I've got a 2003 Passat with the "curvy" wipers. There appears to be a flexible carrier, two end caps, and a blade.
How do I get the end caps off to replace the blade? If there's a clip, I can't find it. I've pried around a bit with a tiny screwdriver, but I don't want to do something that damages something (other than the blade which will be replaced).
What am I missing here? Thanks!
You don't! They are one complete unit and you can't just replace the rubber blade. Not unless someone outside of VW makes the refill. And yes... VW has them over priced.
Regular "thin" refills work just fine.
You just have to pry open part of the original wiper carrier and then squeeze it back together after easy as pie.
Just did my 02 Golf and it cost me $6 CDN!!
Mine aren't a complete unit. The blade just rides inside the carrier. In fact (thinking that this would be easy), I already bought the blade refills from a nearby dealer for $9 a piece (same as the local parts store said they could get me a Bosch OEM refill kit).
Only after I got them home did I realize that I couldn't figure out how to remove the end caps.
Anything else you can tell me about how to pry it open? When I hold the carrier with the blade up, the end caps seem to have a catch on the bottom. I've tried pulling hard, I've tried wiggling a tiny screwdriver underneath. I wasn't able to remove them. I'm scared that the force I'm applying is going to damage the end cap.
See if this link helps >>
Help, it does. I'm still slightly confused though.
#2 just says to "pull it off", and #8 shows an end cap with a notch (where you can see the base of the blade).
My end caps have no notch. I finally just pulled really hard. The first one came off okay, but I noticed it is held in by a catch, and I don't see any easy way to undo it. I ended up breaking the catch on the second end cap I was working with.
It still "snapped" back on the blade even with the catch broken. It won't come off easily.
Indeed they do. I had a set that weathered hard during the first 6 months I owned a 2004 Passat TDI.
While in for the dealers $60 oil change (not too overpriced for the synthetic the TDI requires) I asked them to put on some new blades.
They are more than $100, and they told me this...then he adjusted the tension on the arms, cleaned the blades with isopropyl at no charge.
This is one of my favorite automtotive rants:
Primary safety items like exterior lights (of all flavors) should be easily accessible, user-replaceable and reasonably priced. I'm a 20 year owner of VWs, and love them...but they should be ashamed of themselves for this concept on the Passat wipers.
In fact, I'm getting so riled up, I'm going to write to VWoA:-)
I'm not talking about removing the wiper assembly from arm. I'm trying to remove the rubber blade from the assembly.
The URL posted elsewhere in the thread does a good job of showing most of the bits, but the end caps on my wipers may be slightly different. I'm not certain.
If they are like the ones on the '02 GTI I had, you just squeeze the two stainless rails together gently with a pair of pliers and then the insert and the rails slide out of the blade. Then you cut the refill to length, put the rails in their little grooves, and reassembly is the reverse etc. You have to look at it close to see which end you have to squeeze together, one of the ends will have a little raised area around the fingers on the blade. It will make sense when you have it in front of you. Of course, it could be completely different, in which case you'll be sadly confused.
nate
I'll give that a try, but it doesn't sound correct. The end cap has a plastic clip that fits into the bottom of the metal guide. Without being able to see the clip, I wasn't able to guide something in to undo it.
Sounds completely different. I've completed the refill (normal fixed metal guides in the wiper assembly), I've just managed to damage one of the end caps in the process and would like to avoid doing so in the future.
Basically the earlier link shows the wipers I have. The only difference is that one of the shots seems to show an opening on the end cap for releasing it. Mine don't have any such opening.
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