JBMCL

I went to a touch-less car wash at my local gas station yesterday(too cold to hand-wash and wanted to get rid of the salt on the undercarriage). I came home, pulled the wiper blades up to clean, a little bit of resistance when pulling the wiper blades up but didn't see or hear anything out of the norm.

Today I turned on the wipers since it was raining and it kept chattering and skipping. It was really annoying and you can tell from the marks on the windshield that its "sticking" to parts of the windshield as it wipes.

The wipers never chattered or skipped before, not even when it was bone dry outside. It would just glide perfectly over without making any sound.

Has anyone have/had this issue or know how to resolve it? Did I accidentally yank too hard and broke the wipers or relocated it or was it the soap/fluids that the gas station used that made my windshield "sticky"?

The car is barely 4 months old..

Thanks in advance!

sean1.8t

I have no idea what to say really. Sounds like you've accidentally adjusted something when you moved them. I can't imagine how though since it would take quite a bit of force to alter them and I'm doubting you would accidentally apply that much force to them. If no one has any advice for you regarding this, I'd give your sales guy a call and tell him it started to malfunction out of no where. They should take care of you and have it back to you working properly by the end of the day.

On a side note, I can't even "erect" my wiper arms. They are so deep in the cowl that they don't clear the hood. This is quite frustrating during winter. Not only for snow removal but I like to erect the arms if I know it's going to snow overnight so they don't freeze to the windshield.

kleinebin

Several reports indicate there is something on the windscreen that make the wipers stick regardless.

They are designed like this. I have no idea why.

sean1.8t

"To **** me off" seems to be the reason so far.

alexasa

iTrader: (1)

The few first thousands miles my car did this. But as they wore in it went away.

StanNH

This is a very common complaint with these wiper blades, and it has been discussed here and on other forums many times.

MB has changed the design of the blades for these cars at least twice and, as far as I know, there are no aftermarket replacement blades available for later production vehicles. The blades seem to be very sensitive to anything on the glass or on the blade. The only fix is a thorough cleaning of the windshield glass and the blades with a glass cleaner or rubbing alcohol.

The wiper arms can be put into their service position by simply turning on the wipers, then quickly shutting off the ignition when they reach their upper range. The arms will then pivot out fully.

flycaster

As for getting the wiper blades into a serviceable position, take a look at your manual. There is a set procedure that will allow for manipulation of the blade arms. However, Stan does give an easier approach.

When I got my new 2017 coupe, the blades chattered under all conditions. Of course, I thoroughly cleaned the blades and windshield, but all to no avail. Doing a little research, I found out that the problem can often be fixed by twisting the blade arms so that the blades are perpendicular to the windshield; however, this didn't work. Took the car into MB and they did all the stuff that I did, including using a specially designed machine to twist the blades, but again to no avail. The final solution was to replace the entire windshield and so far this seems to be working. BTW, MB has replaced many windshields to solve this well-known chatter problem. Good luck.

Shadwell

You likely have TFR (traffic film remover) or wash and wax residue un evenly dried on the screen.


A little compound (eg meguiars ultimate compound) or medium grade polish followed by window cleaner (eg stoners invisible glass) will usually improve matters...


Have a look through this web site for a wealth of detailing knowledge; I have referenced the glass cleaning article specifically for you..


http://www.autogeek.net/waterspots.html

Shadwell

oh and cleaning the wiper blades themselves with iso propyl alchohol on a MF cloth will help too..

porshah

I had the same experience.

flycaster

All good "detailing" ideas and all tried without success in my case. Only the windshield replacement worked. The OP's problem may be different in that he didn't notice it early on. Nonetheless, wiper chatter is a known issue at MB, and windshield replacement is the go-to fix when more standard fixes don't work.

Mr. J

Spray on wax makes my wipers chatter every time it's applied. The wipers are extremely sensitive to anything but bare glass. Like other have said, clean the windshield thoroughly with denatured alcohol and the problem should go away.

On the rare occasion that I use an automatic car wash I always pick the cheap one with no wax additives.

No need for spray on wax anyway. I put a coat of Nu-finish on her when she was new and I coat again every 6 months or so.

arnold0523

YES! REPLACING THE WINDSHIELD HELPS!!!
That's the last step my gone C300 took. Something was on the windshield that couldn't be cleaned. I believe it was RainX. It started to chatter after I put RainX on and nothing helped until the windshield was changed.

Darrington

Mine chatter a bit too, oh...and my intermittent settings don't work! Need to bring it to the dealer.

JBMCL

Thanks for all the suggestions.

It was pretty dry shortly after I posted this, so I didn't really test out the wipers. I tried turning on my wipers when it was dry and there wasn't much resistance or chatter(just like before). The rain came yesterday and I turned my wipers on, everything seemed fine except for some slight chatter towards the far edges.

Weird..

MXwife4life

4mo ago I purchased a new 2016 C300 from MB dealer in Temecula, Ca. As soon as the rainy weather came my windshield wiper on the driver side as soon as it comes up it's fine as soon as it goes back down it skips & it doesn't clear the window and it's so loud that people look at me wondering what that noise is. I have no visability 10" from the windshield up where its skipping. It only produces this issue on 1st & 2nd setting, whether its sprinkling or pouring, stopped or going. Its very scarey. Dealer has replaced the blades twice, replaced the arms twice, deep cleaned the windshield three times even though I park in an open space at work free of trees and garaged at home. Its only washed at MB. I hadto film the issue for MB because they couldnt duplicate the issue with their water hose, squirt bottle, washer fluid or water bottle. I told them maybe it has something to do with the car moving in the wind, drive the car while its raining! They put 85 miles on my car in 1 day but couldnt see anything but "chattering" wipers they called it. I told them I dont care about noise, I want to see when its raining when Im driving my 90mile commute a day! They are rude & talk down to me. I had enough, so I contacted the CEO & VP of MB Inc. Their asst called me the next day & informed me the GM of this dealership has been notified. They took my car again last night for the 5th time. Ive been in their horrible loaners more times than my own car. I was an Audi purchaser prior but always wanted a Benz but this has been a nightmare, I dont think I will ever buy another. The free car washes are mediocre. I thought the MB slogan was "the best or nothing:? I guess I received the nothing. I am grateful MB Inc. took my complaint serious & got involved or my safety & others would be in harms way when the next storm thats coming from basically having no visability when I drive in the rain. I hope this is my last trip to the service dept for my drivers side wiper issue. I will post the end result.

LILBENZ230

It's the windshield. MBs have been having widespread wiper issues for years, and I have personally been battling it since picking up my W204 last year. 2x wiper replacements, many wiper arm adjustments, and deep cleaning windshields.. and it's still not perfect. The windshield seems to be the culprit. Even after deep cleaning and even using claybar, it still has spots that seem sticky - you can rub across it with a dry cloth and feel resistance.

Let us know if they're able to make yours work correctly.