Wiper Blades

[nfinity]

Hey all,

Doing so-so on my first winter round on the Mini. I realized last week how horrible the ground clearance is after going down an unplowed street and having frozen snow scrape the bottom of my car. I've held off on getting snow tires as this is the first winter I'm driving with the car so the tread on the all seasons I have looks fine.

Problem is my wipers. Yesterday I took the 401 all the way from Pickering to Brampton on the 410 and my wipers were doing absolutely nothing. I'm assuming they froze up, even after having cleaned them before leaving. Time to replace these stock POS wipers - I've had good luck with the teflon wipers from Canadian Tire before. Any other suggestions?

[gaminicool]

There's not much info out there but this thread may prove helpful on what NOT to get.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...r+wiper+blades

[DarkMiniCooperS]

If you happen to have a Canadian Tire near you, go get their new Reflex wiper blades...

They are really great and they don't freeze in cold weather... plus, they stick well to the windshield at speeds above 100km/h!

I've tried the ugly winter blades and the original ones and they don't even come close to the Reflex ones!!

So, I hope you have a Canadian Tire nearby!!!

[SteveGuntrip]

Thanks for the tip, I live in Montreal too and had the same problem. Threw some Reflex blades on and now I can see!

[miniman marshall]

If I were you, I would go to the dealership with your problem!! get them to get you new wiper blades since yours arent working, thats what i did

[DarkMiniCooperS]

Quote: Originally Posted by SteveGuntrip

Thanks for the tip, I live in Montreal too and had the same problem. Threw some Reflex blades on and now I can see!

Great! They are a bit expensive but worth every single penny!

Just watch out for theft, because many people around Montreal got their Reflex wipers stolen... We live in a strange world and people are ready to lose their name for 50$ wipers...

[paco]

Hey guys,

I replaced my stock wipers this past september with a pair of PIAA Silicone Wipers. The wipers themselves do not freeze, but the ice has a tendency to form around them so you have to remove the ice clog before leaving.

They're much nicer than MINI's stock rubber el-cheapo wipers. They're a bit curved to fit sporty windshields. The fit is pretty tight except for the end of the passenger side near the hood. I would love to see the Reflex from Canadian Tire (I didn't know they existed).

I picked them up for 30$ each at Ultracar in Montreal.


--
paco

[del sol]

The stock wipers are absolutely garbage. The only way I can make it clean at all is to flood it with washer fluid, which I have to continuously do in the winter. I have to refill my washer fluid about once every 10 days. The rear is even worse. Sure, I can get the dealer to replace the wipers, but will that do any good? Do I just have something defective that can be corrected or is it just bad design and I should shell out for aftermarket wipers?

[nfinity]

I haven't yet found a set of aftermarket blades that have either

a) Fit the Mini windshield properly
or
b) Were worth the money that I would have to spend on them - case in point - Canadian TIre Reflex wiper blades. I gave them a shot and they didn't give any visible improvement.

I don't think there's much we can do - maybe it's just by design that the Mini winshield is a tad more vertical than other cars on the road, or that it's a tad lower. Either way, I'm just going to suck it up and keep on the washer fluid until spring hits.

[Rennie]

Rain-X may help. I just bought the Rain-X wipes and used them on all my windows, but we haven't experienced rain yet. I'm hoping it takes care of the wiper problem.

[FREDBRG]

I put on a set of Silblades and applied RainX, the combo works great!