Skipping Wipers

[shawnee]

So, my wipers have been skipping and I've tried everything to fix the issue. I washed the windshield and then polished it. I wiped off any dirt and grime on the wiper blades, yet they still skip. I even replaced the wiper blades to see if that will fix the issue, but it didn't. I assume the wiper arm is bent since I had my windshield replaced, but when I checked the wipers, they were parallel to the windshield. I'm confused as to what to do and was hoping someone could give some helpful tips for me to try.

- Shawnar

 

[rowlands57]

I cannot say for sure how to remedy this on a Mazda; but on a past vehicle I owned I had the same problem. It was due to the 'angle of attack' of the wipers and the arms had to be bent to change that. It was done under warranty so I'm not sure if the angle was increased or decreased in order to stop the skipping.

If you google that maybe something useful for your situation is out there.

 

[youri]

The only time this happened to me before on a previous car was when the wiper assembly was not installed properly and was still a little loose ( between the blade and the wiper arm).

When you said you replaced the blade. Are you saying you replaced the rubber band or the full wiper ?

Are the wipers still the factory wiper or are they aftermarket?

My first step would be to check the connection to the wiper arm and make sure it is tight and well secured.

 

[shawnee]

The only time this happened to me before on a previous car was when the wiper assembly was not installed properly and was still a little loose ( between the blade and the wiper arm).

When you said you replaced the blade. Are you saying you replaced the rubber band or the full wiper ?

Are the wipers still the factory wiper or are they aftermarket?

My first step would be to check the connection to the wiper arm and make sure it is tight and well secured.

I had the entire wiper blade replaced, not the rubber piece. It’s an aftermarket bosch wiper. When checking the connection to the wiper arm, what should I check specifically?

 

[shawnee]

I cannot say for sure how to remedy this on a Mazda; but on a past vehicle I owned I had the same problem. It was due to the 'angle of attack' of the wipers and the arms had to be bent to change that. It was done under warranty so I'm not sure if the angle was increased or decreased in order to stop the skipping.

If you google that maybe something useful for your situation is out there.

I had my windshield replaced at my local Mazda dealership where I usually get my maintenance done, so hopefully they’ll look into the issue, or at least fix it for free.

 

[youri]

I had the entire wiper blade replaced, not the rubber piece. It’s an aftermarket bosch wiper. When checking the connection to the wiper arm, what should I check specifically?

When it happened to me the wiper blade wasn’t fully pulled and clipped in. It was loose.

That was a different car though. This version of the cx-9 was notorious for having very few compatible aftermarket wiper. I am not sure how to verify the connection is good other than physically lift and push-pull on the wiper blade to see if it is well connected to the arm. It shouldn’t fall on its own. Also you can check to confirm that the attachment point is the correct one for the car. Maybe if you still have the packaging. If you haven’t thrown out the original wiper you can put one back on to see if it still skip or not.

 

[shawnee]

So I installed the aftermarket wipers because the OEM Mazda wipers that came with the car also skipped. In the slow-motion video I took today, you can see how the aftermarket wipers skip. They skipped similarly like this with the OEM wipers. I’m going to the Mazda dealership tomorrow where I got my windshield replaced to see if they can do anything about it.

 

[shawnee]

In this video, if you look closely (this isn’t in slow-motion), you can see how the wipers somewhat “slam” when they’re completely upright. I believe the wiper arm might be bent, but we’ll find out for sure after the technician looks at it.

 

[PTguy]

It looks like some sort of build up on the glass that ordinary glass cleaners won't touch. Look for a glass stripper or glass cleaning clay. That will get the deposits safely off the glass.

 

[shawnee]

It looks like some sort of build up on the glass that ordinary glass cleaners won't touch. Look for a glass stripper or glass cleaning clay. That will get the deposits safely off the glass.

Would you recommend me clay baring the entire windshield and then using alcohol to finish off the windshield?

 

[Tchman2016]

Would you recommend me clay baring the entire windshield and then using alcohol to finish off the windshield?

Do exactly that to get any possible coatings off. Then IPA the new blades

 

[shawnee]

Do exactly that to get any possible coatings off. Then IPA the new blades

What does IPA mean?

 

[Tchman2016]

Isopropyl alcohol. There is a great video from "pan the organizer" on YouTube on how to squeaky clean your glass to prep for a hydrophobic coating application where you won't need to use your wipers 90% of the time in rain. He is amazing.

 

[shawnee]

Thank you so much! I’ll watch the video and try what he says. Will keep you guys updated!

