and just smear the rain.

What brand are good replacements?

 

I've had good experience with Bosch icon and rainx latitude. I live in the northeast so frigid winters and heatwave summers, so blades only last a year or two before they go bad.

 

You usually replace them once a year. They aren't that expensive

 

So replacing them yearly or every other year is common practice?

 

Usually once a year. Whenever they don't work anymore

 

i'm still on my orginal set from 11 years ago

 

I got 18 inch and 24 inch Bosch Icons. And applied Rain-X correctly. Today was the first day it hasn't rained in 10 days...

 

Most experts say that wiper blades need to be changed every six to 12 months, though this depends both on weather conditions and on what the blades are made out of. Ordinary rubber blades have the shortest lifespan, halogen-hardened rubber blades last a bit longer, and silicone blades have the longest lifetimes of all, perhaps exceeding a year even under intense use. Of course they also cost more than ordinary rubber blades.

 

The Denso blades the car comes with are actually really good in my experience. Extremely low profile and unobtrusive, with decent performance. I like them so much I've put them on my Miata and other cars I've owned.

 

I am due for some myself. I last changed them two summers ago. I usually either replace just the rubber blades from the dealer or go with one of the ones that form to the windshield like RainX or Bosch.

 

I like the low profile ones that came on my TC. I just got refills from Subaru, they use the same blades as Toyota on most of their new lineup. (I don't like the local Toyota dealership, and I work at Subaru hehe).

 

Yeah, from most automotive tips I've heard in my life, wipers should be replaced approximately every year or so. You'll usually notice the unusually high streaking first when you use your windshield wipers.
I usually go with Bosch or Trico beam style wipers off Rockauto.com. They are having a wholesale close out right now on Tricos and they are really cheap. (A couple dollars)

 

I had my originals for over 2 years. I just replaced some cheap ones I got from AutoZone with Bosch Icons. The Icons have done really well in all the rain we've had recently


These are the product numbers for the originals if your interested: 85212-YZZ74-TM & 85212-YZZ83-TM. There are pretty cheap online around $11-$14 each, whereas the Icons were $39 after tax at Wal-Mart. I found just the blade inserts on one site for an even cheaper price, but unfortunately I don't remember the site.