Windshield Wiper Chatter

[MrElussive]

Hey,

So I have a problem with my car. My driver-side windshield wiper has always randomly made a weird rattle every once in a while as I was driving in the rain, regardless of the wiper's age (brand new or mad old). But recently, the wiper just hops up and down as it wiped every single time, which provided me with a very unclear windshield. I thought it was because the blades were just worn, so I just bought a new pair today (I always use Bosch Micro Edge Excel, but today I tried ANCO HydroClear blades) and the damn driver-side wiper is still doing it!! I even tried removing the blade itself and turned on the wipers and I observed the motor itself and it was functioning perfectly smooth. I was told by some members on G35Driver that this is a known issue amoung the cars and that my dealership would know exactly what I'm talking about and would fix it. But this other guy posted that he has been having the same problem and he took it in to his local dealership 3 times and they said it was normal. This problem is definitely not normal and makes it a hazard to drive in the rain. Has anybody experienced a problem like this? Any advice??

Thanks,
MrElussive

 

[aNoodle]

No similar problem here. But I have noticed that my passenger side windshild wiper will stay about an inch up sometimes. Otherwise it returns to the regular place all the way down. I wonder if I might have a screw loose.

 

[Ghost]

Make sure the back of the blade is parallel to the windshield. It could be slightly bent in one direction, not letting the blade move back and forth as it should.

 

[wood_e]

Might be an issue with the compression of the wiper against the windshield. You might want to have the dealer check out the spring tension. I know some $5 truck stop attachment fixed that problem for my dads jeep, but you might have to find a more elegant solution...

 

[Bimmer Bob]

Drove today through heavy rain. I too experienced a lot of chatter as the blades crossed the windshield. The blade was jumping. Interestingly, the chatter was louder at higher speeds thankfully offset by greater road noise. But at lower speeds the blade moved more smoothly over the glass surface. I suspect the air is getting under the arm at higher speeds making the condition worse. I will address this with my dealer at my next service. In the meantime does anyone have any additional suggestions for eliminating the problem?

 

[MrElussive]

Yes, try cleaning things up. Use an auto glass cleaner to thoroughly clean your windshield and make it smooth. Spray some auto glass cleaner on a towel and wipe the blades down, this will remove a lot of dirty crap that could be causing the blade to chatter. If this still doesn't help, talk to your dealership about it.

Just an update to my situation:
I took my car to the dealership a while ago because the problem was just so annoying but they just tried several different wiper blades and concluded that that's the "way it is" (to sum it up quickly). So I called Infiniti Consumer Affairs and the representative I talked to found the TSB on the wipers. The problem is that the windshield washers are mounted directly on the wiper arm assemblies and on some cars it causes an uneven distribution of weight onto the wiper blade, which causes the blade to chatter and judder the way it does. The representative called my local dealership I take my car to for service and explained to them my situation and told them how to fix it. When I take my car in for its 11,250 mile service (I'm at 10,800 now) they are going to fix it and I'll be have a smooth-wiping driver-side wiper blade again.

 

[Militant-Grunt]

I have new michellin wipers on my rover, if the glass isnt wet enough on the drivers side the wipers will make a loud rubbing noise, which annoys the heck out of me and the passenger. No clue how to fix this, the wipers are only about 5 months old = /

 

[Kirby]

I have had this problem on my Suburban for years. New blades fix it for a few months and it is back. I even paid WAY TOO much money for TEFLON Anco cartridges that were supposedly designed to address this. They still chatter - I gave up trying to fix it.

I put RainX on and rarely use the windshield wipers.

 

[selavia]

Had same problem in my old Camry. Annoyed the hell out of me. One buddy of mine told me to wax my windshield using Rain-X. Everytime the problem started again, I used Rain-X and it went away. I would do it about 5 times a year, but it doesn't rain that much in MD. Good luck. Sean

 

[MrElussive]

Yeah, I heard RainX is good stuff. But it's one of those products that you don't really need but once you start using it, you have to keep on top of its maintenance. And in my particular case, it's the windshield wiper arm assembly/windshield washers that are causing it....improper weight balance.
I'm going to thoroughly clean my windshield and polish the glass with an orbital buffer and a couple different glass cleaning products to hopefully restore the glass to its original state then maybe I will give RainX a try (I purchased a bottle a while ago that I still haven't used).

 

[epj3]

I have had this problem on my Suburban for years. New blades fix it for a few months and it is back. I even paid WAY TOO much money for TEFLON Anco cartridges that were supposedly designed to address this. They still chatter - I gave up trying to fix it.

I put RainX on and rarely use the windshield wipers.

I don't believe teflon can be 'coated' to anything like a wiper blade...but try the silicone blades. I've had them for a while and they are actually good.

 

[Kirby]

Teflon Coated Wiper Blades

 

[MrElussive]

I just wish my driver-side wiper blade actually worked properly. 10,800 miles and counting....11,250 the car goes in for routine service and the driver-side wiper assembly will be fixed and transmission fluid will be replaced.

 

[epj3]

Teflon Coated Wiper Blades

Ever see the "teflon wax" or other teflon products? They call it teflon, but teflon will not 'stick' to anything unless the surface properties are changed to allow it.

http://www.dupont.com/teflon/af/unique.html

I assume the wiper blades are teflon... but most teflon products on the market -- except pots, pans, etc.... are just silicone (or another like-polymer).