2019 RAV4 Wipers Smearing

[Tomfromfife]

Hi,

I have tried everything I can find in forums etc to stop my front wipers smearing water.

I have replaced the wipers with Denso wipers. Denso manufacture Wiper Blades for Toyota and are exactly the same as my original blades.

My wife’s Lexus CT200h has the same blades so I tried them with the same problem. My RAV4 blades on the Lexus are fine, no smearing.

i tried A Bosch blade on the drivers side, still smearing. So, I can safely say that it isn’t the blades. 
The windscreen was replaced with a genuine Toyota screen after I had the car 6 weeks. I can’t remember if it was smearing before the screen was changed because there was little rain. I have cleaned the screen with the finest grade wire wool, screen glass cleaner, toothpaste, washing up liquid, and also vinegar. I applied RainX but it’s still the same. I was checking today and the outside temperature was 8 degrees. The smearing is worse when it is colder but only worse on the wiper return. The smearing is sometimes like a water ’lattice’.

I pumped out the screenwash and filled it with new, no change.

I was beginning to think the new screen had a very thin plastic film on it that the windscreen fitters didn’t remove but can’t see any signs of that.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what may be causing this problem?

BTW the Denso Wiper Blades are available from CarParts4Less or other suppliers. The cost for both blades was around £25 which is a lot cheaper than the Toyota dealer.  These are the CarParts4Less details at the time I purchased them. BuyCarParts.co.uk also have them.

1	485778266	Denso Hybrid Blade 26 Inch	Toyota Rav-4 2.5 2019	SR19FEF	£17.37
1	485778166	Denso Hybris Blade 16 Inch	Toyota Rav-4 2.5 2019	SR19FEF	£7.27

 

[duncerduncs]

Have you tried cleaning you windscreen with something like this?

https://www.rainx.co.uk/rain-x-products/rain-x-2-in-1-glass-cleaner-rain-repellent/  (other brands are available)

Sometimes it can actually be the windscreen causing the issue and not the blades, I've experienced this recently with the fleet of trains that I assist with.  The blade was jumping across the windscreen as the screen wasn't as clean as the testing rig that the manufacturer uses in Germany!  

[Billyboy81]

An old trick to try. If the blade is smearing on the return stroke grip the wiper arm and twist it the opposite way. This has worked for me in the past 🙂

[Tomfromfife]

Thanks for the reply. RainX cleaner and water repellent...
This is the ideal product to use when Rain-X Rain Repellent needs to be re-applied to a pre-treated windscreen.

I have already treated with RainX after thoroughly cleaning the glass. I could keep buying products that don’t fix the problem so I am looking for someone who has had the problem and solved it and what they did to solve it.

I shouldn’t have this problem with a new car and new windscreen but can’t take it to the dealer at the moment for obvious reasons. 
Thanks for the ideas, please keep them coming.

[PMW]

I have no solution, I'm afraid, but I thought I should report what seems to be the same problem: smearing on the wiper return (on driver's side) from day one of collecting my new RAV4 a few weeks ago. I had assumed that it was just bad luck with a faulty wiper but after reading this thread I wonder whether there might be a pattern. 

[roadster-rav]

This is usually caused by the blade set angle which prevents the blade flipping over on direction change. The edge of the blade touching the windscreen should never lead the blade itself, it should always trail. Observe the behaviour of the blade as it changes direction at the top of the stroke. When wiper switches and ignition switches were mechanical it was possible to turn off the car mid stroke to see how the blade sat on the screen but now you would probably have to rely on careful observation. An ordinary blade can be carefully adjusted by gently twisting the wiper arm but modern designs might make this more tricky.

Perhaps I should also add that this may improve when the stiffness of a new assembly relaxes a bit and any cleaning treatment which has been inadvertently applied to the windscreen has worn off.

[Tomfromfife]

The main problem is smearing in both directions. Only when the temperature is low is it worse on the return. 

Note that my wife’s Lexus has exactly the same wipers which do not smear on the Lexus but do smear on the RAV when swapping the blades between the vehicles.

This a windscreen problem. It’s a new Toyota and Toyota screen. The screen has been cleaned many times and in many ways all to no avail. I don’t think I should be having to bend or twist wiper arms on a brand new car.

It’s interesting, PMW, that you have the same issue. Have you asked your dealer about it?

[PMW]

On 4/4/2020 at 6:06 PM, Tomfromfife said:

The main problem is smearing in both directions. Only when the temperature is low is it worse on the return. 

Note that my wife’s Lexus has exactly the same wipers which do not smear on the Lexus but do smear on the RAV when swapping the blades between the vehicles.

This a windscreen problem. It’s a new Toyota and Toyota screen. The screen has been cleaned many times and in many ways all to no avail. I don’t think I should be having to bend or twist wiper arms on a brand new car.

It’s interesting, PMW, that you have the same issue. Have you asked your dealer about it?

