Freaking sklpping wipers...
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
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From: Maryland
2024 S580
Freaking sklpping wipers...
Has anybody else had issues with juddering/skipping wipers? I struggled with it at the beginning, and then I don't know if I finally got whatever was on the blades off or what, but they got quiet. I had the same set of blades from 10k miles to 40k miles and replaced them again, but I kept the old blades in case the new ones skipped. Sure enough, they skip like hell. I have scrubbed and stripped the windshield and scrubbed the blades, nothing worked. A shot from the washer will quiet them down for a minute or two. Driving around today in the rain I used a whole gallon of washer fluid. So tonight I stripped the glass again and put the old wipers with 30k on them back on and silence again...bizarre...
Ignore the smearing, its the humidity settling on the car when its stopped. In motion no smearing exists:
New wipers:
Old wipers back on:
Pretty much every MB I have driven has terrible, juddering wipers. Drove our Pacifica back from NJ this morning in the rain, it has incredible wipers compared to these...
Ignore the smearing, its the humidity settling on the car when its stopped. In motion no smearing exists:
New wipers:
Old wipers back on:
Pretty much every MB I have driven has terrible, juddering wipers. Drove our Pacifica back from NJ this morning in the rain, it has incredible wipers compared to these...
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2023
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GLE 580
Try these Bosch mentioned in this post:
https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...ml#post8879446
https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...ml#post8879446
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
Likes: 4,630
From: Maryland
2024 S580
Try these Bosch mentioned in this post:
https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...ml#post8879446
https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...ml#post8879446
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,467
Likes: 5,355
From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
MB sells a special solvent for this problem to get contaminants off the windshields. Your old wipers likely have greasy grime on them that masks the contaminants that cause the fresh blades to judder. Products such as Rain-X and even commercial window cleaners make the issue worse over time. They all leave residue on the glass. I only clean my glass with a 50/50 mix of water and isopropyl alcohol. A secret I learned from a car detailer. It gets the grime and grease off that otherwise ends up on the blades. Living in mostly dry California I don't actually use my wipers very much and my biggest issue is that they dry out. Surprised you had the same blades for this long. As far as I know they are supposed to be replaced as part of the regular services. I got new blades with every service as far as I can remember and it was included in the maintenance package. Another thing I observed is that my blades actually got smoother after I had to replace my windshield due to a rock impact. I've made this observation before with other cars. It seems that the glass gets contaminated during transport, but fresh glass from the factory that isn't shipped installed on a car is free of contaminants and then using the water/alcohol mixture keeps future contaminants off.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
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From: Maryland
2024 S580
MB sells a special solvent for this problem to get contaminants off the windshields. Your old wipers likely have greasy grime on them that masks the contaminants that cause the fresh blades to judder. Products such as Rain-X and even commercial window cleaners make the issue worse over time. They all leave residue on the glass. I only clean my glass with a 50/50 mix of water and isopropyl alcohol. A secret I learned from a car detailer. It gets the grime and grease off that otherwise ends up on the blades. Living in mostly dry California I don't actually use my wipers very much and my biggest issue is that they dry out. Surprised you had the same blades for this long. As far as I know they are supposed to be replaced as part of the regular services. I got new blades with every service as far as I can remember and it was included in the maintenance package. Another thing I observed is that my blades actually got smoother after I had to replace my windshield due to a rock impact. I've made this observation before with other cars. It seems that the glass gets contaminated during transport, but fresh glass from the factory that isn't shipped installed on a car is free of contaminants and then using the water/alcohol mixture keeps future contaminants off.
In any event, this is a big issue with MB. No other car I have owned has ever had wipers this finnicky, and all the same cleaners and products are used on both my vehicles and the previous vehicles I have had. Lexus and Chrysler both have much better wipers (they are actually the same Denso wipers). Its a pretty common issue on all the forums here. This is a video of a GLC loaner I had, same issue with the wipers:
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Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,467
Likes: 5,355
From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
In any event, this is a big issue with MB. No other car I have owned has ever had wipers this finnicky, and all the same cleaners and products are used on both my vehicles and the previous vehicles I have had. Lexus and Chrysler both have much better wipers (they are actually the same Denso wipers). Its a pretty common issue on all the forums here. This is a video of a GLC loaner I had, same issue with the wipers:
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Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
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From: Maryland
2024 S580
Maybe so, its the first car I have had issues with, but its my first European car. On my Lexus cars I would have skipping wipers until I went back to the OEM wipers which were great.
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S600
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MBWorld Fanatic!
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2014 S550 AMG, 2017 XT5
Has anybody else had issues with juddering/skipping wipers? I struggled with it at the beginning, and then I don't know if I finally got whatever was on the blades off or what, but they got quiet. I had the same set of blades from 10k miles to 40k miles and replaced them again, but I kept the old blades in case the new ones skipped. Sure enough, they skip like hell. I have scrubbed and stripped the windshield and scrubbed the blades, nothing worked. A shot from the washer will quiet them down for a minute or two. Driving around today in the rain I used a whole gallon of washer fluid. So tonight I stripped the glass again and put the old wipers with 30k on them back on and silence again...bizarre...
Ignore the smearing, its the humidity settling on the car when its stopped. In motion no smearing exists:
New wipers:
https://youtu.be/UoMoHavHkKM
Old wipers back on:
https://youtu.be/dOlKmqr38tA
Pretty much every MB I have driven has terrible, juddering wipers. Drove our Pacifica back from NJ this morning in the rain, it has incredible wipers compared to these...
