Hi used my wipers for the first time and they struggled don't know if it's because there new and will wear off

They were juddering along the windscreen and didn't seem fluent anyone else had this problem?

I was told all fiats do it because the wiper is so big. It does lessen as the wiper loses it's initial strength but I upgraded to bosch blades based on threads here (heavily recorded annoyance) and still did it. When I want intermittent I just do it manually and hold it down so it has the "full" speed and it doesn't do it then.

Hi there Davem81,


Well that's a strange one however it just try doing an inspection on the rubber blades, then checking the arms for any "play" in the linkage.


If none of that works, perhaps try some of these ideas:


http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=505755


However for now I'd put up with it just for a while (yeah its annoying!) but you never know, it might just be the new rubber and end up fixing itself!!


Best of luck!

Davem81 said:

Hi used my wipers for the first time and they struggled don't know if it's because there new and will wear off

They were juddering along the windscreen and didn't seem fluent anyone else had this problem?

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The first thing I did when I got my car was to bin the wiper blades and replace with Bosch Aerotwins - big improvement, you can get them in Halfords.

Thanks for the info I'll look into it

Mercky said:

The first thing I did when I got my car was to bin the wiper blades and replace with Bosch Aerotwins - big improvement, you can get them in Halfords.

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And big cost

Halfords own brand are just as good imo, and 1/10 of the price with a trade card

Most Easterly Pandas said:

And big cost

Halfords own brand are just as good imo, and 1/10 of the price with a trade card

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I've tried Halfords own brand wiper blades before, they are ok for a few months but need replacing too often compared to Bosch ones, not even 12 months on my previous car (and I clean my blades whenever I wash the car) plus they tend to judder more, the Bosch ones I replaced them with where still perfect 3 years after fitting them, which is why I always use them now.

I replaced the crappy original Fiat wiper blades with Valeo silencio blades and they have been completly silent and smooth at all times in all conditions. Not cheap but well worth the outlay.

The OEM wipers are not as good as the alternatives being suggested here but they will work without sticking/squeaking provided both the blades and the screen are cleaned properly.

I use Autoglym Car Glass polish on both, (it's essential to do the blades as well) - it leaves a microscopically thin residual coating, but this will eventually get washed off by heavy rain or screenwash & then you need to redo the process.

Avoid compounds like rain-x (it seems to make the problem worse).

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread. Has anybody found a solution to juddering wipers as of yet? They're driving me absolutely nuts

So far, I've tried:
- Replacing the Fiat OEM blades with the much recommended Bosch Aerotwins
- Cleaning the windscreen with both regular auto glass cleaner and Autoglym glass polish
- Twisting the wiper arms to adjust the angle of the blades against the windscreen
- Cleaning with 'wax & grease remover'

None of the above have made a difference. Some things I've noticed though is that the water beads of the glass in a really strange way... Almost as if there's a coating of some rain-repellent type stuff. Is it possible this could've been applied during the glass manufacture? Additionally, the wipers only judder when they're going up.

It seems almost as if more water on the screen makes it worse.

Tom95 said:

None of the above have made a difference. Some things I've noticed though is that the water beads of the glass in a really strange way... Almost as if there's a coating of some rain-repellent type stuff. Is it possible this could've been applied during the glass manufacture? Additionally, the wipers only judder when they're going up.

It seems almost as if more water on the screen makes it worse.

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I have exactly the same on our 500 - particularly that last point you made, where the wipers operate smoothly on a dry screen, but as soon as there’s water, the long one struggles to move smoothly.

I even replaced the motor/linkage assembly, thinking there must be excessive slack in the joints. No change.

I suspect the cause is the water beading effect that you mention, which of course makes the windscreen clearer to see through. If the glass was ‘average’ (dirty, covered in water spots, with no beading at all) I think you’d find the new blades would work fine. Basically, you have to keep polishing it with some kind of silicone-free cutting compound, and wipe with methylated spirits, to get the glass back to being just glass, with no slippery coating.

-Alex

Tom95 said:

Some things I've noticed though is that the water beads of the glass in a really strange way... Almost as if there's a coating of some rain-repellent type stuff. Is it possible this could've been applied during the glass manufacture?

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How much do you know about the history of the car?

It's possible something could have been applied by a previous owner.

When I was younger I used to polish my car loads like weekly I know just the effect of the water you mean I eventually managed to polish off all the film on the glass over many goes it took a LOT of time and effort to remove but once done so was not bad to keep clean, I've tried using my electric polisher with the blue cream Autoglym glass cleaner but not been able to remove the film on the glass.

John202020 said:

When I was younger I used to polish my car loads like weekly I know just the effect of the water you mean I eventually managed to polish off all the film on the glass over many goes it took a LOT of time and effort to remove but once done so was not bad to keep clean, I've tried using my electric polisher with the blue cream Autoglym glass cleaner but not been able to remove the film on the glass.

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Isopropyl alcohol or methylated spirits would be best way for cleaning rmthe residue from the glass
Just avoid getting it Inthe rubber if the wipers

An update... and success!

After trawling through many-a car forum I took someone's suggestion to apply 303 Protectant to the wiper blades themselves. What a difference! The wipers now operate smoothly and are completely silent.

Using a clay bar on the windscreen to remove whatever contaminant will also do the trick.

I think part of the issue is trying to move a long flexible bar only holding it at one central point?

We have a Yaris now, and they have only one wiper, so it's big and long. Bigger and longer than a Fiat500 long one.
Silence, or as silent as wipers can be.

Our 500TA had terribly noisy wiper blades - at times. Both of them. Short one as well as long one. Sometimes they were quiet, sometimes noisy, and I never got to the bottom of why they changed from noisy to relatively quiet.

Mick.