2020 Corolla wiper blades

[superclarkey]

We collected the car in Feb (new) and since day one the Wiper Blades and screen had been terrible for visibility, it smears the rain water across the screen and its hard to see.

All the glass came with a sticky film on it which was hard to get off, leaves zebra pattens on side windows that I can see when wet.  
 

first few days of ownership I tried everything to clean the glass and nothing resolved it, in the end panel wipe got the residue off and it felt smooth like normal glass again... but wipers are still terrible imho.

I have been reluctant to buy another set of blades from toyota as the originals ones where this bad i was waiting for Bosch to release some aero blades but Its got to the point I’ll need to order some oem one.

 

does anyone else have this issue? 

[chicken_george]

Yes, I got my vehicle in Sept 2019 and the Wiper Blades were shoddy from day one. I've yet to replace mine too.

[superclarkey]

I’m not joking when I say only thing to remove the residue on the screen was panel wipe... it was horrible.  Still had to scrub it off.... 

cleaned blades with IPA and a few other stuff and same as.

they streak across screen and make allot of noise, horrible like being in a 20 year old car!!

the little blade used to bounce across screen before I got the residue off.

[chicken_george]

I've just looked up a replacement O/S wiper blade is £32...However, the N/S is £8

[superclarkey]

Cost doesn’t bother me but it does if its the same problem, spoke with an other owner in person today and having same issue so seems something is amiss.

[Ian.S]

I’ve not had this on the Corolla but did on a Passat rear wiper. The dealer initially blamed a greasy screen but it quickly restarted after a thorough clean and a new blade. Eventually sorted after 4 blades, all at dealer expense. Never did actually prove the course but it never recurred.

[Jack Spratt]

Wipers on my 2019 Corolla excellent from day one.  If I'd had that issue is have been straight back to the dealer! - Poor visibility is a serious safety issue.

[TonyHSD]

Wiper Blades rubber has a special coating, once the coating is damaged, cleaned or touched by hand many times or because the wipers are getting old and well used they won’t be as quiet and smooth anymore. You can clean with alcohol or anything, you may make them quiet again but will not last long due to the coating been cleaned away. Another possibility that can cause issues with wipers is if you use a car wash that spray some stuff over the car prior to hand dry it, these are the worst car washes and that stuff sprayed all over does nothing but to unset the wipers work, make them scratchy and smeared. If your wipers are standard fit you can buy most basic Michelin or Bosch and fit them in and you may find much better results than the oem wipers, remember: Do not touch the new rubber part with fingers. 👍

[Parts-King]

Not being funny but having a coating of carp on the screen is not the fault of the blades being rubbish. A new set of Toyota blades will cost you about £25 a pair, no need to wait for Bosch to make them, they are a fairly standard aero blade, just get a pair of Optifit ones from your dealer. 

[superclarkey]

That is why I’m asking the question if people generally find a problem with the blades or if I have an isolated case.

My belief is that the screen residue has caused there demise from new, but doesn’t hurt to ask before making a purchase.

 

[Rivorian]

I used Volvo OEM wipers on my 2014 V60 and they made a lot of noise while being quite good at cleaning. I am even more amazed how quietly my Corolla wipers work and they are still very good even though I took the delivery on July 2019. I also think that the problem comes from some sort of drying wax (the one that is sprayed in car washes before drying progress) applied with washing of the car or a car shampoo that has some sort of wax in it. What about the windshield cleaner You use? It can be from many things, but I wouldn’t blame it on the wipers...

Usually from my experience it’s winscreen washer fluid that smears the glass...

[superclarkey]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

Wiper blades rubber has a special coating, once the coating is damaged, cleaned or touched by hand many times or because the wipers are getting old and well used they won’t be as quiet and smooth anymore. You can clean with alcohol or anything, you may make them quiet again but will not last long due to the coating been cleaned away. Another possibility that can cause issues with wipers is if you use a car wash that spray some stuff over the car prior to hand dry it, these are the worst car washes and that stuff sprayed all over does nothing but to unset the wipers work, make them scratchy and smeared. If your wipers are standard fit you can buy most basic Michelin or Bosch and fit them in and you may find much better results than the oem wipers, remember: Do not touch the new rubber part with fingers. 👍

Yeah, the car came to me and was used for a week, wipers where terrible, I cleaned them with the softest method possible first and slowly escalated the cleaning to see if I saw results.  The screen clearly wasn’t right so I scrubbed it with again softest method possible and slowly moved up until I had to use a panel wipe to remove the residue.  
 

The car at this point had done less than 100miles and it had only rained once or twice, so at the first wash this is when it was addressed.

after that the car was detailed, I chose not to get the glass treated due to ongoing issues with the glass.

drove the car on and off for 6 months and its just been detailed again (2000miles) and detailer said whatever is on the glass (whole car) doesn’t come off.  

so again this is why it peaked my interest and thought I would discuss it.

 

 

 

[superclarkey]

6 minutes ago, Rivorian said:

I used Volvo OEM wipers on my 2014 V60 and they made a lot of noise while being quite good at cleaning. I am even more amazed how quietly my Corolla wipers work and they are still very good even though I took the delivery on July 2019. I also think that the problem comes from some sort of drying wax (the one that is sprayed in car washes before drying progress) applied with washing of the car or a car shampoo that has some sort of wax in it. What about the windshield cleaner You use? It can be from many things, but I wouldn’t blame it on the wipers...

