LS430 Wiper Blades

[BigBoomer]

Hi All, what with the naff weather my wiper blades are streaky and getting useless. The screen is in good nick with just one stonechip but that is nowhere near where I'm getting the streakiness. I regularly clean the screen with very fine wire wool to get rid of bug guts and tar and use RainEx to coat it once cleaned.
The current blades were a pair of the cheap Aero VU ones bought from eBay and I had to cut a piece off the plastic cover to fit it to the drivers side wiper arm because of the weird dogleg design, but they have stayed in place nicely.

So, what do you people recommend for the 430? I generally prefer the "Aero" style to the conventional ones, but for a decent streak free wipe I'll fit anything.
I know I need a 24" and a 16" :-)

[cruisermark]

I've had a couple of disappointed experiences with branded wipers so tend to buy the cheap flat ones from eBay (ASH - Auto Silicone Hoses)

My last pair were about £5 and normally I change them every couple of years - they do a perfect job

[Tinonline]

Get OEM as they last forever and are perfect.

Even dealers do a good deal. You do have to shop around.

[The-Acre]

There has been a few posts recently about wipers and properly cleaning windscreens. I recently bought Bosch blades but still I get the fine misting when they wipe, very dodgy when the sun hits it.  

[Malc]

9 hours ago, Tinonline said:

Get OEM as they last forever and are perfect.

that was the case for me until this last pair of rubbers from Lexus ....  I think they are now very very old stock and just don't perform the way they ought sadly

I've always paid the extra ( a LOT too ) for the Lexus/ Toyota wiper rubbers and have been very pleased with them, lasting 3/4 years and 40k miles ..  but this last lot are rubbish, 3 months good lifespan and they do now need changing ....  I'll get my indy to replace with his cheapy rubbers, they last a year or so on the other cars whatever

Malc

[ambermarine]

Just replaced my rubbers from the official Lexus (ebay) work out at £17 for drivers side and are genuine Toyota branded on the rubber .

Always put on genuine and they last 4/5 years.

I did try Trico years ago on my Mark 1 but they were poor and noisy.

[i-s]

I hate to say it...

 

But RainX is your problem. 

 

It's fine in warm weather, or for the first week or two after application, but after that, especially in cold conditions (0-5C) it causes very bad smearing. The reason for it is that behind the wiper blade a very thin film of water is left, and the rainX causes it to bead at a much finer level than normal, so it appears as an opaque mist. This state lasts for 3-4 months after applying RainX. I stopped using rainX on the windscreen (and moved over to Gtechniq G5 for the side windows and mirrors), and things improved. 

 

The other bit of the puzzle is screenwash. Some screenwashes smear horrendously badly. A few years ago Halford's Double Concentrate did so very badly (not tried it since so no idea if they've reformulated it), and Prestone also. I've found Autoglym screenwash and Volvo screenwash not to do so. 

 

Phli mentioned Trico wiper blades - I had a set on my Honda that were great. I bought a set later on for my Volvo and they were abysmal. 

 

Also be aware that the clips on wipers wear out - I had a set on a car that made a loud "CLACK" every sweep when they stopped and changed direction at the top of the stroke. I thought they were hitting the A-pillar but they were not. It turned out that it was play in the clip, and a new set of wiper blades solved the issue. 

 

So, if you get juddering or noises, replace the whole wiper assembly, not just the rubber. If you get smearing, stop using rain repellant, clean the windscreen, put new wipers on and use Autoglym or another good screenwash. 

[BigBoomer]

OEM on the official Lexus site for the 430 are shown as 29.5" (should be 24") and cost £35 for drivers side only. =:-O
For that cost I'll hire someone to lick my screen clean :-)

I'll try the ASH ones and see if they are any better than the existing ones.

Thanks all.

[cruisermark]

48 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

OEM on the official Lexus site for the 430 are shown as 29.5" (should be 24") and cost £35 for drivers side only. =:-O
For that cost I'll hire someone to lick my screen clean 🙂

I'll try the ASH ones and see if they are any better than the existing ones.

Thanks all.

Well I tried them because they do a lot of rubber products so thought they would be half decent and they are. They have invested in their own printed packaging aswell

I searched for wipers 24 16 to find their listing.

Here is a link to their eBay shop

http://www.ebaystores.co.uk/Auto-Performance-Silicone-Hoses/ASH-Silicone-Hoses-Tubes-/_i.html?_fsub=450466019&

 

[MLW]

Not had to replace mine in 3 years yet. I have a theory that because they are lowered 'below' the bonnet line, they are out of the sun, and get less deformed. In the past on other cars I have used Euro Car Parts Bosch stuff. Usually cheap and not that bad.