I purchased a set of Silblades for my car and they worked wonderfully for the winter that I purchased them for - definitely better than a set of $5 ones from Kragen. But, the next year they were already streaking and chattering, much against their claim of long lasting goodness.
I attempted to take advantage of their 5 year warranty, but after multiple attempts, have not gotten through. At the time, the US distributor had no form of e-mail contact. I've called several times to find out that the 3rd call later, they close their offices at about 4pm their local time. Even when open, the phone number is not the primary distributor, but the line of the office they seem to be located in. Each time I've left voicemails or a message with someone and none of those calls have been returned.
In summary, the product worked wonderfully for a single season, but does not last throughout their claimed 5 years. They have no customer service line to help those folks who have questions or need to make use of their warranty. Silblade WB126S Premium Black Silicone Wiper Blade - 26"
All I can say is wow... just... wow. I wanted some good replacement windshield wiper blades for the Bosch blades I had (they were about a year and a half old and weren't holding out well). I did my research and decided to look into silicon rubber blades after reading so much about them. I was first going to get the PIAA brand, however the price and five year warranty the Silblades offered changed my mind. I haven't looked back since.
One of the things I hated about my old blades is they ended up making a lot of noise when sliding against the windshield unless there was a decent amount of water pouring down. From the first day I installed these onto my car and that first rain drizzle came down I was sold. The blades are whisper quiet, even with just a little moisture on the glass. You literally won't hear them. Heck, they are quiet even if you have no water on the glass. All you will hear is the motors that turn the blades. My old Bosche blades weren't anywhere near that quiet, even right out of the box.
The Silblades seem to work really well in getting the water off the windshield too. I dare say better than any other blades I have used. Some other blades I had would sometimes leave a thin trail of water still on the glass, but not the Silblades. Everything wipes clean from the blade's path. Also it's true what they say about the silicone in the rubber leaving a protective coating. The rain on your windshield will start to bead just like after waxing your car. I can't say it happened immediately because... well my windshield was waxed the day before I installed the blades. However the beading has lasting much, much longer than it should have from waxing alone.
I live in Houston, TX so I'm love how these blades hold up against the searing heat. No cracks yet or even color fading. I can't tell you how well they do in snow and ice since we don't get much of either here, and I haven't travelled anywhere to test the blades on that yet. However I don't doubt the manufacturer's claims on standing up to the bitter cold.
The PIAA silicone blades claimed they could do all of these things too. However they were $25 per blade and were only guaranteed to work a year. The Silblades have a five year warranty and the price can't be beat. If you really, REALLY want a noticeable difference in our windshield wiping experience then I suggest you grab these for your own vehicle. You will thank me for it.
One of the blades I received was defective, did not have any rain until 30 return policy for Amazon was up, called Amazon about warranty they referred me to Silblade web site, called Silblade they stated they DO NOT WARRANT PRODUCT have to go to seller. Thank goodness for Amazon, they stated they do not warrant product it is warranted thru manufacturer, but since it was just past 30 days, they gave me a credit which was used to order another blade, and it is ok. Bottom line if you are purchasing these blades for the 5 year warranty I would not count on it. The blades themselves do a remarkable job clearing the windshield, just don't count on any warranty from Silblade.
This wiper blade is without a doubt the worst of any that I have ever used. It puts a film (apparently deliberately) on your windshield that looks like the smearing that you get with a worn-out blade. It's tolerable during daylight but at night the windshield lights up from the headlights of oncoming cars, or even streetlights making it very hard to see. These things should be outlawed. I bought 3 of them and put two on my truck. So that windshield was toast. I put the remaining one on the passenger side of my wife's car. It proceeded to smear its goo over into the path of the other good (teflon blade) wiper which smeared it over most of the driver's side. I've had these things installed for a week. They are not getting any better. I'm going out tomorrow and purchasing some teflon blades.
I bought 2 sets of these blades: one for my 03' IS300 and one for my girlfriend's 99' Integra. These blades wipe clean except for a streak of water left behind on my 22" blade (driver side). The streak of water left behind is about 1" wide and near the center of the blade. The water eventually wipes away after several passes but it is a bit annoying to see such "wonderful" wiper blades work this way. At first I thought I might have a defective product but I learned that my girlfriend's wipers do the same thing! Her driver side blade is also 22". Hopefully the wipers just need time to break in but the passenger side wiper blades (20" and 18") work perfectly. Perhaps I was sold 2-22" blades from an entire "batch" of defective ones. Either way, I am not completely satisfied with the purchase (I am 50% satisfied to be exact - 2 out of 4 wipers work perfectly).
Edit: I guess they needed some time to break in, they have been working perfect for almost a year now. These are the only blades I will buy now.
Second Edit: I feel obligated to update on the durability of these. I've had them for ~15 months and they are about to be replaced. While they are still marginally acceptable, they don't wipe as clean and they now chatter too much. I keep my windshield well maintained so that is not the issue. For my application, I've concluded that these are no better than any other silicone blades. I intend to try Triple Edge silicone blades for ~$7-8 each at Walmart since I've heard they perform pretty well. Another economical alternative is to buy the cheap <$3 Pylon brand at Walmart and replace every 6 months are so. They work great for at least that long and price is right. - Wiper Blade - Wiper Blades'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