Usually from my experience it’s winscreen washer fluid that smears the glass...

Hey, to be clear, the car was collected from toyota unwashed and with tags still on it, it went straight from there to my workshop and cleaned with known products and dried properly.  No wax or sealant was applied to the car by me or the dealership, I didn’t want them to wash it or clean it.  It still had plastics on the bonnet and roof when collected!

after that first wash it rained later that day and its when I first noticed blades where jumping across screen and that the screen felt weird to the touch.

I had only washed it, the screen wash had never been used at this point.

parked the car up and waited for the detailer to come do the car properly.

I had only moved car about and drove it a few times before it was detailed, so less than 50 miles and it came with 16 odd miles from new on it.

So its nothing to do with screen wash or poor washing techniques as its never been at a car wash, its done by hand properly,  (safe wash, DI water, air dried etc etc).

Will just toss on another set of blades and see if it resolves it, just wanted to see if someone else had same problem and new blades didn’t resolve the issue as I don’t want to waste my time.

also not giving the car back under warranty to have them grab a hose pipe and spray the front screen to test leaving water marks and then giving it a wash with an old sponge with grit and giving me that dealership car wash finish that damages allot of my customers performance cars, pass.

 

 

 

[Rivorian]

That really is strange. I also have some zebra smears on side windows which can be seen when cleaning the windows, but not when cleaned and dried. I guess it’s the marks of plastic covers when in transport etc.

If the blades jump maybe the springs hold the wipers too strong against the windshield? I have heard such cases as well....

I however developed similar case with ceramic coating on windshield. Fictech has such product for windshield (should work like rain repellent or something, but it’s actual glass layer) and this was the worst thing I have ever applied to my cars. Wipers jumping and some parts wore out and then it was really confusing blurry vision. I finally got rid of it when replacing the stone chipped windshield. They said that this was removable with glass polish product tho..

Maybe some sort of glass polishing product would help to remove whatever is applied there...

 

...or try cleaning your windshield with white household sponge (magic eraser etc). It’s really good at removing different “layers” from smooth surfaces. ChrisFix also has a good video of how to clean the windshield... try same products outside...?

[frizzbee30]

9 minutes ago, Rivorian said:

That really is strange. I also have some zebra smears on side windows which can be seen when cleaning the windows, but not when cleaned and dried. I guess it’s the marks of plastic covers when in transport etc.

If the blades jump maybe the springs hold the wipers too strong against the windshield? I have heard such cases as well....

I however developed similar case with ceramic coating on windshield. Fictech has such product for windshield (should work like rain repellent or something, but it’s actual glass layer) and this was the worst thing I have ever applied to my cars. Wipers jumping and some parts wore out and then it was really confusing blurry vision. I finally got rid of it when replacing the stone chipped windshield. They said that this was removable with glass polish product tho..

Maybe some sort of glass polishing product would help to remove whatever is applied there...

 

...or try cleaning your windshield with white household sponge (magic eraser etc). It’s really good at removing different “layers” from smooth surfaces. ChrisFix also has a good video of how to clean the windshield... try same products outside...?

I had 5 years of hell with the same on my V40, try sonax xtreme,  it works great.

I made the mistake of using the wax finish at a jet wash and messed it up again, and after a few goes this stripped it out.

I tried do many different options,  and only the sonax has worked 

I won't use anything else now.

[AndrueC]

Mine were fine from new but I've just replaced them as I started to get a slight deposit on the fronts. Cost £30 for a complete set and took about five minutes to fit.

[Wheresmywig]

Maybe try a clay bar on the windscreen, should bring it back to smooth glass and get what ever is on it off. Had some good results on previous cars with similar issues.

[RabButler]

I too had the odd transit sticker marks on the side windows and smeary patches on the windscreen. I use good old Windowlene on the glass and it seems to do the trick.

[CurranShelter]

Surprised to read this, as I've always found Toyota Wiper Blades to be pretty decent. Well, on my old Corolla the originals were great but their dealer-supplied replacements seemed not so good. But since then on the Auris, the originals and the Toyota-branded replacements have been good so far. Better than the Skoda originals in an Octavia I was driving the other day.

Anyway, here's what AE have to say about aftermarket options: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product-group-tests/36172/best-wiper-blades-2020-group-test

[Timmon]

I had the "Bionic" treatment from the dealer, and they supplied a full pack of sprays to remove insects, glass cleaner etc. Maybe that has helped, because 15 months in the wipers are working just like new. No squeaks, vibration, or badly wiped bits. Appreciated it during the recent wet weather.

[Platy2]

I had the same issue as OP for the first maybe 15.000 km or so. The wipers leaved a greyish smear that, especially under the right (wrong) conditions of light and humidity, was really annoying. I think the dealer treated the window with some nano crap before I bought the car, that slowly wore off. Today the issue is less of a problem, wipers were also changed at the first service (rather short lived). Not sure what the problem was but really annoying and somewhat dangerous, as jack Spratt noted.

[Luke717]

I got my Corolla at the end of June and the dealer had prepped it superbly for handover. I guess that included ensuring the windscreen (especially), the rear screen and all windows were sparkling, meaning no residues of any type on the windows that would do things like cause brand new Wiper Blades to not perform as they should.

As @Timmon notes, I appreciated well-working wipers during the recent wet weather!