Front Windscreen Wipers

[StuAlteaTDI]

Hi all my 1st post and just a quick question..........

How good are your front windscreen wipers, I have a 54 plate altea with these new floppy rubbery wiper blades and when the wipers go down towards the bottom of the windscreen they clear the rain, etc. However on the return (back to vertical) the passenger wiper tends to leave patches of rain/water on the screen which you cannot say is acceptable. I have degreased the screen and no change, I have let the dealer look at the problem and says it is normal, but how can it be, surely its dangerous?

Does anyone have any experience or fixes? I did think of turning the blades around but not sure if this is possible/worth it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[FinerDetails]

Hi Stu

welcome to SCN Stu

Try actually removing the wipers and give then a good clean with some glass cleaner liquid and a cloth. Should be ok after that. Thats how I sorted mine

Iain

 

[aceman]

I have the same problem and have tried to clean them several times but neveractualy taken them off so I will try that next time.

 

[Tell]

It's a "common" fault and in fact is due to Seat not swapping the way the mechanism works for right hand drive cars, in fact the good people on here in the past said no manufacture swaps the way they work for the right hand market. err this is my first car with two blades my other two just had one...

So if it was left hand drive you would not be bothered, it's only that it's right hand and the blades haven't be altered in how they work is that it's an issue. Any side spun off water is going to sit over there.

 

[aceman]

I have a Leon courtesy car at the moment and that clears the screen on both down and up strokes so doesn't suffer from this problem - strange.

 

[TonyC]

The wipers on mine are pretty poor also. I've ordered a new set from the dealer, but they are apparently "pending" ie. there are none in the country yet.

He was suprised I wanted to replace them, but I usually change them yearly.

 

[andythom]

Is it not advised to change them on a 6 monthly basis?

 

[jerseyaltea]

Looking for a clean sweep!

I've been down to my local dealer today and bought a pair of wiper blades for my Altea. Part No. 5P0955425B £11.16 and 5P0955426B £15.32. They had them both in stock. I don't know why they are a diiferent price when they are the same size, although they are handed. Can't see what make as there doesn't seem to be any makers name or mark other than made in Belguim, so I doubt that they are Bosch Aerotwin in Seat packaging. I'll see how these go as been having the same problems with the return wipe on the LHS as everyone else. I've tried cleaning them both whilst on and off the vehicle with various suggested products which has not helped. Maybe the geuine Bosch Aerotwin 958s will be better but at £39.95 + £2.60 I'll give the Seat one a try first. Now all I have to do is wait for it to rain!

 

[ALTEA DUDE]

Havnt logged on for a while but..


I had that exact same problem with my 54 plate when I got it.... the cure... SIMPLE - swap the left and right blades around! Works perfectly. In fact 18 months since getting the car I'm still using the factory fitted blades and since swapping them round they clear the whole screen perfecty on down and up sweeps.

I got a courtesy Altea once and noticed the passenger blade missing the screen on the up sweep too. I dont see how the car being a left or right hand drive would make any difference to this as the way the Alteas wipers work, means it one thing SEAT doesnt have to swap over when making either left or right hand drive models.... I guess all Alteas must do it.

 

[Tell]

Well on left and right, err no. It's the last wipe of the big blade that you would expect to be on the drivers side. This then displaces water that then sits on the passenger side never to be wiped, since it was the last wipe. Fine if the big wipe is on the driver side which it is on the left hand drive, but on right hand drives the final wipe uses the left blade [facing forward] so you are likely to be left with water on the right - the blades cross .

Clear as mud... it's a common problem with right hand drive two blade cars it's been said.

 

[StuAlteaTDI]

Thanks for all your reply's, I had thought of swapping the blades over left for right and vise versa but thought it couldn't be that simple? I will give that a go, how easy is it to take them off and replace, my golf had the 'normal' wiper blades so these bendy things are a bit of an unknown quantity!!

Once again thanks to all!! This is a very helpful forum!!

 

[ALTEA DUDE]

Dead easy..

Turn the ignition (not the engine) on then off then press the wiper stalk down. This puts the wipers into service mode. Should be pretty obvious how to take the blades off after that.

If the problem you have is the same as I had this should cure it.

I think what Tell is talking about is a different problem. There was a large unswept patch on the passenger side "up" sweep when I 1st got mine (and on a courtesy Altea) right in the middle of the blades path. And swapping the blades cured it.

 

[Tell]

I think Tell might have been wrong since I studied mine tonight working and wasn't convinced of what I said without more rain.... the bottom line is the blades don't work that well, that's why I reckon the Bosch ones will be better when they ship them to the UK since they will use air flow to glue the blades onto the glass. Any news anybody ?.

 

[aceman]

Well, finally got round to swapping blades around last night and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes as they are perfect now. Amazing that I have been driving around for so long ignoring this minor problem when all I had to do was swap blades over.

Cheers Altea Dude.

 

[Tell]

Perhaps I'd better try swapping my over at the weekend as well.

 

[ALTEA DUDE]

No problem, glad my tip worked!

Maybe should post it in the Toledo forum as well as I guess that from the ass forward the Toledo is the same car.

 

[loadswine]

I am going to do mine as soon as there is a break in the rain here. My drivers side wiper was driving me MAD yesterday with its juddering on the downstroke. Neither blade was clearing very well either , so it can't make it worse.
Aaaaah the rain's stopped.......

 

[Tell]

Perhaps it gives the blades a new lease of life by reversing them since the rubber will have been pressed in a certain fashion for a while and reversing them is like shaking a toner cartridge when empty, so as to speak. May be you reverse them back again in six months time ?. Dunno - perhaps. So that's on the general contact front.

Saying that I was watching how mine worked yesterday in all the rain and it does go, well least on a single wipe, drivers side then passengers side, which then leave the water track on the drivers side from the passenger side wipe. That's the issue about right hand / left hand drive cars... but then I convinced myself the other way a week ago. Still plenty of rain about to check it out.

 

[loadswine]

Well I've changed them over and the juddering that I've had from new appears to be gone, at least for now. They seem to clear okay, Tell's theory about a new surface from a different direction makes sense, but as long as the result is decent clearing of the screen, no complaints.

 

[loadswine]

One thing I did notice yesterday afternoon when I was out; the blades tend to lift off the screen a bit over 80 now. Mind you , that was into an extremely strong headwind. When the Bosch ones become available for less than stupid money, I'll have to give them a try.