Wiper blades that wipe

I need blades that wipe, not smear. Full disclosure: 2015 Scion FR-S, OEM size beam blades, 22" and 20" respectively,  and I'm using Rain-X wiper juice.

The OE blades were great. In conjunction with regular blue fluid, they did everything I asked. They lasted 1.5 years. I never used them in snowy or frosty conditions. 

Replaced them with Rain-X beam blades and am currently using the orange Rain-X juice with Rain-X fluid already inside. I've used them through 2 winters, wiping off ice and snow. 

They smear severely. I'm sure the smear "grooves" I see are small cuts and abrasions from the ice and snow. 

What brand gives you the best bang for the buck. Locally I've got Rain-X, Michelin, Trico, and Bosch available. I've heard PIAA makes good ones, as well. Should I just buy OE blades? Is the Rain-X fluid making things worse?

Buy some high end, but buy from RA, markup on wipers is crazy high in store. 

For what it's worth, toyota, or Lexus blades were some of, if not the best out there.  Inserts are replaceable, rather than tossing the whole blade if you didn't ditch your originals yet. 

The Rain-X fluid is absolutely making things worse. Please dump it and clean everything really well with an anti-grease dish soap, and use bog standard wiper fluid (the blue stuff). Bosch ICON is your friend. They're $$$, but they *work*, and for a long time. I have 3 years on my set on the 5.

I have the Bosch in my mazda5 which are good. I used Costco replacement before and they were terrible. 

but the oem lexus ones are even better. No idea what it’s  made out of ... but man are they amazing 

Yeah, I ran RainX for years and it smears like a ....yeah. over the years I've decided that aggressively cleaned windows with standard blue juice and the mid price beam type wipers are the best you can do. I used to un Icons but I get better results buying cheaper and replacing more often. Rubber rot is the main thing that kills wipers here in the south.

Bosch Icon is my go-to. The set in the Expedition are coming up on 3 years old, and I'm starting to consider replacing them.

Ive yet to find a set that lasts more than a few months on my explorer, watching with interest

I'm here from the Church of Rain-X to share the gospel of The Original Formula! Our father of hydrophobic glass treatment... CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH ... has saved us from many a downpour. False prophets have come, bearing the Rain-X logo, but they have not brought clarity to our glass. 

Seriously, original Rain-X is the best thing ever. I'm using it with some kind of Bosch wiper blades and it's great for both rain and debris. I use heavily diluted dishwashing soap because that's literally what I used as a professional window cleaner.

I put rain x fluid in my truck and it smears horribly.  Luckily it just ran out, that was an annoying 11months 

The Rain X fluid is garbage.  Ditch it.  For blades, I've got a set of PIAA Super Silicone blades on the Jeep that have been great.  I ran the Icons on it for a while but never loved them.  I've got them on the BMW now and again, they're ok, but not great. 

The regular wipers seem to work fine on cars with a steep windshield. If you get a windshield with a good angle to it, they start to get streaky. 

Beam type wipers in general seem to be superior at highway speeds, regardless of window angle. 

That, or maybe the springs in my wiper arms aren't strong enough.

Rain X original is great.

Bosch wipers are great.

The two of them together are excellent.. 
 

Patrick said:

I put rain x fluid in my truck and it smears horribly.  Luckily it just ran out, that was an annoying 11months 

I am also being haunted by the rain x fluid. It's horrible. I recommend replacement OEM wiper inserts. I put Goodyear blades on my wife's Corolla. They're fine at lower speeds. Highway speed they lift off and miss most of the windshield. 

I've only had good experiences with rain x fluid.  I like the orange stuff.  I'm a huge proponent of the classic rain x treatment, but as I have too many kids and cars, I find the fluid gets me 60% of the way there since I don't have time to properly clean and rain x my windshields anymore.  And I define "the way there" as whether I even have to turn on my wipers. 

What am I doing wrong?

I have had good luck with the Michelin Stealth wiper blades that they sell at Costco here in Canada.

Patrick said:

I put rain x fluid in my truck and it smears horribly.  Luckily it just ran out, that was an annoying 11months 

11 months?

Jeez.

I went through a gallon.... yesterday.

Whatever junk they are using instead of salt instantly dies to an opaque film when it hits glass and wiper blades just smear it.  I think it's a brine of molasses and lipstick.

