like everyone is saying they're either bent or just not on properly. Get a Mazda dealer to double check them if you aren't quite sure...


How much would it cost to get them fixed? Is it something I can do on my own? (Sorry for such simple questions - haven't done much work on my Mazda 3)
I think someone quoted 2 new arms at $80 a long time ago.. can't remember. To double check if the blades are on correctly I'm sure they wouldn't charge you. Just tell them since they put them on they don't seem to be lining up properly

[TheMAN]

takes a lot to bend the wiper arms, but since he has a 2004, I suggest replacing the arms outright with new ones which have better paint which won't have the rust issue anymore

[TheMAN]

How much would it cost to get them fixed? Is it something I can do on my own? (Sorry for such simple questions - haven't done much work on my Mazda 3)

I just told you how to do it an hour ago... are you sure you're getting enough coffee this afternoon?

[juliusrock]

if they're hitting each other as you described, your wipers arms ARE out of position
FIX IT properly, not do bandaid fixes like getting crappier blades

If you're suggesting your advice as to how to fix them is "your wipers arms ARE of out position FIX IT properly" then I suggest you rethink your own advice as that isn't as helpful as you think.

If i am to "bend" it to its proper orientation, I am afraid I will do more harm than good - exacerbate the situation.

[TheMAN]

Since you had decided to be rude by insinuating that my advice wasn't helpful and is harmful to your car, let me just cut the BS and tell you this one very simple thing: you suck at reading.
I told you how to remove the wiper arms, then reposition and reinstall them properly. If you can't understand what I said or don't believe what I said, then I suggest you pay the $200 for a service manual from your local friendly dealer which will tell you exactly the same thing I told you to do earlier. You're probably wasting your money on that good book anyway since your command of the English language is poor and can't even understand something simple someone just told you a while ago.

[juliusrock]

Since you had decided to be rude by insinuating that my advice wasn't helpful and is harmful to your car, let me just cut the BS and tell you this one very simple thing: you suck at reading.
I told you how to remove the wiper arms, then reposition and reinstall them properly. If you can't understand what I said or don't believe what I said, then I suggest you pay the $200 for a service manual from your local friendly dealer which will tell you exactly the same thing I told you to do earlier. You're probably wasting your money on that good book anyway since your command of the English language is poor and can't even understand something simple someone just told you a while ago.

Unfortunately, I negated to read this portion of your post and I could understand why you'd be enraged. I do apologize.

However, why not just point me into the direction of where you articulated the steps to me instead of making allegations that my knowledge of english is poor? That seems fallacious to me as there are a number of circumstances that could lead me to overlook your initial post (or misconstrue your message). Since you seem like a socially inept person, I'm not going to engage in accusing you of any folly except for that - I'm not going to take it further in infer that your knowledge in one spectrum is better than another spectrum.

And because someone fails to read what you're describing that suggests their language is poor? I don't know what discourse you come from in which one's ability to communicate is defined by their Internet etiquette but surely there are other ways to approach an "Internet dispute."

[Noisy Crow]

^^^^^^^ Damn, someone owns a thesaurus!

Cut the BS -- you slammed TheMAN for giving bad advice when in reality the issue was your reading comprehension, or lack thereof.

[Jackal]

:pop:pop:pop

[juliusrock]

^^^^^^^ Damn, someone owns a thesaurus!

Cut the BS -- you slammed TheMAN for giving bad advice when in reality the issue was your reading comprehension, or lack thereof.

I have realized my mistake and have thus apologized. I wonder how many more of TheMAN's nuthuggers are going to respond.

And also, I too am apologetic that my diction leads you to believe I've consulted a thesaurus. It may be shocking to you but not everyone is as layman as you think.

Nonetheless, this topic has deviated from its original intent. And if TheMAN or Noisy Crow need to win Internet battles to sleep at night, well consider this my white flag.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

Ok guys, keep it civil.

And besides...
http://images2.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/4421043/cant-we-all-just-get-along.jpg?imageSize=Medium&generatorName=Pretend-Jesus

[Brammer]

Not sure if this is the same problem, but a few days ago I turned off the car with the auto-wipers on. Next morning, I start the car and because there was stuff on the window, the wipers tried to start. The drivers one was frozen to the windshield, so, when they broke free (this all happened in 2 seconds), the passenger wiper started colliding with the driver wiper on every wipe! I shut the car off before the wipers destroyed each other, then pushed the drivers wiper down to it's original starting point.

Something obviously came loose or is slipping. Anyone else come across this before??

Thanks

B

[slam525i]

Auto wipers getting out of position when frozen is a common issue I believe. Try a search for it. Hopefully the gear box that drives the wipers didn't get mashed. (These wipers aren't direct drive, are they?)

[sas]

Not sure if this is the same problem, but a few days ago I turned off the car with the auto-wipers on. Next morning, I start the car and because there was stuff on the window, the wipers tried to start. The drivers one was frozen to the windshield, so, when they broke free (this all happened in 2 seconds), the passenger wiper started colliding with the driver wiper on every wipe! ....

The same happened to me a month ago , and I used the force to set it back, intending to check it when the weather gets warm. A week ago this wiper was loosened without any warning when I tried to leave my work. Thanks I have the set of sockets in my trunk and repair took no more then one minute. It’s like the vipers are not very strongly tightened from factory. The repar procedure is described by The Man in his first post.

[KenYork]

Not sure if this is the same problem, but a few days ago I turned off the car with the auto-wipers on. Next morning, I start the car and because there was stuff on the window, the wipers tried to start. The drivers one was frozen to the windshield, so, when they broke free (this all happened in 2 seconds), the passenger wiper started colliding with the driver wiper on every wipe! I shut the car off before the wipers destroyed each other, then pushed the drivers wiper down to it's original starting point.
Something obviously came loose or is slipping. Anyone else come across this before??

Thanks

B



Yup, happened a few years back. Did what TheMAN mentioned on how to fix the issue from above.

[juliusrock]

I'll try what TheMAN suggested and see what happens.

As in inquiry, I called Mazda of Toronto and it's $50 per arm and $60 for installation. Sigh. :whoa

[TheMAN]

The same happened to me a month ago , and I used the force to set it back, intending to check it when the weather gets warm. A week ago this wiper was loosened without any warning when I tried to leave my work. Thanks I have the set of sockets in my trunk and repair took no more then one minute. It’s like the vipers are not very strongly tightened from factory. The repar procedure is described by The Man in his first post.

all wiper arms on any car are designed to loosen themselves when they get jammed by something... such as snow or ice... it is to prevent motor damage and linkage damage

[sas]

Yes ,it was my first thought. If you remember the 323 had them sitting with mortal grip and there was only thermal protection inside of the motor. Possible that links are not so strong now.
I forgot to say that there are plastic parts and the nut should be tightened without
excessive fanaticism.

[TheMAN]

I think the torque spec is something like 15ft lbs... I'm too lazy to look in the manual again but it's around there I'm sure

[Derek13]

Bosch Icon = #1 all seasons! My :.02

[Brammer]

Thanks all :)