'05 Corolla Wiper Blade Problem - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

I recently replaced the wiper blades on my '05 Corolla. I couldn't find an exact size for the OEM Toyota blades, so I picked up two Anco blades at Wally-World. I put a 24-inch blade on the driver side and an 18-inch blade on the passenger side.

When driving in the rain, the passenger-side wiper blade wiped nice and smooth. However, the left half of the driver-side blade was jerking through the wipe cycle. Thinking the blade was defective, I returned it to Wally-World and picked up another Anco 24-inch blade. Well, this blade makes the same jerking motion as the one I returned. I inspected the left side of the windshield and it is clean, so there's nothing sticky on it to make the wiper jerk like this.

So, is that 24-inch blade too big for the driver side wiper arm, or should I just stay with Toyota OEM wiper blades? I'm sure the Toyota blades will cost more than the $5.47 and $4.47 I paid for the Anco blades.

A jerking wiper blade is enough to drive you nuts when you're driving in the rain! default_blink I appreciate your help! Thanks!

Bikeman982

I recently replaced the wiper blades on my '05 Corolla. I couldn't find an exact size for the OEM Toyota blades, so I picked up two Anco blades at Wally-World. I put a 24-inch blade on the driver side and an 18-inch blade on the passenger side.
When driving in the rain, the passenger-side wiper blade wiped nice and smooth. However, the left half of the driver-side blade was jerking through the wipe cycle. Thinking the blade was defective, I returned it to Wally-World and picked up another Anco 24-inch blade. Well, this blade makes the same jerking motion as the one I returned. I inspected the left side of the windshield and it is clean, so there's nothing sticky on it to make the wiper jerk like this.
So, is that 24-inch blade too big for the driver side wiper arm, or should I just stay with Toyota OEM wiper blades? I'm sure the Toyota blades will cost more than the $5.47 and $4.47 I paid for the Anco blades.
A jerking wiper blade is enough to drive you nuts when you're driving in the rain! I appreciate your help! Thanks!

I always measure the wiper blades before I replace them.

You could try a shorter one, to see if it makes a difference.

Jerkiness could be from the larger blade, too much drag on the windshield for the wiper motor. Could try a different brand - some press against the windshield a bit differently than others. Some have a built-in lubricant that may help in that case. I would try replacing the the blade with a smaller one, like Bike mentioned, if it still sticks, then treat the windshield with something like Rain-X or similar.

Bikeman982

I buy just the rubber replacement blades (universal) that I cut to length and swap with the bad one.

It uses the same arms - it is just the rubber that is changed.

1,424 posts

When you buy blades that are too long, you are putting a blade on your car that it was never designed for. Wiper systems consist of lever arms that have moments applied to them via a wiper motor, a blade that is too long messes up the ability of the wipers to glide across the windshield and thus wiper system as a whole works poorly.

There are two options to fix this problem:

1) Replace the entire blade-frame assembly with another that is of the correct length.

2) Replace both blades with a frameless blade which has a continuous spine along its length to provide constant tension across the entire wiper blade surface. (Bosch ICONs are excellent)

for more information on your problem, see this post from last month where we discussed wiper issues at length.

-the99contour

First of all, get a good blade... Try RainX or Bosch. I like the RainX myself, and use them exclusively. You're using the correct sizes... 24 and 18 is spec for that year Corolla.

The other potential issue is this: have you had your windshield replaced recently? A few years back in my Ford Contour, I went through 3 bad windshields that had a flat spot right in front of the driver. I thought it was my wipers and after about $100 in replacement wipers, I finally realized it was bad glass. Got OEM ford glass, and the prob went away. So, if you did get a replacement windshield, make sure it's OEM toyota or comparable glass. I'd start with some good wipers though, and clean the edge with alcohol when you put them on.

1,424 posts

First of all, get a good blade... Try RainX or Bosch. I like the RainX myself, and use them exclusively. You're using the correct sizes... 24 and 18 is spec for that year Corolla.
The other potential issue is this: have you had your windshield replaced recently? A few years back in my Ford Contour, I went through 3 bad windshields that had a flat spot right in front of the driver. I thought it was my wipers and after about $100 in replacement wipers, I finally realized it was bad glass. Got OEM ford glass, and the prob went away. So, if you did get a replacement windshield, make sure it's OEM toyota or comparable glass. I'd start with some good wipers though, and clean the edge with alcohol when you put them on.

