2003 passat wiper refill question

Are there definitley no Bosch aftermarket refils? Bosch usually OEM them. If not, look at the old blade and see who OEMs it for VW.

I don't know about the Passat, but Bosch makes replacements for my 2002 NB and their best line is very good. Check out Bosch Part # P7030-27523

FWIW, Target sells Valeo blades and I think Kmart does too.

Really?

In Canada, Bosch blades are hard to find, not to mention Valeo...which AFAIK, you can only get through VW in Canada.

- Pete

Well, I guess our 2002 Passat has the same blades - are they rubber covered and mount with a single large "pin?" I just checked thepartsbin.com and they claim the blades for the 2001 and earlier cars will fit. I am skeptical, however. I checked with smartblade.com (a Valeo supplier) and they don't list any blades for our Passats. And I checked the AutoZone and NAPA web sites and they say "not yet available." Surely somone has a solution cheaper than $70! Perhaps someone on VWVortex or ClubB5 has the answer.

Bill snipped-for-privacy@cvm.msstate.edu

78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93 95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02 (Remove the CAT to email me)

Replying to my own post...

I just found out on VWVortex that the blades are Bosch Aero-Twin blades:

A brief Google search did not turn up an aftermarket source for them, however.

Bill

78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93 95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02 (Remove the CAT to email me)

Yup...I've seen Valeo "Smart Blade" wipers at both Target and Kmart in my area (San Diego). However it's possible that not all Targets and Kmarts carry the same things (used to work at Kmart years ago in high school and college and their merchandise mix wasn't absolutely identical in all stores).

Smart Blades are exactly what VW buys from Valeo...

I know that Canadian Tire (a.k.a. Crappy Tire) carries Bosch blades, but I haven't used them...

- Peter

IMHO wipers are one thing that Bosch does poorly. Maybe they've changed in recent years but I tried Bosch wipers on my A2 GTI twice and in each case they either shredded before a year went by or they went bad in some other manner (like the clip not keeping them locked in place and the rubber sliding out). Have had much better luck with other brands of wipers.

Except for the airotwin blades which are Bosch.. More and more manufacturers use them and they are very expensive. Ford charges 40 euro's a piece for them... Ford just started using them on the new Focus C-Max.

Remco