WonkoTheSane said:

I've only had good experiences with rain x fluid.  I like the orange stuff.  I'm a huge proponent of the classic rain x treatment, but as I have too many kids and cars, I find the fluid gets me 60% of the way there since I don't have time to properly clean and rain x my windshields anymore.  And I define "the way there" as whether I even have to turn on my wipers.

Me too.  I always use Rain-X orange and usually Bosch Icons for the wipers.

ultraclyde said:

...yeah. over the years I've decided that aggressively cleaned windows

What he said.  Clean using Bon Ami or Comet or something aggressive . Rinse very thoroughly. Your wipers will work better than they ever have . 

Duke said:

WonkoTheSane said:

I've only had good experiences with rain x fluid.  I like the orange stuff.  I'm a huge proponent of the classic rain x treatment, but as I have too many kids and cars, I find the fluid gets me 60% of the way there since I don't have time to properly clean and rain x my windshields anymore.  And I define "the way there" as whether I even have to turn on my wipers.

Me too.  I always use Rain-X orange and usually Bosch Icons for the wipers.

Eh, at least there's two of us using it wrong :)

Kramer said:

What he said.  Clean using Bon Ami or Comet or something aggressive . Rinse very thoroughly. Your wipers will work better than they ever have . 

I use Bar Keepers Friend, then either Aquapel or Rain-X. I find that Aquapel lasts longer.

WonkoTheSane said:

Duke said:

WonkoTheSane said:

I've only had good experiences with rain x fluid.  I like the orange stuff.  I'm a huge proponent of the classic rain x treatment, but as I have too many kids and cars, I find the fluid gets me 60% of the way there since I don't have time to properly clean and rain x my windshields anymore.  And I define "the way there" as whether I even have to turn on my wipers.

Me too.  I always use Rain-X orange and usually Bosch Icons for the wipers.

Eh, at least there's two of us using it wrong :)

Add me to the ones doing it wrong. 

I did learn a while back that the old standard wiper blades work well on flat windshields typically found on older cars and trucks where as the beam type wipers are a must for modern windshields that have much more curve to them. 

dean1484 said:

WonkoTheSane said:

Duke said:

WonkoTheSane said:

I've only had good experiences with rain x fluid.  I like the orange stuff.  I'm a huge proponent of the classic rain x treatment, but as I have too many kids and cars, I find the fluid gets me 60% of the way there since I don't have time to properly clean and rain x my windshields anymore.  And I define "the way there" as whether I even have to turn on my wipers.

Me too.  I always use Rain-X orange and usually Bosch Icons for the wipers.

Eh, at least there's two of us using it wrong :)

Add me to the ones doing it wrong. 

I did learn a while back that the old standard wiper blades work well on flat windshields typically found on older cars and trucks where as the beam type wipers are a must for modern windshields that have much more curve to them. 

I run Rain-X fluid in everything. We get enough rain to make it a requirement in all of my vehicles. I've never experienced any streaking problems though. For blades, my last set of was whatever was on sale. They are 8-9 months old at this point and due for replacement. At $6 a set compared to $30, I can afford to replace them twice as often. 

OP,

I'd go back to the Toyota blades if you can.  From other posts about the Lexus blades, and my 'same' experience with Toyota blades, they do seem to last a long time.  Inserts leave a grayish residue (graphite maybe?) on your hands when you put new ones in the OEM metal frame, and maybe that's the difference.  BTW, Honda replacement inserts do the same thing, and seem to last quite a long time also.

I recently went wiper blad shopping on (GRM advertiser) rock auto.  I bought 3 blades for the ZAV, RAV, 2 blades for the Truck and a LS400.  Top of the line for all of them at RA.  Total shipped was like $75.  I couldn't even get one vehicle's worth of "good" blades at vato-zone for that.

Tom_Spangler said:

Kramer said:

What he said.  Clean using Bon Ami or Comet or something aggressive . Rinse very thoroughly. Your wipers will work better than they ever have . 

I use Bar Keepers Friend, then either Aquapel or Rain-X. I find that Aquapel lasts longer.

I use BKF on a lot of stuff, including getting acid rain etching out of auto glass, but it is abrasive and will scratch your glass.  That's the nuclear option.

Rain-X is like Chapstick....works great when you need it, but formulated to create a dependency.  Original Rain-x is good, but you have to reapply it to keep it from smearing.  

Chapstick feels great on chapped lips, with just the right amount of alcohol to make sure that you keep coming back for more,

Blades last longer when periodically treated with 303 protectant.