 

[jal142]

Here's what I've seen recommended over the years to clean glass when it gets dirty or stained. This is also roughly in order of aggression:
1. Dawn dishwashing liquid. Gets wax and oil/grease off really well. Also takes wax off paint fantastically well so be careful with it.
2. Barkeeper's Friend/Bon Ami. Mild abrasive that is softer than glass so it won't scratch the surface. Good for getting hard water stains off. Use the stuff without bleach in it. Don't get it on the paint.
3. Denatured alcohol. Fantastic glass cleaner and is what I have seen recommended to clean windows prior to applying tint films. It will remove oil and grease.
4. Toluene. Removes silicone oils (and other stuff, too). Be very careful with this stuff. Don't get it on weatherstripping or paint. Last resort.

Good luck.

 

[181962]

So, my wipers have been skipping and I've tried everything to fix the issue. I washed the windshield and then polished it. I wiped off any dirt and grime on the wiper blades, yet they still skip. I even replaced the wiper blades to see if that will fix the issue, but it didn't. I assume the wiper arm is bent since I had my windshield replaced, but when I checked the wipers, they were parallel to the windshield. I'm confused as to what to do and was hoping someone could give some helpful tips for me to try.

- Shawnar

I just replaced the driver's side wiper arm on my 2014 Sienna with 105,000 suspecting it was bent. Comparing old to new that was in fact the problem, bent in the J-hook area. I had the same symptoms--wiper chatter even with new blades after a short period of time. There was no way to tell the arm was bent just looking at it--the blades made full contact with the windshield, just not the right pressure in the right places. That set me back $79 for an OEM including shipping. There were no aftermarkets on offer that I could find. There are way cheaper Mazda aftermarkets if you want to go that way but you'd have to check for your year and trim.

If your vehicle is old and exposed to icy conditions the odds of a bent arm go up. If you look at youtube videos of guys replacing bent arms on various models some say the problem was probably due to ice buildup.

I have not looked into what it takes to remove a Mazda wiper arm but on my Toyota it was about the easiest thing you can do on a car. If the Mazda removal operation is easy, one way to go is to call a dealer parts department to see if the arm(s) are in stock and ask if you can bring in yours to compare with new ones to see if bent. If you're still under the 36/36,000 warranty, who knows, they might replace them for free.

 

[181962]

Here's what I've seen recommended over the years to clean glass when it gets dirty or stained. This is also roughly in order of aggression:
1. Dawn dishwashing liquid. Gets wax and oil/grease off really well. Also takes wax off paint fantastically well so be careful with it.
2. Barkeeper's Friend/Bon Ami. Mild abrasive that is softer than glass so it won't scratch the surface. Good for getting hard water stains off. Use the stuff without bleach in it. Don't get it on the paint.
3. Denatured alcohol. Fantastic glass cleaner and is what I have seen recommended to clean windows prior to applying tint films. It will remove oil and grease.
4. Toluene. Removes silicone oils (and other stuff, too). Be very careful with this stuff. Don't get it on weatherstripping or paint. Last resort.

Good luck.

I've been treating my windshields with Nu Finish (a polish, not a wax) for a few years now. Glass cleaner, alcohol, apply, wipe off. I even use it on the inside of the windshield to remove off-gassing and cigarette residue that glass cleaner just spreads around. On the inside It works better and takes a lot less elbow grease than other hacks like Magic Eraser which I had little luck with. On the outside it makes for smoother blade operation with some added beading and shedding, something less than Rain-X but it doesn't show the wearing off shadow you get with Rain-X.

Heresy! Lunacy! Yeah, well, I've been doing this for a couple of years now, once or twice per year on two different vehicles with no deleterious affects.

 

[shawnee]

So I have come to the conclusion that both of my wiper arms are bent. I assume this happened when I got my windshield replaced. I confronted my Mazda dealership, but they are not taking ownership of the issue. I’ve attached an image of the driver side bent wiper arm below. If you guys could send me a picture of your wiper arm, so I could compare it to mine, I would appreciate it a lot!

 

[sm1ke]

So I have come to the conclusion that both of my wiper arms are bent. I assume this happened when I got my windshield replaced. I confronted my Mazda dealership, but they are not taking ownership of the issue. I’ve attached an image of the driver side bent wiper arm below. If you guys could send me a picture of your wiper arm, so I could compare it to mine, I would appreciate it a lot!

Here are a few pics I took. Hard to see if yours is bent in the pic you posted, but if you lay the wiper flat on the windshield and compare with my pics, you should be able to see if there's a difference. My windshield has never been replaced, and my wiper arms and rubber inserts are all original.

 

[PTguy]

My left wiper arm has always been just like Shawnee's with no problems.