garsarno

Drove to Cleveland last Thursday in the rain (state of PA - Interstate 80 all the way). About three hours into it, the drivers side wiper started to hit the far side and then it folded over the side, getting stuck. I pulled over, loosened it and turned the wipers back on. Big mistake. The driver side did not work but the passnger side did and got crossed up with the right side. The blade was damaged, so I drove to the next stop, opened the hood and tightened the hold down nut on the arm. No go. So,we drove to Cleveland for 2 hours without wiper action. Got up Friday morning, went over to the Metro Lexus and they were super nice. Took me right in, replaced the drivers side complete wiper blade and the rubber on the passenger side blade. Wipers work great but I was taken back on the cost of the drivers side 24" blade - $54.70. WOW!! This is just the blade, not the arm. But... it is fixed and works great. Wonder what a Camry blade goes for...

superchan7

I'd expect them to be the same size as or very close to the Camry's blades. They're of the same design, and I wouldn't expect them to cost that much.

garsarno

That was my thought too but I was relieved that it was not anything more drastic. This dealership is also a Toyota dealer too.

derrick

Ouch ... the blade probably retails for about $20-$25. Then add in labor costs and taxes ... $50-something later. [This would be my guess as to why a wiper blade change would cost over $50]

I can't justify how a dealership can gouge a consumer +$50 to change a wiper blade. Maybe next time, ask to buy the blade from the parts dept and install it yourself? Hope your car is a tax-deductible write-off (ie self-employed business).

garsarno

There was "free' labor in diagnosing what the problem was, installing the complete drivers side blade, installing the passenger side blade refill, tightening the windshield arm retention nut and straigtening out the arm. It would probably be $25 for the blade but $25 / labor to do all the above. I did have a nice free espresso and cookie at their showroom bar area though.

LexPaul

I see they treated well, but $54.00 seems a bit much for a wiper blade. Whatever happened to the ordinary $15.00 blades...lol. Glad you arrived safe while it was raining and without any accidents, that's the main thing!!

ThumperPup

have a question about Wiper blades and refills for my 07 ES350 is it better to replace the wiper refills and keep the OEM blades ?

or is there another brand out there people have found that they like better ?

i used to get Rainx lattitude and Boch blades for my Cadillacs but the passanger side would always come off the window a little bit at the tip i mean it would raise up never fully beam to the windshield
but they lasted a long time

has anyone replaced with another brand name blade ? is one better then the other ?
or is it better to just stick with the Insets refills ?

dealer has a coupon they send me in email for 50% off wiper blades for memorial day sale i know there regular price for the refills and labor is 29.99 so this would be like 15 dollars i think good deal but not if i am going to be replacing them every 6 months

mlacomb

I haven't tried anything but the refills. I've had the car nearly 2 years (it gets garaged at night etc) and have only purchased one refill set so far - but they are very consistent in getting the rain off the windows without streaks etc.

pseconds

I just bought two new wiper blades at Napa, I think they were about $15 each. It took me all of 5 minutes to install them myself. unclip, remove, install, clip, done. What a huge difference it made!

garsarno

Got the Michelin Stealth blades this time for the 2011 cars. Work great, no changeover for winter snow removal.

RickC5

I would have eaten the entire box of cookies!

ThumperPup

Ok cool. What is it about the new blades u notice that makes u like them more I mean what is it about the Napa and the micheline. That u guys like and makes a bigger difference then the oem refills ?

I am thinking about boche or micheline

pseconds

Well, in my case, NAPA is right next to my office. Admittedly,, that was my deciding factor. blades are blades, nothing special. As long as they clear your window, they are good.

ThumperPup

I Usualy invest money into good quality products I used to by the cheap trick and annco wipers when I was younger would always have to replace them never lasted more than one or 2 seasons at most so I started spending move but getting less of a headache and better quality

garsarno

The Michelins seem to clear the rain cleaner than the OEM wipers and adapt to the contour of the windshield better, hanging in there in the the wind (no uplift). Plus no changeover to winter blades come December.