Clinton Horn

My recently acquired 320 has some brittle wipers. I have looked on the internet and in the parts stores for the aero style that my car uses. Apparently "early" 2003 cars used conventional arms. Mine definetly has the rubber frame type. I have found ICON wipers that look identical BUT they have a traditional bayonet type mount. I have purchased a set of 26" replacement blades that I think will slide right into the aero frame. The Icons are $50 and they look like they will need mods anyway. Dealer is my last option. Anyone use plain ole 26" refill type blades as replacements? Even these are hard to find as most inventory 24" and 28". I will definitely buy a couple pair if I find some good ones (refills that is). The new complete units seem like a waste. The ones I bought are described as OEM. Ice and snow are not a problem here so I might be OK.

BudC

I bought the Bosch http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com...rt=Wiper+Blade for my 2004 E320 and they seem to be a perfect replacement.

sgaar

What is the expected life for a set of OEM blades with normal usage? Is it normal that the end of the blades with low speed doesn't wipe in a smooth motion but rather in a jagged? The jagged motion goes away when the speed increases as the wind pushes the blades against the windshield.

paulv

You can go the route that BudC went as I believe that those blades are the exact replacement (seen them online before). I ended up buying a pair of Michelin 26" blades at Walmart ($8 each) and removed the rubber insert, and then took my OEM blade apart to replace the refill -- a little silicone lub was helpful sliding the insert onto the blade assembly -- they work great. If you're cheap like me, this is the way to go -- took a half hour to replace both blade rubbers.

Regards,
paul...

Clinton Horn

Well, I got some Trico refills from Advance for $5 each. They are the right length and slightly wider. I used dishwashing soap which did not work as well as silicone. They are probably good for a couple of years down here. They are very smooth as opposed to the stuttering swipe from the old ones. I have blisters on both index fingers from tugging on them to get them into the frames. I believe I will retract my previous statement and buy complete units next time.

paulv

I also initially used dishwashing soap but found out quickly that it wouldn't work so I went with silicone spray. If I stayed with the soap, I would have ended up with blisters also.

Besides the price, the other reason I didn't buy the OEM-type replacements was because of the chattering noise they make -- I didn't wnat to spend $$ for noisy wipers. I'll keep using my cheapo approach until I break the blade assembly someday and be forced to buy new ones!!

Regards,
paul...

edspider

Those ICON blades looked great and they are from Bosch. I don't need wipers, but I hope they'll fit without mod when the time comes.

Clinton Horn

I am sure that there is an Icon blade that fits. But like most things I own, the 2003 is a "special case". Some of the wiper fitment books refer to early and late, some require chasis numbers. As I said, the parts houses carry Icons but mostly as an upgrade to domestic cars and the ones I could find were not set up for the pin mount the MB cars need. I will definetly get the next ones with premium blades and shop on line. I needed them "right now" as the old ones made my wife's skin crawl. Believe me, after tearing my fingers up, the $25 savings looks petty

LAZARU5

I tried the Michelin blades from Walmart. I went with the 28" blades and trimmed 52mm off the end that was secured to the wiper arm. The complete arm/blade assembly was $5.76 each.

I used some car soap diluted 50/50 as a lubricant. It was not particularly easy to slip the refill in place. I would definitely recommend trying to find an exact replacement refill if you want to reuse the wiper assembly.

The Michelin blades seemed good for a brief test with the windshield squirters. But in a continuous rain I found them to be very squeaky. Hopefully, they wiil improve after a few uses.

At $35 to $40 dollars a pair from online suppliers, it's probably not worth the hassle to replace the blades.

LAZARU5

Three weeks of squeaky wipers was enough. I switched back to the original refills. I did flip them end for end since they were deformed from resting in the same position for awhile. I still think it's worth replacing the refills, just not with the blades from WalMart.

paulv

I've often wondered if "rotating" the wiper balde inserts for the same reason you stated would be a good idea. BTW, my cheapo approach is still woking OK, but the wipers are initially noisy on a cold windshield (typical of any wiper on any cold windshield, I guess).

Regards,
paul....