Good Wipers Won't Cost You; Replace Often

Car maintenance and safety is all about doing the little things right, such as frequently replacing your windshield wipers. According to Consumer Reports, a good pair of windshield wipers won't cost you more than $10 in most cases.

Some of the least expensive wipers accounted for three of the four top-rated blades for Consumer Reports (no word yet on how one gets a job as an "independent windshield-wiper tester"). These included the Valeo 600 series ($9 for the 18-inch, $15 for the 24-inch), Michelin RainForce ($7 for the 18- and 24-inch) and Anco 31 Series ($7 for the 18-inch, $10 for the 24-inch).

The only caveat to the good news that you can go ahead and buy cheap windshield wipers is that you need to replace them fairly often. The report found that with regular use, even top-rated blades tend to degrade after six to nine months. It recommended replacement every 6 to 12 months.

Looking for top-of-the-line wipers? The RainX Latitude were the only wipers that maintained their "Very Good" performance through six months of testing. You'll have to shell out a bit more for those, though ($17 for the 18-inch, $21 for the 24-inch).

Consumer Reports Windshield Wiper Tests Reveal Good Wipers Aren't Pricey but Most Fade Fast (Yahoo News)

Comments

It's not just a matter of replacing your wiper blades to maintain good visibility. Buying a glass stripper and thoroughly cleaning the glass surface every so often is as beneficial as new wiper blades.

Good info, wipers are one of the forgotten maintenance pieces of a car.

What one forgets is that rock/sand chips on the glass create little razor edges that nick the rubber wiping edge.This leads to large streaks and lines of water that arent being cleared.No blade can survive that.Also,when you park the blades,the direction the edge rolls to dictates which direction they will chatter on.Its impossible to make wipers last any time.

Clean the wiping edge.
That is how you get it to last
I've had Bosch Icon & Valeo ultimate last way more one year by proper cleaning.

I think local climate plays a role too. I hot/dry climates wipers need to be replaced more often.

How long does the factory ones last?

replace wiper blades once a year but I swear there newest wears out very quick.

My car's first pair still works perfectly fine even after a harsh snowing winter. They are already 1.5 years old on my car.

I replace the windshield every year...the smooth new glass extends the life of the wiper blades.