Bad Wiper Blades?

[Chuck Neubert]

So for all of the folks who have gone to after market wiper blades, what brand have you gone to ? In other word what is the wiper of choice ?

I got the Bosch Icon 21OE and 26OE and they are flawless. Sooo much better than the factory blades.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Replaced my blades with Michelin Endurance XT as mentioned in here. Zero streaks.. windshield is 100% crystal clear. Love it!!!

Ford apparently went from 1yr/12k to 6 months on wipers so I had to buy a set. Highly recommended.

 

[northvibe]

Alrighty... My Ex is only some months old and the driver side streaks HORRIBLE. I even took the windshield wipe from piaa and cleaned and wiped the windshield, cleaned the stock blades and it smears still.

I ordered PIAA aero vogue silicone wipers as they were reviewed one of the best....andddd they don't fit. The wiper is a J channel but the ford uses some new style I haven't seen before. Anyone have an idea on the name of that? so I can buy a wiper that will fit? None of the auto parts stores correctly list the ones that actually fit. They look like a push button arm or I&L arm. Not sure though.

Stock:
21"
26"

 

[peterk9]

Why is it that when a wiper or blade goes bad it always seems to be on the driver's side?

Peter

 

[buzzard302]

As others have mentioned, try Bosch 26OE and 21OE as replacements. The are expensive, but fixed my issue. I have gone through multiple sets of Ford OEM blades, and one set of other brand blades. All smeared.

The Bosch performed well on a recent 700 mile drive through quite a bit of rain.

 

[jdc28va]

Does anyone know who OEMs the Ford wiper blades now? I know it used to be Valeo (maybe still is?) I found the Valeos to be excellent on my 2010 Escape and 2013 Explorer, so I always got Valeo 900 series replacements for them from Rock Auto. I just replaced the OEM blades on my 2019 Ranger with Valeo 900s and they've been great so far.

 

[Rat72]

Replaced my blades with Michelin Endurance XT as mentioned in here. Zero streaks.. windshield is 100% crystal clear. Love it!!!

Ford apparently went from 1yr/12k to 6 months on wipers so I had to buy a set. Highly recommended.

Thank you for the info on these! I replaced my noisy / partially effective with these last night. I was very happy this morning to have a nice streak free windshield without hearing the wipers as well.

 

[1sttimeexplorerowner]

Wipers were terrible from day 1. But the wipers are so low cost it doesn't make much sense for me to make an appointment and use my time to head over to the dealer to get them replaced under warranty. Because they'll just put in the same crappy ones anyway.

Rain-x does work though but it doesn't last long. I try to rain-x my windshield once a month (maybe overkill?) but it helps with the noise and the fluidity of the wipers when it actually does rain.

Right now, after the snowstorm we just had, the wipers are once again super loud, and my windshield is all streaky. But then again i did apply the rain-x the first week of this month, so it's due.

I'm planning on changing them to better ones in spring.

 

[2020ST]

I installed the Michelin Endurance XT. Solved my streaking problems. Noticed the Michelin aren't as stiff as the OEM, so must hug the windshield better.

 

[1sttimeexplorerowner]

My wipers already broke. I suppose from the storm we had a couple of days ago. And i had the wipers "up" so it wouldn't freeze itself to the windshield. It's already ripped making it flappy when i use them. Guess i'm replacing them sooner than spring lol.

Might try out the rain-x. Will report back.

 

[peterk9]

............. And i had the wipers "up" so it wouldn't freeze itself to the windshield.

That's where the windshield wiper de-icer (if equipped) comes in handy. Unfortunately, Ford seems to be phasing that feature out.

Peter

 

[Zeeb]

That's where the windshield wiper de-icer (if equipped) comes in handy. Unfortunately, Ford seems to be phasing that feature out.

Peter

Finally facing the wiper issue. What's the preferred brand/model for a 2020 Aviator Reserve with the trick fluid dispensing wipers?

