windshield wiper noise/chatter on 2003 9-5

Jan 29, 2007 3 Replies

I have been looking at the old posts and I get the impression that the Saab original wipers provide best performance. But I wonder if people have any recommendations on any specific type/brand of wiper blade that gives decent performance without the noise and sells at a reasonable price (


I use Bosch too and they're pretty good. They may be original equpiment even.

You may want to consider replacing the wiper arms too.

Graham

As Graham says, there is more you can replace. The rubber (refill) can be replaced, the blade (rubber and blade that holds it) can be replaced and the entire arm can be replaced. Chatter can be caused by a hard refill/rubber, a blade with loose parts, or an arm that is slightly bent and causing the blade to sit at the wrong angle.

The "hanging off the windshield" issue usually means that the arm needs to be removed and reset a few degrees in the other direction.

I've been pleased with Bosch too but you can only buy the complete arms around here so I stopped buying them.

Blades tend to chatter more when they are cold - I had a pair that always chattered below 40 degrees F but were fine above that.

The Bosch wiper blades were OEM on my 9-3, and they may be OEM on the

9-5 too, but they don't seem to be branded as Bosch. During the summer time, I've had excellent results with the OEM wipers on both my 9-3 and 9-5.

However, the wipers do need re-stripping every year (usually), and they don't work quite as well when they are re-stripped.

During the winter time, I've had the best results with getting the "sleeved" wiper blades from Canadian Tire, even though the driver's side blade doesn't have that little "wind spoiler" on it. I guess the extra weight of the sleeved blade serves to keep it well on the windscreen.

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