Another rear wiper refill question
 

I searched older threads but have a more specific question. I need the rear wiper refill for my 05 xB. I ordered online some refills before but learned too late that they did not include the metal or plastic rib, which I don't have. Apparently this is a new way to make a simple purchase difficult.

I called the dealer since previous posts said they were about 2 bucks there. The parts guy was too lazy to check this item for me but was willing to sell the whole blade assembly. Experience has taught me these particular blades are prone to break when r&r'd so I prefer to replace the refill only. It's also cheaper.

Can anyone tell me the correct Scion part number for the rubber refill with the metal or plastic rib, or an online aftermarket source that doesn't sell the refill for $2.00 with some insane $11.00 shipping cost?

Check the link below for the diagram and part numbers. Shipping doesn't seem too bad either.

http://www.oemtoyotascionparts.com/p...her-components

or just goto the dealer and don't pay shipping...

The dealers around here are still more expensive than the total shipped online. :frown:

wiper
 

The dealer doesn't seem to want to bother to look up just the refill. Those rear wiper arms are prone to break during R&R and cost $50.00. Pretty high to replace a strip of rubber. The problem is those that sell the rubber sell it, but not the metal rib. I bought them in the past but didn't pay attention to where I got them from since at that time places sold them with the rib.

I went to the dealer because I had the same problem - the xB I bought had one of the ribs missing from the rear wiper blade.

At the Toyota parts counter I found out that there is no part number for the metal rib. There is a part number for the rubber blade, and there is a part number for the wiper arm. The metal ribs are considered by Toyota to be a part of the wiper arm, and the ribs have no separate part number. No way to order a rib by itself from the dealer other than buying the whole wiper arm (which I was quoted a price of $108!).

I solved the problem a different way. I went to Pep Boys and bought a small wiper arm from their windshield wiper section that looked to have a similar metal strip in it. I took it home, removed the rubber wiper from the arm and removed the metal strip from it. The metal strip was the same width, the same thickness, but a couple inches too long. So I cut it to the length I needed with a wire cutter. I then put the cut to length rib in the xB's rear wiper rubber blade and installed it and it works perfect.

If you can find an old worn out wiper arm from another car, you don't even have to buy a new one and save yourself the $10 it costs.

So all you need to do if you lost a rib is remove a longer rib from a different wiper blade and cut it to length. If you don't have even one rib from your rear wiper to use to determine length, I just measured the rib off of my 2006 xB and the proper length is just the slightest bit less than 11 7/8 inches. Clamp a wire cutter down on it and bend it and it will snap off and you are set. A rib this length will at first seem too long to fit in the rubber blade, but it will if you stretch the rubber blade a bit it will fit and that is how it is supposed to fit, with a little tension in the rubber. Then slide the rubber with ribs into the wiper arm on the back of your xB and you are good to go.