Windscreen wipers don’t last forever. You will need to change them every so often. And when it’s time to change them, it’s important that you buy the right size and type of wipers for your car.
In this post we’ll discuss how to tell what windscreen wipers are right for you. We’ll also explore when it might be a good time to change your wipers, and go through a step-by-step process for fitting new wiper blades.
How To Tell If You Need New Windscreen Wipers
Here are a few tell-tale signs that it might be time to change your windscreen wipers:
- You hear a loud squeaking sound when the wipers run across your windscreen.
- The wipers skip and judder rather than sweeping cleanly across your windscreen.
- The wipers leave noticeable streaks and smears.
- You can see cracks and splits in the blades’ rubber.
What Windscreen Wipers Do I Need?
There are three ways to find out what type of blades are right for your car:
- Check your old blades. This will let you know what type of connector to look for, and the blade length should also be written somewhere on the blade itself.
- Check your car’s user manual. This should give you detailed information about the size and fitting type that’s right for your car.
- Check online. Online stores such as Halfords let you enter your car registration before automatically suggesting the right blades for your vehicle. However, they might suggest multiple different sizes, so you should always cross-reference their results with your old blades and your user manual.
The Different Types of Windscreen Wipers
When choosing new windscreen wipers, you need to tick three main boxes: Fitting type, blade type, and size.
Fitting type – This is the system by which the wipers attach to the wiper arms. The different types of fittings include hook, side-lock, top-lock, pinch-tab, bayonet, and slim-top.
Blade type – There are three different types of windscreen wiper blade:
- Conventional – Usually found on older cars, these feature an articulated metal frame with an attached wiper blade.
- Flat – Most modern cars use flat windscreen blades, which are thicker and more aerodynamic than conventional blades. This means they can give you a tiny boost to your fuel economy without compromising on their effectiveness.
- Hybrid – A cross between conventional and flat blades. In terms of their appearance and function, they’re similar to conventional blades. But at high speeds the frame will push the blade flat onto your windscreen, making your car more aerodynamic.
If your car was fitted with flat blades to begin with, then you’ll only ever be able to use flat or hybrid blades. But if your car is an older model that featured conventional blades, then you should be able to “upgrade” to flat or hybrid blades.
Size – Windscreen wiper blades come in a range of sizes. The size you need depends on the size of your car windscreen. The bigger your windscreen, the longer the blade you’ll need.
How To Fit New Windscreen Wiper Blades
- Turn off your engine and remove your key from the ignition, to prevent the wipers from moving while you change them.
- Lift the wiper arm away from the windscreen and lock it in an upright position.
- If your wipers are held in place by a button, push it. If they’re held in place by a tab, pop it open.
- Holding the wiper arm in place, slide out the old blade.
- Slide the new wiper blade into position. If the wiper arms have a locking button, it should click into place automatically. But if they use a locking tab, you may have to clip it into place yourself.
- Carefully lower the wiper back onto the windshield.
After this, you should be done. But you should start your engine and test your wipers before you drive again, just to make sure.
Why It’s Important To Keep Your Windscreen Wipers In Good Shape
If your windscreen wipers aren’t working properly, then they could let you down when you need them most. You could end up with a dirty or obscured windscreen that you’re simply unable to clean, which could result in a road accident.
This is why vehicles can fail their MOTs if their windscreen wipers aren’t in good working order.