Ignore the smearing, its the humidity settling on the car when its stopped. In motion no smearing exists:
New wipers:
https://youtu.be/UoMoHavHkKM
Old wipers back on:
https://youtu.be/dOlKmqr38tA
Pretty much every MB I have driven has terrible, juddering wipers. Drove our Pacifica back from NJ this morning in the rain, it has incredible wipers compared to these...
MBWorld God!
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 32,515
Likes: 6,349
jk jk
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
Likes: 4,630
From: Maryland
2024 S580
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Idaho
2024 GLE 450
My wife just got her new GLE 450 ( 1 month ago) and the front windshield smears like crazy when it rains and is scary to drive. We have washed it and it looks and feels like there is a film or grease or something on the window. Washed multiple times and still an issue. Need to try new wipers - any suggestions? Don’t want to replace with MB at this point. Her old ML350 never had this issue. We do have the acoustic glass if that makes a difference.
thanks for any advice!
thanks for any advice!
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 477
Likes: 124
2016 S550
Maybe the new wipers are defective? Lol
It’s not an MB thing, because mine have been fine. Bought a set from FCP Euro. The old set from previous owner was so old the little holes were clogged and the magic vision was terrible.
My fiancée’s Lexus IS 250 does stutter, and rain x cures the problem, temporarily. I’ve only ever noticed it doing it since a windshield replacement via Safelite, and they used some cheap aftermarket brand. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. After awhile it does start to stutter again and this last cure was some generic brand that America’s Tire sells.
It’s not an MB thing, because mine have been fine. Bought a set from FCP Euro. The old set from previous owner was so old the little holes were clogged and the magic vision was terrible.
My fiancée’s Lexus IS 250 does stutter, and rain x cures the problem, temporarily. I’ve only ever noticed it doing it since a windshield replacement via Safelite, and they used some cheap aftermarket brand. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. After awhile it does start to stutter again and this last cure was some generic brand that America’s Tire sells.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
Likes: 4,630
From: Maryland
2024 S580
If you look around the forum skipping wipers is a common issue with MB. Every MB loaner I have ever had for instance has had terrible skipping wipers. The original set I had on the car also skipped, since going back to the set I had before this latest set they are perfect again.
If the wipers are defective that’s also on MB, $200 set of wiper blades 2 out of the 3 sets I have had shouldn’t be bad.
If the wipers are defective that’s also on MB, $200 set of wiper blades 2 out of the 3 sets I have had shouldn’t be bad.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 290
Likes: 48
From: Florida
2013 ML350, 2019 S560
My wife just got her new GLE 450 ( 1 month ago) and the front windshield smears like crazy when it rains and is scary to drive. We have washed it and it looks and feels like there is a film or grease or something on the window. Washed multiple times and still an issue. Need to try new wipers - any suggestions? Don’t want to replace with MB at this point. Her old ML350 never had this issue. We do have the acoustic glass if that makes a difference.
thanks for any advice!
thanks for any advice!
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
Likes: 4,630
From: Maryland
2024 S580
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 290
Likes: 48
From: Florida
2013 ML350, 2019 S560
Just to be clear, I am suggesting machine polishing. Much more effective than hand polishing. May need to be followed by glass or paint sealant to achieve best wiper performance.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
Likes: 4,630
From: Maryland
2024 S580
In any event, the wipers should just work, even if all of this did fix the issue, it shouldn't be necessary and isn't necessary on other brands of cars. This is the first car I have ever had issues with skipping wipers on, and to have every loaner I have had and driven in the rain have the same issue?
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 477
Likes: 124
2016 S550
If you look around the forum skipping wipers is a common issue with MB. Every MB loaner I have ever had for instance has had terrible skipping wipers. The original set I had on the car also skipped, since going back to the set I had before this latest set they are perfect again.
If the wipers are defective that’s also on MB, $200 set of wiper blades 2 out of the 3 sets I have had shouldn’t be bad.
If the wipers are defective that’s also on MB, $200 set of wiper blades 2 out of the 3 sets I have had shouldn’t be bad.
If you're having skipping issues with the new wipers, but not the old one, obviously it's not the glass. The wipers should be returned and exchanged for being defective.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 459
Likes: 253
From: SD
Various
Just drove cross country… snow, slush, lots of road grime and spray when working around trucks, and my wipers worked great. Magic Vision with the heated fluid cleaned the windshield really well. After reading about issues I had a new set of blades with me just in case.
I’ve also coated my windshield with C-Bond so maybe that helped with smoothness of the glass.
While the wipers worked great I did have other issues. Will post in a separate thread.
I’ve also coated my windshield with C-Bond so maybe that helped with smoothness of the glass.
While the wipers worked great I did have other issues. Will post in a separate thread.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 9,141
Likes: 4,630
From: Maryland
2024 S580
Point is, it isn't an issue exclusive to MB. It's just that MB has expensive magic vision blades so it makes it worse.
If you're having skipping issues with the new wipers, but not the old one, obviously it's not the glass. The wipers should be returned and exchanged for being defective.
If you're having skipping issues with the new wipers, but not the old one, obviously it's not the glass. The wipers should be returned and exchanged for being defective.
One set of wipers fine, but two sets out of the 3 sets I’ve had? And all the other posts about it? These posts aren’t over forums for other cars I read nor have I experienced it on other brands of cars I have had.
