Any good rear wiper upgrades?

I've never had any complaints about the rear wiper on this car. It beats the Hell out of the OEM rear wipers on my Focuses...in fact, most Focus guys replace their stock arms with Mazda 3 (or Ford Edge, which is similar) arms. For how often I use it, I think it works great...

For the front, I like Bosch Icons. They work great and really clean up the look of the front cowl area.
 
The rear wipers are proprietary. However, some members on the Mazda3 Forums are trying to just get blades and cutting them down to size. I hardly ever use mine and condition them every car wash and they still streak.

For the front, go with the Bosch Icons, like Nliiitend1 said, or the Valeos, Rain-X Latitudes, or Michelin Radius. They all have similar technology and are super nice. I've had the Bosch and Michelins and they perform the same. I get the one that's on sale :)
 
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Do you guys use Rain-X?

I don't use it in the traditional sense, but I use the washer fluid additive religiously and I NEVER have ANY streaking. At all. Ever.
 
Has anyone heard of your washer fluid staining your windshield where it just leaves a clear film that only shows when its wet and the wipers go over it. Ring a bell to anyone? I take such good care of my car, even had the windshield professional detailed the last time this happened when I thought it was from the de-bugger fluid I used on Lexus cars, and my own. Cleared it all, but now it's back.
 
Rear Wiper

I replaced my stock rear blade with a Michelin all weather blade that has the snazzy rubber wing on. I believe I went 1 inch longer than stock. Doesn't get clogged up with snow and ice like the factory one. http://www.michelinwiper.com/wiper_blades.php

The aftermarket wipers have the pivot on them for standard blade adapters. Remove that adapter and reveal the bar that clips into our wiper arm.

The only modification I had to do was to lay the aftermarket wiper next to the OEM and trace the shape of the mount. Then dremel the same shape into the side of the new wiper mount for clearance. I could go get pictures...but its cold/snowy/windy right now. If needed, I can snap a few tomorrow.

New wiper works great and has been on the car for about 10 months now with no problem.

Regards,
Bryan T.
 
Yeah - pics would be great. I'd like to swap out in time for the Spring and Summer rainy season here in FL :)
 
I take such good care of my car that I never have used the wipers on the front or back yet.
 
Aftermarket Rear Wiper Blade

Before buying an aftermarket wiper, make sure that you can pop-off the universal wiper adapter

AfterMarketWiper1.jpg


Adapter Removed

AfterMarketWiper2.jpg


You'll note in the image above, there is a bar that runs from side to side. This bar may need to be 'filed' down some (diameter) depending on the brand of aftermarket wiper you choose so that it fits into the stock arm.

Stock rear wiper:
StockWiper1.jpg


Side-by-side comparison of stock (front) and the aftermarket (modified) blade (rear).

SideBySide.jpg



Steps -

  1. Remove adapter from aftermarket wiper
  2. Make sure diameter of the bar is the same as stock, if not, file it down
  3. Place stock wiper next to aftermarket and line up the bar that runs side to side. Use the stock wiper as your guide and trace what will need to be trimmed off the body of the aftermarket wiper. You'll note a white-line in the first image. This was the traced line on my wiper. I'll recommend being conservative with the amount of material you remove. You can always go back and remove a little more.
  4. Use your favorite tool (dremel, etc) to remove the excess plastic.
  5. Test fit and trim as necessary.

I used a 16" aftermarket blade, gave a slightly better swept area.
 
I'm partial to the Bosch Ikons. I put Michelin Radius on my 300C and they chatter unless it's pouring buckets.
 
i use Rain-x Latitudes on my miata. i know its not a rear wiper for the MS3 but if you can get em I'd recommend it they work amazingly
 
I had some Rain-X Latitudes. The passenger side one worked great but the driver side one left a big gap/streak right in the middle of my field of vision. Every now and then I would remove the blade and flip it which would fix the gap for a while. But since it was always raining every time I noticed the gap had returned that meant I was always switching the blade in the rain.
One day I got pissed off about the wiper not working and I punched the inside of my windshield. The punch was a little too hard apparently because it left a decent size spider-web crack (about the size of a paper plate). That made me really happy.
$600 later I got a new OEM windshield and $40 (or whatever) I got some Bosch Ikons. So far both are working just like they should.

Note: my experience with the big gap was probably the exception, not the norm when it comes to the Rain-X Latitudes. I agree with Hank3: just get the set that's on sale.

If you care about looks, it may interest you that the connection point of the Ikons has a little cover. Makes the wipers look more... refined.
 
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The rear wipers are proprietary. However, some members on the Mazda3 Forums are trying to just get blades and cutting them down to size. I hardly ever use mine and condition them every car wash and they still streak.

For the front, go with the Bosch Icons, like Nliiitend1 said, or the Valeos, Rain-X Latitudes, or Michelin Radius. They all have similar technology and are super nice. I've had the Bosch and Michelins and they perform the same. I get the one that's on sale :)

fortunately I went to walmart and bought blades for the car before reading all this about the blades being available only from MS dealers on mars.
 
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