I recently replaced the wiper blades on our 2015 Ford Taurus with new Bosch Icons 365. The previous Icons lasted about 4-1/2 years and roughly 45,000 miles, which is quite an accomplishment for wiper blades here in the upper Midwest on a daily driven vehicle.
I do have to qualify this wiper blade longevity by two not-the-normal-driving-conditions because:
1) Now that we are both retired, the vehicle is not driven daily to work that sat outside in a parking lot all day during working hours, nor do we drive in snowstorms unless absolutely necessary,
2) The vehicle sits in a garage when it is not being driven.
That said, there are some common sense wiper blade maintenance and practices that can help increase the longevity and life of any wiper blade.
1a) Don't use the wiper as an ice scraper and turn them on to remove heavy frost or ice on a windshield if the vehicle has been sitting outside in sub-freezing weather.
This is especially true if the vehicle has been running and the defroster has been used and it is snowing out and you park the vehicle outside in the driveway or parking lot. As the snow falls, it will melt at bottom of the now-warm windshield where the wipers sit in the "off" position and if you do not run the vehicle again for some time, like parking at work or going shopping for awhile, it will freeze onto the wiper blades. Use a snow brush to remove snow and an ice scraper to remove heavy frozen frost and ice.
1b) When it is snowing and you park the vehicle outside, put the wiper arms in the upright position lifting them OFF the windshield, if you can. Before driving again, use the fore-mentioned snow brush and ice scraper to remove the snow and ice, then put the arms down.
2) Kind of related to snow, I do not use the wipers & window wash fluid to clean off bug splatter from a windshield. I use a bug mesh pad and some Poorboy's Bug Squash cleaner have in a small spray bottle that I carry in the summer time. This may not be possible if driving in heavy traffic on a highway and one goes through a "bug cloud" or lake fly hatch (if you live in Wisconsin near Green Bay or Lake Winnebago in May, you know exactly what I am talking about) and yes, I will use the wipers and window wash to keep driving and still see out the windshield.
3) To keep the rubber wipers in good shape, I clean and treat them with Meg's D101 All-Purpose Cleaner (4:1 dilution) and Aerospace 303 Protectant spayed on single sheet of blue heavy-duty shop paper toweling. I first wipe the rubber with Meg's APC, wipe it with the dry part of the toweling, and then wipe it again with the 303 Protectant and wipe it with the dry part of the toweling. I tend to use the opposite corners of the single sheet of shop toweling to spray the APC and protectant onto and and the middle for wiping and drying. One thing I think you will notice is how black the toweling gets from the rubber on the paper. You should be able to do both wipers with a single sheet, AND if you have a rear hatch tailgate with a rear wiper like SUVs, vans, and station wagons have, don't forget to do that one as well. I do this at least one a month, but it may not be possible in the cold winter months and have to wait for a January-thaw day when it gets above freezing here in upper Midwest to do so.
4) I do not use a windshield treatment to repel rain and negate having to use the wipers in light rain. I find that in the night, they tend to "smear" the rain and distort on-coming headlights and street lights when the wipers are used, BUT that is up to you. At highway speeds in a downpour during the day, it did work well enough I did not use the wipers and when I did, I did not need to use it at the highest wiper speed to clean off the rain. But the distortion at night was deal-breaker to me, personally. I think good quality wiper blades and proper maintenance of them do a pretty good job of clearing the rain water from a windshield while driving.
While , as Autopian All-Star Accumulator has said, "Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV)", I believe following these common sense measures can increase the life of your wiper blades and during a rain or snow storm, having wipers that work without streaking are paramount to safe driving.
I do have to qualify this wiper blade longevity by two not-the-normal-driving-conditions because:
1) Now that we are both retired, the vehicle is not driven daily to work that sat outside in a parking lot all day during working hours, nor do we drive in snowstorms unless absolutely necessary,
2) The vehicle sits in a garage when it is not being driven.
That said, there are some common sense wiper blade maintenance and practices that can help increase the longevity and life of any wiper blade.
1a) Don't use the wiper as an ice scraper and turn them on to remove heavy frost or ice on a windshield if the vehicle has been sitting outside in sub-freezing weather.
This is especially true if the vehicle has been running and the defroster has been used and it is snowing out and you park the vehicle outside in the driveway or parking lot. As the snow falls, it will melt at bottom of the now-warm windshield where the wipers sit in the "off" position and if you do not run the vehicle again for some time, like parking at work or going shopping for awhile, it will freeze onto the wiper blades. Use a snow brush to remove snow and an ice scraper to remove heavy frozen frost and ice.
1b) When it is snowing and you park the vehicle outside, put the wiper arms in the upright position lifting them OFF the windshield, if you can. Before driving again, use the fore-mentioned snow brush and ice scraper to remove the snow and ice, then put the arms down.
2) Kind of related to snow, I do not use the wipers & window wash fluid to clean off bug splatter from a windshield. I use a bug mesh pad and some Poorboy's Bug Squash cleaner have in a small spray bottle that I carry in the summer time. This may not be possible if driving in heavy traffic on a highway and one goes through a "bug cloud" or lake fly hatch (if you live in Wisconsin near Green Bay or Lake Winnebago in May, you know exactly what I am talking about) and yes, I will use the wipers and window wash to keep driving and still see out the windshield.
3) To keep the rubber wipers in good shape, I clean and treat them with Meg's D101 All-Purpose Cleaner (4:1 dilution) and Aerospace 303 Protectant spayed on single sheet of blue heavy-duty shop paper toweling. I first wipe the rubber with Meg's APC, wipe it with the dry part of the toweling, and then wipe it again with the 303 Protectant and wipe it with the dry part of the toweling. I tend to use the opposite corners of the single sheet of shop toweling to spray the APC and protectant onto and and the middle for wiping and drying. One thing I think you will notice is how black the toweling gets from the rubber on the paper. You should be able to do both wipers with a single sheet, AND if you have a rear hatch tailgate with a rear wiper like SUVs, vans, and station wagons have, don't forget to do that one as well. I do this at least one a month, but it may not be possible in the cold winter months and have to wait for a January-thaw day when it gets above freezing here in upper Midwest to do so.
4) I do not use a windshield treatment to repel rain and negate having to use the wipers in light rain. I find that in the night, they tend to "smear" the rain and distort on-coming headlights and street lights when the wipers are used, BUT that is up to you. At highway speeds in a downpour during the day, it did work well enough I did not use the wipers and when I did, I did not need to use it at the highest wiper speed to clean off the rain. But the distortion at night was deal-breaker to me, personally. I think good quality wiper blades and proper maintenance of them do a pretty good job of clearing the rain water from a windshield while driving.
While , as Autopian All-Star Accumulator has said, "Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV)", I believe following these common sense measures can increase the life of your wiper blades and during a rain or snow storm, having wipers that work without streaking are paramount to safe driving.
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