jsloan01

I am fed up with my wipers. Every so often, when there is a down pour, like today, my wipers go nuts. They operate correctly on the setting, but the whole system shutters while going across the windshield.

It's difficult to describe, but the wipers do not smoothly wipe across the windshiled and skips parts of it as they swipe. In the process, the wipers shutter extremely loud and shake the whole car. Initially, if I used my washer fluid, the shuttering would cease for about five swipes and then its back to the shuttering.

I do not know what to do. I have taken it to the dealer twice (Rahal) and it always comes back "problem can't be duplicated". To thier credit, every time I get an appt. it's not raining.

Has anyone had this problem?

~CL500~

My father's E500 did the same thing and my CL does it sometimes. Did you try cleaning the windshield with a solution? The merc wipers hug the windshield pretty well, so it's easy for it to hop sometimes.

jsloan01

I clean my car fanatically. I just did a wash and wax this weekend - I clean the windshield with washer fluid (in a spray bottle) and window rags I have from an old job at a car dealership.

Should I do something different??

~CL500~

Try a dedicated winshield cleaner instead of the washer fluid. You can find it at an auto parts store. They're usually stronger.

Other than that, i'd change the wiper inerts.

StapleGun

Just a suggestion..use a product called 'Bon Ami' or Barkeeper's Friend and a wet non-abrasive sponge and clean it from top to bottom and rinse thoroughly(the latter is better than the former BTW). I always use the Rain-X in solution (yellow plastic bottle) afterwards, not the aerosol version.

~CL500~

^^^^^
Yup. Rain-X works very well. Gives you the beading.

superduper

Buy a new set of wiper blades. I bought the Innovision blades by Trico at Pep Boys. The work get, alot better than the dealer ones.

http://www.tricoproducts.com/

jsloan01

Do you really think its the wipers? The arms themselves shutter too. Also, if it were the wipers, would this indicate the problem would occur 100% of the time.

I drove about three hours last week during a winter storm and wipers performed great.

I guess I can try new inserts - is it normal to replace them (car has 12,000 miles)

Thanks!

~CL500~

Honestly, I replace wipers on all my cars about once a year, right before winter. They just start wiping like crap after a year.

X72

My 03 W211 E320 also had skipping wipers. I had them replaced a couple of times, but they would start skipping after only a couple of weeks. The dealer bent the wiper arm in some way and that seemed to solve the problem. My latest wipers have been on over 1.5 years, and no skipping. They are not cleaning as well so I need to replace them.

I think the hugging the windshield idea may have merit. I think that the car was designed so the windshield wipers would work at very high speeds. The downside is the skipping problem at low speeds that quite a few people have complained about.

I have had good experiences with the Bosch Micro Edge Excel (it had to be the Excel, not the regular Micro Edge) wipers. My car has the aero wipers, so I cannot use them since they won't fit. I don't know what wipers the W203 comes with. If they come with the regular metal frame wipers, then change them to the Micro Edge Excel and you will like the results.

As far as the dealer not being able to replicate the problem, the easiest way to deal with this for you to figure out how to replicate the problem for them. I bet the wipers work perfectly when you use windshield washer fluid. So they spray some windshield washer fluid and the wipers work perfectly. You then get the dreaded "problem not replicated" answer.

Have you tried spraying your window with rainwater or just plain tap water with a spray bottle? If they chatter, then you can easily replicate the problem.

Good luck. I am a windshield wiper fanatic and the chattering wipers were driving me insane, so empathize with your situation.

I tried Bon Ami and that did nothing. Of course, using the MB windshield washer surfactant (it comes in little plastic ampules; I think it called SummerFit) helps since this is basically soap. I have been using a squirt of the Mr. Clean Auto Dry soap instead since it is cheaper and easier for me to buy.

William
2003 E320

advans

Easy, replace ur wipers or clean them....

If it snows where u are, get some cheep rain-x wipers for the winter, I got thme for 9.99 each at r&s

jsloan01

Alright, so it looks like I may just replace my wipers, if all else fails.

Is this covered undered warranty/maintenance? Should i just stick w/ the dealer, or get something from Pep Boys as suggested above.

I looked @ a few threads during a search, but I can't figure out if I have Aero Wipers or regular wipers.

superduper

Aero wiper look like this. The innovision ones look exactly the same.

jsloan01

Thanks for the pic - that's what my wipers look like on my 2004.5 C230. So am I correct to assume those cars are equipped with Aero Wipers?

Edit: Does Innovision fit the C230 SS? Here's the link to Trico for the Blade - I do not see a C Class listed.

http://www.tricoproducts.com/part_lo...out=300#apptop

superduper

This site has similar ones (Valeo) as well for a little more. The size for the innovisions would be the same though. 22"

http://ultimatewiperblade.com/select...&Select=Select

22-9 for the pass, as well as the drivers side .

superduper

Sorry, the innovision part numbers would be 14-220 for the pass and the drivers sides. I think they were around 17.00USD each.

http://www.tricoproducts.com/brochur...reset1333trico

advans

Take some pics, well if they are under warranty, but some cheep wipers for the winter, then put these back on and have the stealers replace it when it gets warmer,

amdeutsch

Looking at MY03 it shows 14-220 for driver and 14-220 for passenger. MY04 doesn't list a C-class.

jsloan01

F! So it looks like I am back to square one.

I may just go back to the dealership.

I do appreciate everyone's time and help.

amdeutsch

Just measure them. Can't be that hard.

X72

jsloan01, don't give up on the Trico Innovision. If they look the same as your wiper blades, they will probably fit. My W211 E320 has a totally different wiper arm and wiper blade design as compared to the W203.
See this thread for pictures I posted if you are curious.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ighlight=wiper
William
2003 E320

Jkw

I would put the best wipers on now for the winter, that's when you need them to work well, try the dealer they replace mine under the warranty everytime I have a service done.

jsloan01

You get them done under Warranty?

To add insult to injury, my SRS light popped on yesterday. So I am taking my car into the dealer Friday morning. They said the wipers were not covered under Warranty.

Any further input on this? Don't they switch wiper inserts for Service B? I only have 12,500 miles clocked.

Thanks

alpinweiss

The wipers have been the one problem I have on my 2005. The dealer has replaced the blades and done a service bulletin (bending as described in one of the above posts), but the chatter problem still occurs. I would be happy to pay for new blades, but I have not found anything that will fit from the aftermarket. My wipers look different than those on previous year models.

I was thinking either the rubber in the blades is too sticky, or the wiper arm spring has the wrong tension (too strong or too weak).

Jkw

I don't know if it's warranty or what but,
Whenever I go in for a Service A or B I sak them to change the blades and they do.