Wipers Smearing On Is250

[RCAnderson]

On the drivers side, my wiper leaves a smear in the middle of the blade (about 2" wide) on the downward stroke (upwards is fine).

I initially thought it was due to the wipers getting old, so I replaced them a couple of months ago, but the replacements did the same, so I wondered if it was due to a dodgy replacement wiper, so I contacted the site I bought them from, and they sent me another replacement, but that does the same.

I also wondered if I managed to get some grease on that portion of the screen, however after it persisting 2 months of use (including rain & wiper fluid), a couple of manual cleans with glass cleaner, and a clean with isopropyl, it remains unchanged.

The only thing this leaves me to wonder, is if it's something wrong with the wiper arm itself. Could it be the arm's not pushing the blade onto the screen enough/too much?

Has anyone else experienced a similar thing? How did you manage to fix it?

Almost forgot to mention, I'm using Bosch Aerotwin blades (previous owner had them fitted, so I don't have the OEM ones to try)

[ChumpusRex]

I've found that the "flat" wipers smear horribly, and that traditional shaped wipers or "hybrid" wipers are much better.

The problem is that the IS windscreen is too curved for normal aftermarket "flat" wipers to apply even pressure.

[johnatg]

Last time I had a stubborn smear like this it turned out to be resin from a conifer tree I'd parked under. Yours could be that or ordinary tree sap (or oil, or.....!).

Clean the glass (especially the side edge and bottom where the wiper stops, as well as the smeared area) and the rubber of the blade with white spirit, then with concentrated windscreen wash additive. Don't let the glass and rubber come into contact with each other until you've cleaned both. Examine the rubber carefully to make sure you've removed all deposits.

You don't get smears with completely clean wipers and glass!

[normski2]

If nothing works and you wish to return to the original OEM set...then try this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290690410797

Think that is the right set to get...prob £70 from Lexus!!

[RCAnderson]

Thanks guys.

@johnatg: As I mentioned before, I tried it with glass cleaner & with isopropyl before, but it didn't seem to help, but I'll give it another go, might have been I missed a spot!

@normski2: I had a quote for new blades from the dealership when I took it in for it's last service (blades were getting old, so needed replacing), and they quoted something around that mark I think, so if I come to it, I'll give them a call first, see if they'll honour the same price again, if not, I'll try those ones!

[johnatg]

But did you clean both the glass and the rubber - if you don't, the rubber will pick up stuff from the glass or the glass will transfer stuff to the rubber.

That eBay reference from Normski is correct - those Denso blades are exacly the same as the oe ones - and much better than one piece ones, as Mark said.

[RCAnderson]

I did, yea (unless I'm mis-remembering!)

[rhosneigr]

We were having problems on my partners VW Polo, tried different makes with no success until I bought some Michelin Stealth ones from Costco. They are approx £6 each and have cured smearing and juddering and are the best wipers I've used in 50 years of motoring.