Wiper Noise

1996 SL2

Just did some highway driving through light rain and drizzle and a lot of road spray. As the windshield is wiped dry, but not too dry, the wipers make a god-awful noise. Mainly this is bad design I think. Has anyone found a way to quiet these down? I've thought of using the Teflon blades but I don't want to spend $30 without knowing if they will help.

I had a Mazda Protege rental recently and even dry the wipers didn't make noise. I think on the SL2 the wiper arms are too flexible and they start oscillating when you get the wipers go through the stick-slip phenomenon.

Reply to
Box134
Loading thread data ...

How about just cleaning your windshield?

Reply to
Tenzo

If you are talking about the wipers chattering, I think this is because the blades on your car (and my 98 SL2) spend their entire life pressed against the windshield. This causes the blades to get permanently bent slightly in one direction. As the rubber gets older, it loses some of its flexibility. So when the blade needs to go in the other direction, it tends to hop-chatter, especially when the windshield is not very wet.

On some cars (especially more expensive ones), a mechanism lifts the wipers off the windshield to a park position, when the wipers are shut off. I had a Toyota Cressida that did this. So the blades have less tendency to get bent in one direction.

-- Jay

Reply to
Jay Bollyn

phenomenon.

Reply to
teem

Hop-chatter.... excellent description. You've described it perfectly. I have noticed that when the blade changes direction, on the driver side, it rolls over and spatter the wiped area. On my car this phenomenon isn't age-related. This was happening as soon as I replaced the wiper blades, in fact, now that they are worn down it's a bit better, but not much. Also, I replaced just the blades, not the blade and arm. I think the refills were noisier than replacing the arms.

Yeah, I don't know if there's any cure for this other than a re-design.

Reply to
Box134

I've had a number of cars that did this and think it is a horrible idea if you are anywhere near pine trees. The #$$#% needles get under the blades when they are parked and if you forget to clean them out on a daily basis sooner or later you are going to turn on your wipers and be confronted with a bunch of needles streaking up the windshield.

If taking a "set" is the problem, why is one "set" better than another?

Properly designed / decent quality wiper blades are the answer to this problem. A clan windshield helps also.

Regards,

Ed White

Reply to
C. E. White

I should have mentioned earlier, I have 91K on my 98 SL2. I replace the wiper inserts yearly, from the Saturn parts dept. The rest of the wiper assembly is original. Chicago area.

This guy

formatting link
says Bon Ami is good forcleaning windshields. I have never tried it, but I might, especially for theinsides of the windows. I hate the film that products like Windex leave onthe glass. I occasionally apply Rain-X, but it wears off long before Ireapply it. Garageboy also says that Rain-X creates a safety problem when itwears off after a couple weeks. I have never noticed this.

-- Jay

Reply to
Jay Bollyn

I use water and liquid car washing detergent. I scrubbed down the windshield inside and out a few times and finished by rubbing with a towel. This is the only method that leaves the windshield clean enough for me! I think a very clean windshield makes the hop-chatter worse. I hoped someone had tried the Teflon blades, as Teflon has very low friction properties.

Incidentally, I like to keep the inside of the windshield squeaky clean because frost nucleates around dirt particles. Not long before that's a concern.

Reply to
Box134

If you have not tried Rain-X, you might like it. It is like wax for the exterior windshield. It needs to be reapplied every week or two.

Reply to
Jay Bollyn

Unless you live in a rain forest, every month or two should suffice. Oh, and I've been known to Rain-X the windshield of my rental cars because I can't stand not having it.

Reply to
Steve Elmore

I used Rain-X or something like it years ago. I'll give it a try. It will also make me feel good to bum something from my son, as he has some!

Reply to
Box134

Reply to
user

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.