Not to derail the topic at hand, but that happened to your Contour too? We had 3 Contiques (E0 SVT Toreador Red / Midnight Blue, '98 Mystique LS Black / Greystone, and a '99 SE Sport Toreador Red / Greystone) and at some point or another, all three had a new windshield. The E0 had 3 replacements, the Mystique got 2 and the SE got 1. The E0 had the windshield replaced with one with a flat spot 2 times on both the first and second replacement. It had a total of 5 replacement windshields. The Mystique had two replacements, the first replacement was flat, it was replaced by Ford Glass. The second was a Ford replacement with a chip that they could not repair, so it actually had 3 replacement windshields. My '99 had the windshield chipped right in my line of sight right in the middle of the drivers side of the windshield. I had it replaced and that windshield was flat too. I didn't get it fixed because I traded the car in 4 days after it was replaced. There must be something wrong with the pattern for Contour Glass.

First of all, get a good blade... Try RainX or Bosch. I like the RainX myself, and use them exclusively. You're using the correct sizes... 24 and 18 is spec for that year Corolla.
The other potential issue is this: have you had your windshield replaced recently? A few years back in my Ford Contour, I went through 3 bad windshields that had a flat spot right in front of the driver. I thought it was my wipers and after about $100 in replacement wipers, I finally realized it was bad glass. Got OEM ford glass, and the prob went away. So, if you did get a replacement windshield, make sure it's OEM toyota or comparable glass. I'd start with some good wipers though, and clean the edge with alcohol when you put them on.
Not to derail the topic at hand, but that happened to your Contour too? We had 3 Contiques (E0 SVT Toreador Red / Midnight Blue, '98 Mystique LS Black / Greystone, and a '99 SE Sport Toreador Red / Greystone) and at some point or another, all three had a new windshield. The E0 had 3 replacements, the Mystique got 2 and the SE got 1. The E0 had the windshield replaced with one with a flat spot 2 times on both the first and second replacement. It had a total of 5 replacement windshields. The Mystique had two replacements, the first replacement was flat, it was replaced by Ford Glass. The second was a Ford replacement with a chip that they could not repair, so it actually had 3 replacement windshields. My '99 had the windshield chipped right in my line of sight right in the middle of the drivers side of the windshield. I had it replaced and that windshield was flat too. I didn't get it fixed because I traded the car in 4 days after it was replaced. There must be something wrong with the pattern for Contour Glass.

Crazy! The first few replacements were Pilkington glass... then it seemed like when I got Carlite put in, the problem was solved. I sold the car about a month after that though. On the 'rolla, I went through three bad windshields, but the issue was with smudging inside the laminate rather then flat spots. Putting in Fuyao glass finally fixed that issue.

Go to your dealer and pick up a OEM refill for $3, solved my problem...

i love my bosch. yeah, they're $20 a piece, but they are awsome.

i am also running 1-2inches over sized, and have no problems.

dont forget to use the orange (?) rain-x washer fluid!

tdk.

the rainx washer fluid left ALOT of white residue on my windsheild where the wipers didnt wipe, so i stopped using it. i just buy a spray bottle of rainx for $7 once every couple years and apply it myself about once a month.

Bikeman982

I never heard of flat spots on windshields.

I have had several windshields replaced on various cars and never had that problem.

When the wiper blades don't make good contact - I bend the arms slightly to improve it.

I don't use anything but bug wash or typical windshield wiper fluid.

They all seem to work fine. I also use a squeegee at the gas station when I fill up.

I fill up once a week.

you should really try rainx bike, it makes a HUGE difference in a heavy rain!

The best thing for you would be to get the OEM wiper blades as its hassle free and you ll get the perfect size for the car... A similar problem and i did jus that and it worked...

www.silblade.com

They make the best blades I have EVER used. They don't chatter and have a 5 year warranty.