Clinton Horn

My number one gripe with our car (really the only one) is the noisy wiper blades. I recently made a trip up the eastern seaboard during the noreaster and they were so bad I drove with only Rainex for the trip up. At my destination, in desperation, I purchased a new set of Michelin Radius blades from Wally.The set I got was totally unacceptable. They arched up off the glass and left a swath of wet windshield about 5" wide. I returned them locally and intended to exchange them for some Rainex units that are slightly more expensive ($14 vs $18 ea). As usual, Wally stocks only 24" and down except the Michelin license blades. Since W211's require 26" I was about to move on when I spotted the last pair of Anco Profile blades in 26".
These bad boys are $8 each, fit properly and with only a garden hose test, perform well. No more horrible chatter (at least for now). If they stand up even for a little while, I intend to stock up. At that price they are pretty disposable.

mcleantmw

If you find that the non-MB blades work well for you, that's great. I've found no problems using the blades obtained from my MB Dealer. They're more expensive of course, around $50 a set, but don't encounter problems like you mentioned.

NorseWagon

Same:

When I bought the Wagon in August 09 the wiper blades made quite a racket.

Had the dealer put new ones on (no charge for labor) $50.00 for the front pair and $18.00 for the rear wiper.

Dead quiet and smooth, worth every shekel..

gaazmon

Agree. I have had nothing but problems with the MB blades from the dealer. Versus, our 02 CL500, which the wiper blades work flawlessly, no noise and no streaks. Is that what I get when buying a 50K benz instead of a 100k one?

Barry45RPM

No noise on my wipers. On my 2nd set of blades since delivery.

MBE550

I went through 2 brand new sets from MB, covered by warranty. They chatter and make very loud noise after several minitues of use.

I changed to Valeo. It looks like OEM with same fittings. No more chatters. Just a slight noise occationally.

Flash Gordon

I think many of us, if not all, have experienced those lousy wipers. I had my dealer changed two sets during free maintenance period, but they NEVER worked right! I bought a pair of Bosch for $30 about a month ago and they are very quiet like wipers should be.

SPNJHockey

Ditto on the Bosch blades 6 weeks ago. Can't really go wrong: web purchase for $30.79, free shipping - Bosche Aerotwin (Amazon.com).

gaazmon

+1

FirstMB

Consider yourself lucky, no...very lucky. The first set was so noisy, they gave me a new one. Those were quiet for 6 months, and got noisy again just like the first. Keep in mind that in 6 months, we only put maybe 2k miles, and the cars only see rain like 5 times. It doesn't snow in Houston either, so it's not a typical 6 months like for most.

I will try an aftermarket ones next time. Save money, and have better quality? Lets see if it's too good to be true.

Clinton Horn

I really have no dealer experience with very much of anything. This failure is so annoying that I would consider the dealer's markup justifiable if the results were universal. Unfortunately not every shop appears to have the expertise to "adjust" (bend?) the wiper arm to eliminate the problem.

These blades were cutting edge in 2003. Now you can find them everywhere and at almost any price so I guess if I have to choose between being annoyed for $50 or being annoyed for $16, I'll take the cheaper price. Those of you (daredevils) that have risked installing them yourselves know that the hardest part is switching the ignition off at the right time to strand the wiper arms in the vertical position. At $16 per pair, I'll probably stock up and change them at the recommended interval ( 6 months from one mfg!!!!) I can understand that UV is probably just as harmful as wear.

I will volunteer to be thankful that such a trivial thread is causing so much response. Transmission contamination is a much more worthwhile concern and thankfully one I can only experience vicariously

tbone

I've had the same issues. Blades were replaced under warranty twice. All 3 sets have had noise issues. Does anyone think that, perhaps, the tension of the blade on the windshield is too strong? Could loosening the tension a bit relieve the noise issues?

MBE550

The tension and possibly the angle of the blade arm seems to be a part of the problem. However, changing the blade to another brands fixed the problem for a lot of people.

In my case, it wasn't just noise. Brand new OEM ones chattered and skipped so bad that it felt like the whole thing was going to fall apart.

gaazmon

The problem is most dealers don't know what the h*ll it is to fix the angle. When I asked my dealer to adjust the angle they just looked at me like "wtf???"

tbone

I emailed my SA. His response echoed your reply. He said there isn't a way to adjust the tension. I inquired about the tension, but didn't ask about the angle. His reply was that the rubber hardens quickly and the wipers need to be replaced twice yearly, which is what he does. I would not replace my wipers twice a year!

vettdvr

Part #'s for aftermarket wipers would be nice!

Clinton Horn

Anco " Profile" PN A-26-M Available at Wallyworld (mine anyway)
Size is 26" (650mm) Comes with the usual bag of adapters and a little pocket coin screwdriver to install the correct end.
It was a tough decision $8 each for these or $25 each for OEM.
These (Anco) expose the end of the attachment pin to the driver and passenger. The OEM do not. I am trying to cope with the shame.

paulv

He told you a bunch of BS -- MB has a special toolkit to do exactly that, but like most SA's at dealerships, knowledge is at a minimum with them!

FWIW, I usually buy Michelin wiper blades and remove the rubber insert from them and install it in the MB OEM blade assembly -- I've found that keeping the windshield clean also helps to minimize noise/chatter as well as selecting the top/bottom heat/defrost combo on cold days helps (warms up the windshield).

PIAA makes silicone wiper blades which would be better when it's cold outside but I haven't tried them -- I did try TripleEdge (they're silicone) on my Boxster but they deteriorated quickly (probably due to poor quality).

Regards,
paul...

tbone

Thanks, Paul. I did not believe my SA's reply. I was just "reporting" back here what he stated. Do you have the part number for the Michelin's? I've heard of the PIAA's, but aren't they pricey?

paulv

tbone,

Sorry, I don't have a part # for the Michelin's -- I usually just go into Walmart and pick up a pair of the 26" (non winter) -- I then take them apart (not in the store, but at home!) and take the MB OEMs apart and put in the new rubbers. I have the process down to a science -- it takes me about 15 mins to replace both wiper inserts. I pry off the MB wiper end cap with a very thin screwdriver, and then carefully lift up the small needle pin that holds the rubber in place, slide out the old one, slide in the new one -- a little silicone spray lube helps.

The PIAA refills are about $10 each (26" for MB is part # 94065).

Regards,
paul...

AmazinglySmooth

Michelin's that I bought didn't fit my E500. The adapter didn't allow the blade to lay flat at all. There was a 1/4" gap at one point.

Clinton Horn

I had the exact same problem with the Michelin. I wonder why the Chinese can't get it right?
The good ole Mexicans (ANCO) appear to have.

AmazinglySmooth

I ended up buying from AutoHauz (sp?), but there you have to buy two sets in order to get free shipping. I think I will go with Amazon next time.

paulv

That's why I take them apart, so I don't have to deal with the mounting hardware which usually doesn't fit the MB arm.

Regards,

paul...

gaazmon

can someone post what is the EXACT Bosch part number for the item as there are different ones available on Amazon for 26" (26" / 26" or 26" / 20")

oh and i was wondering if someone could email me the service bulletin for the wiper angle adjustment. please PM me and i'll PM my email address. I have it on my home computer somewhere, but I'm at work right now.