Opinions on old topic, best wipers for CX-9

[table5511]

Its that time again. Time for wipers. The wipers on my CX-9 were on it when I bought it early this year in March or so. They are Rain X flat wipers. They have worked very well, multiple 500 mile trips in rain, etc. I have put almost 10k on them in addition to however long they were used before I bought the car. They have never streaked, no missed spots near edges, no hardware issues with them breaking.

I went to Target last night and bought new Rain X Latitude wipers. The construction of the main attaching bracket is completely different than the existing one on my car. The one on my CX-9 now says "Rain X" on it, but it is a sturdy metal bracket mounted on a rubber cushion...very quality design. You cannot remove the metal bracket off the wiper... no interchangeability for other vehicles.

The Latitudes from Target have a cheap plastic mounting bracket that you can remove and switch with a different plastic bracket... many reviews saying this unit explodes from wind sometimes.

Anyone know anything about this? Did Rain X re-design their wipers with these new cheap plastic brackets? or are the oem wipers supplied by Rain X ?

I can't find this same wiper on the internet anywhere with a solid sturdy metal bracket.

It seems many folks have had issues with both the new Rain X Latitudes and the Bosch Icons.

I'm considering OEM, but is the Mazda oem wiper a flat wiper or the old style?

 

[table5511]

My research thusfar is pointing towards Trico Neoform wipers... they are on sale at Meijer which is a grocery store just down the street for like 10 bucks.

 

[table5511]

Ok, no input from others, so I went ahead and got the Trico Neoform.
The build quality appears to be much better than anything I have seen in stores. Better build quality than Bosch or Rain X.
The Bosch and the Rain X both have the cheap plastic interchangeable brackets which are cheap.
These are solid, no interchangeable bracket, they have a teflon blade, and a metal band inside the wiper from one end to the other.
They were a little more expensive in the store than they had advertised online... 17.99 for the 26inch and I think 13.99 for the 17 inch.
10 dollar mail-in-rebate printed out at the register. Unbeatable price.
Hope they work well!

http://www.tricoproducts.com/Drivers/WiperProducts/PremiumPerformance/Neoform

Rain X Latitude with the cheap snap on plastic bracket:

Bosch Icon same kind of bulky bracket...not sure if it is metal or plastic....

 

[Rawyzf]

Let us know how they work out.

 

[sjg]

I actually like the OEM blades. I suffered for about a year with Goodyear blades from Costco (these were OK when soaked but during light rain or to clean a dry windshield they were awful). I recently pulled out the OEM blades (glad I saved them) and ordered inserts. It's good to be able to see again.

 

[table5511]

Will do. Taking a road trip from KY to PA in the very near future. I thought about oem, but not sure if in 08 they were flat or not, and you know how parts guys are, about as smart as a box of rocks. If I ask for later year wipers, they just wouldn't be able to get it out of their heads that I have an 08 and they would try to argue with me... I just try to avoid dealers at all costs.

 

[sbmrinaldi]

I have 51k on the clock and still have the originals working perfectly. Let us know how they work out as at some point I will need new ones as well.

 

[table5511]

UPDATE: These wipers suck, thus far. Went up to Pittsburgh, PA from central KY, about 4 or 500 miles. It rained the entire week, it rained almost the whole way home, so had alot of days to try out the wipers.

They squeak a little when they transition from one direction to the other, which did not really bother me that much, but what bothers me is the fog like white streak they leave.
Had the a/c compressor on, fan on full, and as the wiper passes, it leaves a white like fog behind, which disappears almost immediately, but when the wipers are on max, its like a constant fog on the windshield. Its not lines like old wipers leave when they need to be replaced, but rather a white like fog....its really bad at night.

I'm hoping perhaps this is just how they are like when new and perhaps they will get better with more use, we will see.

I had this happen once with oem wipers on my company vehicle ford escape. One motorcraft dealer purchased pair worked perfectly, and then when those got old and I bought another motorcraft pair at the dealer, they were crappy from the get-go, so it seems they vary one pair to the next, even if it is the same pair.