who8888

It is finally raining in Virginia and finally have a chance to use the wipers. However, I notice that my wipers are not running smoothly across my windshield when they are turned on. The initial wipe is smooth(when there is a good amount of rain on the windshield) but it sticks afterwards and kind of hops across the windshield during light rain like there is not enough rain to wipe off.

In my old CLK, that would be an indication that I need to change my wipers but these are brand new.

Any suggestion or is it just that the new wipers needs to be broken in? It is driving me nuts!

Chaz00Blue

I have had this problem recently on my XG350. I have new wipers as well. I put it down to the tree sap on the windshield due to the fact that we haven't had much in the way of rain for quite some time. When we get a nice long hard rain it stops.

oblu

Same here. Had to a do a 3.5hr freeway drive in pouring rain; by the end of the trip they weren't skipping as much on the back stroke, but it was still there.

I also notice that they don't wipe as clearly as my old BMWs or my wife's Audi wipers.

Right now I'm just putting it down to cost cutting design like the lack of memory for the seats. But maybe they'll wear in and work better?

NO_WUR_E

Substances such as tree sap and some hot wax treatments used by commercial car washes reduce the effectiveness of wiper blades. If the wiper blades do not wipe properly, clean both the windshield and wiper blades using undiluted windshield wiper solution or a mild detergent. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Putting RAIN-X is an excellent product for the rain.

who8888

RAIN-X helped with taking some of the rain away but in light rain, it does not help as much. Will try the windshield wiper solution suggestion.

who8888

I notice they don't wipe as well also. Hopefully with the RAIN-X treatment, it will be better

alboogiee

My Touareg with the aero wipers had the same problem. Apparently the wiper arm is bent at too much of an angle that it pushes the wiper against the window harder then it should. I wouldn’t attempt to fix it myself if that looks to be the problem because you can break either the arm or motor. Warranty FTW.

stephensong

Just keep driving and they will work smoothly. It took mine a few weeks to break in.

Cintoman

Noticed the same thing when I did the C-Drive event down in NJ a few months ago. It was raining pretty good when I went, and when it came time for the road course, it was only misting a bit. But EVERY C that was set up to do the road course (2 or 3 groups of 5 cars) was doing the same thing with the wipers.

Cintoman

who8888

Good to know. Otherwise, I will have to pull over and wait for the rain to pass.. It drove me nuts as I mentioned earlier.

Thanks!

pmb600

I had a similar problem AFTER I used RainX. My wipers have been skipping ever since then. It is driving me nuts. I think I'm going to take off the Rain X with rubbing alcohol or some other glass polish.

JimPap

Thought I remembered something about using alcohol to remove car wash wax from the windshield and wipers.

If you will, try that without glass polish to see if that's enough.

err

It also took mine a few weeks to break in. Now that its broken in, it is really nice and smooth

pmb600

Yeah, I can't take credit for this one. I read that here and on the Meguair's forums.

who8888

If that is the case then it really STINKS! Let me know if you do take the RAIN-X off and it stop skipping. Anyone else use RAIN-X and have the same problem? Although I would like to say I recall having the skipping problem before the RAIN-X treatment.

After the 4 days of non-stop rain in Virginia, I am hoping not to have any for a while

pmb600

I tried putting in the RainX windshield washer fluid last night to see if that works any better. So far I'm not impressed. RainX products suck imo.
Btw, does anyone know of a way to drain the contents of the windshield washer fluid resivoir other than to just keep holding the button to use the fluid.

peabers

I'm with pmb600. I know that a couple of poster have raved about the product. But I used it on a car I had about 11 years ago and it sucked.

There's probably a drain plug as the bottom of the reservoir. Or you can pump it out from the top.

pmb600

Hmm sounds too complicated lol, I think I'll just push the button until it all comes out.

By the way what is the capacity of the tank? I put in so much and it said low washer fluid almost right away.

pmb600

By the way, do you think that putting just plain water in the tank after I remove the RainX fluid would be good to clean out the lines?

peabers

I suspect the RainX probably has some chemicals that repel water (that's what it's supposed to do, at least)... so I don't think water would do the trick flushing it out.

Maybe call them and find out what would wash it away.

weinschela

My experience with Rain-X has been uneven. The Rain-X you apply directly to the windshield has been awful; streaky, wiper chatter. Needed to be removed with glass stripper and I'd never use it again. The Rain-X added to windshield washer fluid has been less problematic, but I just don't use it any more as any advantage over straight washer fluid is slight, and I am concerned that enough of it will cause the same problems as the stuff you apply directly.

LaicepsYdobon

I just got the 2nd Service A done and asked to get new wipers put on also. It was raining pretty hard here on Satrday and my wipers were skipping also. It's because they are new and are not broken in yet. Just keep using them and they will get quieter I promise.

JCOnizuka

Can anyone reconfirm that the wiper blades need a time period in order to break in? Cause I just started using my wiper blades and it is skipping alot on the first and second settings. Please reconfirm anyone?

shellback

I never had any skipping with my wiper blades. They worked fine from day one.

ongster1

I had the windshield wiper chatter on the driver side when I first got the car. During my 1st 3000 mile checkup, I complained to the service adviser and she tried to convince me it was normal. She even tried to wipe down the blade with some cleaner but it didn't help. Again, she tried to tell me it was normal. I asked "If that's normal, why wouldn't both sides chatter?" She had no answer so she finally replaced it under warranty. Haven't had any problems since.

Maybe it's an MB issue (crappy batch of blades?). Bring it up with your service adviser. BTW, I use Rain-X on my windshield too.