stumbledotcom said:
Wiper blades are replaced free under the standard 4 years/50k miles maintenance plan in the US.
Not so much...according to my service manager, its one set per year (same as for my previous car, a MINI), which would be July for me. In snow country where they use lots of salt and sand on the roads, wiper blades do not last long in the winter - I often put on 2 or more sets over this period.
I went with the NAPA AccuFit primarily because they were the only option in stock, and they were on sale. The trick for any brand, I think, is to get 'beam' type of blade (new to me). Interestingly, the longest blade made in the AccuFit line was 28" -- Still just a tad shorter than the stock blade by about 1 inch (1/2 inch per end) - yet its not really noticable when on the car.
For the back window, a 12 inch refill will work fine after one clips it to the proper length. With a carefull hand, the old one can be flexxed too slide out - so too can the replacement be slid in. Little opportunity to make the rear blade longer, tho.
Funny -> the NAPA salesman, who actually walked out into the cold to check the size of the blades on the car, asked me if I wanted to buy some fuel injector cleaner as it was on sale. I declined, but took the opportunity to talk about EVs with him (30 minutes...slow night)
And, as stated in a recent thread, the dance of the front wipers to re-set themselves is way cool...worth the effort to replace the blades, me thinks.....
Suprisingly, the fit guide (book and online) for the rainex blades had a 14" beam (not correct) for the driver's side, and a different style 21inch (correct) blade for the passenger.
Conclusion: the afterarket blades work just fne and were <1/2 price of the blades from the dealer.
I hope this helps!