I believe they are closed for the foreseeable future but I can certainly try and contact them by email

[Rav Rob]

So I am not crazy!!! exactly the same thing from day 1, smears on the return when cold. Gets a bit better if the wipers have been on a while.

I have just been degreasing the blade edges regularly and making up my screen wash extra strong. 

It's like when they finish building the RAV, some joker pours a capful of silicon oil into every washer bottle.for a laugh.

Hopefully this thread will develop with eventually someone reporting a brand that works better. I am reluctant to pay my own money on some unless assured better because they are included in my car lease so would be paying for them twice.

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, PMW said:

I believe they are closed for the foreseeable future but I can certainly try and contact them by email

Some dealers are providing a chat service on their websites.

[roadster-rav]

So if they smear in both directions my previous suggestion about wrong geometry is ruled out. If you feel like experimenting it would be interesting to know if the spring pressure towards the screen is the same at the wiper pivot point for both the RAV4 and the Lexus. There could be an issue with a bad batch of springs or even a stiff pivot joint on the wiper arm. A simple test would be to use a rubber band to lift the arm just clear of the windscreen on each car and see if the rubber band extension is significantly different.

[Buff69]

Hi we had the same problem on the drivers side we took the car back to the dealers and they changed the wiper blade which solved it for us sorry I can’t help I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread though good luck 

[Rocks703]

Try cleaning the windscreen with isopropyl alcohol and also clean the Wiper Blades til no more dirt comes off

[LesU]

I've had the same problem. Since new (last May) the driver's side return wipe has tended to smear. I lived with it until last month and bought Bosch Aerotwin blades. The driver's side blade is still smearing on the return, so it's not the blades.

Also, has anyone found a way to stop the wipers before the return? If I lift the driver's side blade from park, I can't see the blade to check it ,as it's behind the wiper arm pointing away from me.

[PMW]

Maybe the problem with the smearing is the spring pressure towards the screen, as suggested by roadster-rav above.

[Tomfromfife]

I tested the spring pressure towards then screen on the Lexus and the RAV4 and they are identical, which is 1kg at the point the blade clears the glass.

[duncerduncs]

Silly question, have you gone back to the company who fitted the windscreen to complain?

[Tomfromfife]

The windscreen fitters were less than professional so I will take it to the dealer as it’s a genuine Toyota replacement windscreen.

[Rav Rob]

Mine like some others here have windscreens that were fitted by Toyota when the car was made and also have smearing on the return stroke drivers side.

I suppose we could try telling them they made a design mistake in the angles of the screen but I am guessing they wouldn't be much interested....

[Tomfromfife]

The latest update on my smearing windscreen wiper. As a reminder, the centre of the long blade was smearing in different ways depending on temperature. Moshing it would leave a ‘lattice’ pattern on the screen and others times a stream of water. See photos.

I tried everything to clean it and 2 new blades, and the blade off my wife’s Lexus. Lexus blade falls on RAV, Toyota blades ok on the Lexus. Measured spring pressure with Lexus, the same 2kg. Cleaned the screen with everything mentioned on forums.

So I called the windscreen fitting company and the area manager of the came to my home to check it out and the screen is deformed!

The test was 1, the feel of the screen surface and 2, the reflection from a fluorescent tube on my garage ceiling. The tube should give a slight curved reflection But there was a kink in the reflection. They have agreed to replace the screen with a new one and they will return my screen to Toyota.

[PMW]

Thank you, Tomfromfife, for letting us know. I wouldn't be able to see a distortion in mine (let alone make a case for it), but what you say makes perfect sense. After 7 months of driving, I still get the same smear on the return of the blade as on day 1. I did contact my dealer about it, but I never got a response. 

[Tomfromfife]

The dealers are no experts on glass /windscreens.

Take it to a windscreen specialist and get a report on the problem then tackle Toyota for a replacement.

[Tomfromfife]

Latest update on my windscreen problems.

The windscreen company agreed to replace the windscreen due to the deformity in my replacement screen. I was booked in for last week but Toyota couldn’t supply the screen. I was then booked in for Friday this week, but just had a call to say Toyota can’t supply the screen as there is no stock in Europe !!!!!!
I have called Toyota Customer Relations to complain about screen availability and they are going to check and get back to me. The don’t fill me with confidence that they will phone back. Watch this space.

Dont break your windscreen girls and boys, there aren’t any in Europe.

[182_blue]

Good luck with this, we have two new 2020's and both have a little smear on the drivers side where the passenger side hits the drivers side (mostly on the return), if it is the screen then Toyota (well their suppler) are likely to use the same mould so it may well be exactly the same.

[satts67]

Rain-ex is a nightmare! Get rid off it. Awful stuff. Clean your screen with some very strong glass cleaner and changer your wipers as it destroys them and coats them in glue. Should also add that rain ex as well as being extremely good at not being able to see through your windscreen is very difficult to remove afterwards. You may need to use a solvent to remove it but do NOT EVER use rain ex on a new windscreen!