Finally had to swap out my stock windshield wipers. Bought my HHR back in March, 2007. They were still working at like 80% ish and passed inspection back in April. Wasn't going to change them out, but I'm taking a 2600 mile roadtrip home and back over the next two weeks.

I've never had a pair last this long - is this normal for these? I'm originally from PA and have always had to replace them every 6-9 months due to the summers/ freezing winters etc.

I usually go with Rain-X blades, but the Bosch steel tech were a couple bucks cheaper at wally world, so I figured I'd give them a try. Anyone use these? I put them on today and they are a little squeaky - hoping that goes away in the next couple days as they wear.

 

A good quick cure for squeaky wiper blades is to clean them with an alcohol prep wipe or a cloth dampened in rubbing alcohol. The alcohol removes the molding compounds and oils from the blades and renders them nice and squeak free. Just be careful not to get any alcohol on the paint, it strips wax off in a jiffy, and it can also leave a permanent mark in the clear coat.

 

Odd, I have used rubbing alcohol on many autos with clear/base paint, including the HHR without any issues related to the paint.

 

Just basing the alcohol warning on the experience of a friend who tried to use it to remove glue residue from vinyl stripes, he made a real mess of things.

 

The sun/heat in Florida does a job on wiper blades. I've never found a set of blade that lasted more than a year. The last ones I installed were $$ and are streaking. Of course in Florida, you only need the wipers running during sporatic rain showers.

 

Here in Miami, I put a Rain-X Latitudes on both Dory and my wife's QX4. On a scale of 1-10, I give them at least an 11. I've already got a new set to go the new Infiniti.

 

If you have had such good service on your Originals why wouldn't you replace with the same ...probably Trico ??

The new Trico's I put on my van came with an Alcohol pad to clean them before use.

My Originals lasted 3 years.

 

Sometimes it's the blade itself that is the issue. I ran Bosch Icons for 3 years and they worked great. Several months back, I replaced them with a set of the Rain-X Lat's, and I've regretted it ever since.

 

My brother bought Bosch blades for his GMC and they squeeked from day 1 until he took them off. While at the dealer today, I got a new factory blade. My factories lasted from July 07 until now, still working fine, but one was starting to show a little age. 21$/side at the dealer which is right around how much aftermarket ones are at the store.

 

To me, it's the Old Throw The DART Game with wipers.

Go with what has worked for you.....