Does anyone has any tips on taking care the wipers rubber? I wash once a week and always use wet towel to wipe down the dirty blade rubber. So i am thinking at some point the rubber will be dried out due to cleaning and washing. Here in OC it just never rains so the sun and car washing will dry out the rubber. Does anyone apply anything to it? I have conditioner wiper for interior surfaces, I wonder if I should use it on the wiper a bit. I am not saying get oily residue on the rubber but some sort of mild conditioner? Any thoughts?

 

Keep the car out of the sun. How much are new blades anyway?

 

At my last service I asked them to change mine and almost choked when I picked it up and was presented with a bill for $60 and change.

 

Got away cheap...he he...
They can be ordered from our fav dealer in florida for 15 each including the
part that holds the blade.

 

Oh snap... is there a part #?

 

Im in the process of gettin some now, but the part numbers vary from car to car. (aero wipers and such?)

They are still 15 buxish

 

Yea, mine are the aero wipers.

 

Really, B? They changed mine for free last time I had them replaced.

 

The dealer I used to go to in the Bay Area did the same. MB of Fresno sucks... that's yet another reason why I'm going Audi next!

 

Audi next, me too. That S4 keeps me awake at night!

 

That's because you have a 2004. That is the last MY they offered the Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Committment.

 

Blake has a 2004 too, so I don't see what the problem is? Only problem I see is that they didn't replace it for free for Blake!

 

The aero arm/blade assembly for the taxi’s are 203 820 15 45 (LH), and 203 820 14 45 (RH).

For the edification of the OP, isopropyl alcohol works well to remove atmospheric contamination from the blades. It will not fix a worn rubber. If they have exceeded their useful service life, just pitch ‘em and purchase new Valeo replacements from your preferred vendor. Next time you encounter precipitation in 7th, aka D, you’ll be enjoying improved visability.

 

Good point, I didn't notice that. I guess maybe he could be out of warranty either for time or mileage in which case he would have to pay for them. But I will let him answer, just my speculation.

If I might hijack for just a moment since we are talking about wipers. I recently Rain-Xed my windhield using the RainX wipes. It just rained yesterday and today for the first time and it worked, the water was beading up very well. But when I had the wipers on, during the return sweep the wipers skipped a lot, everytime. Did I do something wrong?

 

My concern EXACTLY! My previous car was a older Passat, wiper change is $40! This is pretty typical of German car. I do not want to see a $60 bill for two wipers. Since we never get rain here in CA I didn't change the Passat wiper in all 5 years I owned it. People always think oh this should be cheap, nothing is cheap nowdays. Look at milk and eggs at the store. Everyone tries to rob you blind.

So I wonder where online I can get a pair of these $15 wipers...

 

Theres a national breakdown recovery company in the UK called RAC (like TripleA), anyway they run a commercial with simple car tips and one of them is to clean the wiper blades with vinegar, supposedly it cleans the deposits on the blades and gives a better swipe on the windshield too.

 

No, he's not out of warranty yet, hence the question I posed to him. I know Blake personally, so that's where my concern is. Hate to see homeboys get shafted by the dealer.

 

It was my last free service (~45k miles), but the dealer said that the wiper blades were a wear and tear item (similar to brake pads, etc.) not covered under free maintenance. Not that $60 is going to break the bank, but I certainly wasn't expecting it to be that much.

 

Hmm ok that sounds like BS then. I would look in your maintenance booklet and see what it says. I guess it depends on weather it was an A or B service, but I thought they replaced them at every service under the maintenance plan. Worst comes to worst, call MBUSA and ask them. If they say it should have been included, make the dealer give back your money or dispute the charge.

 

I know tire rack has replacements, so I just went on there to check pricing. Blake, looks like the dealer didn't shaft you. Tire rack price is $29.99 each.

 

Wow... I guess I don't feel so bad then.

 

step one: drive to autozone

step two: purchase new blades for about $20/set.

step three. go out into parking lot and install.


be sure to repeat this once every couple months.

 

303 Wiper Treatment works very well at keeping wipers blades in good shape: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/303-30336.html

 

Hm, Imma try this out. It says that it eliminates streaks too and that's something I can't get rid of, even after wiping the wipers down. Thanks for the link, johnand.

 

Seems to work even better when you run the 303 Washer solution as well. I have been using both in all my cars for almost a year and and very happy with the results.