 

[peterk9]

Finally facing the wiper issue. What's the preferred brand/model for a 2020 Aviator Reserve with the trick fluid dispensing wipers?

I've never had to replace my wipers on the vehicles I've leased. When I had the MKT, the dealer replaced them free of charge after a set period of time but they didn't clean very well so the service manager went back to the old parts bin and retrieved and reinstalled the original ones that were working great in the first place.

Peter

 

[Zeeb]

I've never had to replace my wipers on the vehicles I've leased. When I had the MKT, the dealer replaced them free of charge after a set period of time but they didn't clean very well so the service manager went back to the old parts bin and retrieved and reinstalled the original ones that were working great in the first place.

Peter

Thanks for the input. I've been fighting the "bought at another dealer" syndrome with the local service department since I got mine last February. Their comment on the wiper blades was "oh, you've got a tint on the wind screen, so wiper problems are not our problem" despite the fact that those were dealer installed.

Going back to that dealer isn't an option. Before I ordered the car, I talked with the local Service manager about whether or not they could take care of it if I ordered one. He said that Ford had lots of electric stuff they worked on but couldn't work on these because they'd not paid the $85,000 training fee for Lincoln. The fact that they had paid it for the Ford dealership didn't count because they shared maintenance facilities with the Ford dealership.

Because they were not a Black Label dealer, they couldn't even order me the Aviator. A salesman and myself spent four or five months trying to find a dealer who might work with us. There were no authorized dealers in Utah (my State), Arizona, Nevada, or Idaho who could get one of the cars. So the folks in Colorado Springs were the closest dealer. So that's where it came from, now the local guys have been giving me grief since I bough the thing in February, there will be no help on the wipers from this dealer......

 

[peterk9]

Looking at the AutoNation website, if you want to stay OEM, the wiper blades for the Aviator seem to be the same regardless of trim. The wiper blades are shown as part LC5Z-17528-N for the right and LC5Z-17528-M for the left. They are listed at $13.06 each. The non-heated are actually double the cost.

Wiper Components for 2020 Lincoln Aviator | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com

Peter

 

[Zeeb]

Looking at the AutoNation website, if you want to stay OEM, the wiper blades for the Aviator seem to be the same regardless of trim. The wiper blades are shown as part LC5Z-17528-N for the right and LC5Z-17528-M for the left. They are listed at $13.06 each. The non-heated are actually double the cost.

Wiper Components for 2020 Lincoln Aviator | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com

Peter

I ordered a set, thank you for the link. I'm really starting to wonder about something however. My accountant is trying to do my taxes and when he tried to fill out the form 8936, it said my serial number did not qualify for the PHEV tax credit. The AutoNation website said my serial number didn't exist.

Any thoughts?

 

[peterk9]

I don't know why it doesn't qualify. It is on this list under Ford Motor Company; IRC 30D New Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit | Internal Revenue Service
As for your VIN, try entering it on this site; https://parts.ford.com/en.html
If it still isn't recognized then perhaps that is why the vehicle isn't shown as 'qualifying' for the rebate.

Peter

 

[911jason]

Chipping in a little late to add that my wipes suck too. 2020 XLT purchased as a demo, and as someone else mentioned, I figured they somehow wore them out during the 3500 miles before I took delivery. Same smear right in the middle of the driver’s side.

 

[Byoozoo]

Chipping in a little late to add that my wipes suck too. 2020 XLT purchased as a demo, and as someone else mentioned, I figured they somehow wore them out during the 3500 miles before I took delivery. Same smear right in the middle of the driver’s side.

My 2021 has the same smear sometimes, think it’s just a bad design. I upgraded to new wipers and they’re lightyears ahead of the Oem

 

[911jason]

My 2021 has the same smear sometimes, think it’s just a bad design. I upgraded to new wipers and they’re lightyears ahead of the Oem

Which wipers did you buy?