Reading some of the other reviews, I think some people are installing these incorrectly. The symptoms they describe sound like the first set I bought, which was for my girlfriend's 2008 Nissan Rogue. When I installed the driver's side wiper (the longer of the two) it didn't make good contact with the windshield and would have left huge streaks. There is a way to adjust how the wiper sits by fiddling with the mount. Once I did that (per the included instructions), it worked like a champ. I just put a pair on my 2010 Xterra, and didn't have to do anything special...they worked great from the start. It sometimes pays to read the instructions.
As far as the blades scratching the windshield, the only thing I can think of that would cause that to happen is if they forgot to take the plastic cover off the blade. I can't see how someone might do that, but the blade itself is pretty flexible, so I have no idea how it could scratch auto glass.
For me, these have been great, and the price on Amazon is very reasonable. I think I saved about $6 per blade by not getting them at the local auto parts store. I think this should be one of the items that Amazon lets you "Subscribe" to, so you could have them delivered every six months or so. That would certainly help me to remember to change my wiper blades! Rain-X 5079280 Latitude 8-In-1 Premium Graphite Coated Wiper Blade - 24"
These wipers are fantastic in the rain, especially when brand new. They do not squeak or smear while removing all water from your windshield.
In the snow, they are not that bad, if you park your car in a garage anyway. The problem with these blades is that they do not hold up well in cold weather, especially when coated with snow and ice.
I've had these blades on my Blazer for about 7 months, and during the fall they were great. Once the bad weather started to come (Buffalo, NY) the snow and ice began to build up on the blades while parked outside. The design of these blades includes plastic end caps that keep the main blade strip from moving. But when water has collected inside the cap and it freezes, the expanded ice loosens the cap and it eventually falls off. After that, the blade will slowly ease its way out from the holder slot. If you do not slide it back right away (every day or during the drive) it will ruin the blade when it wipes. This results in the wiper not being able to get a clean wipe in thick snows or sleet on both strokes. I regularly get a big wet icy patch in the middle of my windshield due to this.
I have been looking for the perfect winter wipers for a long time, and these are not them.
The Rain-X Latitude wiper blade promises advanced visibility through simplified design. Gone are the springs and hinges that conventional wipers use to try to keep the blade on your windshield. The Latitude is basically a floppy graphite-coated blade that molds itself to the shape of your windshield, promoting more uniform contact, pressure, and as a result, visibility.
I've been using mine for several months now and have always been pleased with their performance. They're definitely quieter than any other wipers I've ever used and they do eliminate those annoying streaks of rain/ice/salt that can form when conventional wipers start to break down.
Installation was supposedly simple, but the mounting clips that were provided were ill-fitting. Plus, they're made out of lightweight plastic that felt very cheap - I was afraid that I'd break them while trying to fit them to my car's wiper arms. I finally gave up and had my mechanic put them on since I had a routine appointment coming up anyway.
My only ongoing concern is how long they'll last given the plastic mounting clips and the soft, delicate feel of the blades themselves. I'll update this review if I run into any trouble, but so far so good.
When I received these wipers I was pretty excited about the design. They are basically a sturdy curved flexible one-piece body with a graphite rubber wiper blade attached. They curve that is build-in seems to be a good solution to replacing all of the little metal springy parts that make up a conventional wiper - fewer parts to catch ice or snow.
I installed these on my '03 Tundra and found that when the curve of the wiper was pushed into the curve of my windshield it failed for about 1.5" of wiper on the far right of the passenger window wiper. This small portion just floated over the window - in some places wiping - in most places just skimming the water, not really touching the window.. This was also happening to a lesser degree on the driver's side. The result is unsatisfactory, as the missed water tends to cause running before the wiper cycles again. I switched sides and got the same results.
I am going to try to intentionally deform the wiper end that is not contacting the window but I'm afraid the verdict is in for me. These may work just fine for your vehicle but '03 Tundra owners, consider yourselves warned.
In cold weather one wiper worked in one direction of sweep then did not "flip" over and change direction for the opposite sweep. This caused a chattering and rappid skipping.
The other wiper simply did not make complete contact with windshield.
These might work in a warm weather climate.
I had Bosch wipers on my VW Passat and they never really cleaned off the windshield well. I've had the 20" Latitudes on for two month in a typical New England winter (rain, snow, sleet, more snow) and they've worked like a charm. I would recommend them over Bosch, they are more substantial and look cool too.
So, this was my first attempt at the "contemporary" wiper blade design and I have to say I was extremely disappointed with the Latitudes. Right out of the box they were streaking on me. The driver side wiper was leaving a huge smear patch in the middle of my line of sight. They were very quiet, but just didn't seem to hug the windshield at all. I have since moved to the Bosch Icon's and they are a far superior product in my opinion. - Wiper - Latitude Wiper Blades - Wiper Blades - Rain-x'
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