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      01-12-2018, 09:52 PM   #1
SteveInfante
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Wipers and what have you used?

So I'm starting this thread because for a while, the first year I owned the 228i from 2015-2016, there weren't many aftermarket choices for replacement wipers. Of course there was the OEM offerings but if I'm spending the money anyway I may as well find out what's out there. For reference as far as conditions I have lived in South Carolina since August of 2015 when I retired and moved back here. I bought my car in June of 2015 with 2700ish miles on it. It's a 05/2014 build car and was used as a loaner for someone who ordered new while I was in Germany until their car came in.

OEM:

The BMW wipers that came with my car were ineffective after about 9 months of use. I had them replaced at about the same interval through "free maintenance" at the dealer during an oil service. Those made it about 11 months until they wore out and started separating from the hard portion of the wiper itself. Wore out pretty early IMO but I did put a ton of miles on the car in a short amount of time. Always worked flawlessly as intended.

Bosch: $47/set @ Wal-Mart

I decided to replace the BMW OEM wipers with the Bosch ICON wipers that had just hit the market for the 2 series in the stock 22" (driver side) and 18" (passenger side) sizes. Installation was a bit complicated by the need to remove a bunch of different covers and add clips in order to work properly with the stock wiper arms. For this reason the wiper's had to slip onto the arm itself and the tension that was applied to the glass was lessened. The spring tension of the arm was lessened because the glass/arm angle was lessened. Worked well for about 14 months. They started to chatter on occasion and started to dry out I think. Compounded by the lessened pressure on the glass made it worse. They finally gave up last night. The contact portion of the wiper came detached from the wiper and started flopping around. Of course it was raining pretty hard when this happened all of a sudden.

Rain X: $57 @ Target

This time around there are many more wipers to choose from and I decided to go with the new Latitude series from RainX. Installation was pretty straight forward as the included instructions are well thought out. You have to remove 2 small cover/bracket items and the end of the wiper arm inserts into the wiper. By design the glass to wiper arm distance is greater than the Bosch wipers and contact with the glass is more pronounced as it is with the stock wipers. It was raining again today during this warm spell that just hit again, it was 69 degrees today. They work great so far and don't make a peep. We will see how long these last. I hit 68,097 miles today and it's time for other maintenance items as well.

What have you used?
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      01-13-2018, 12:51 PM   #2
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I've always used OEM and have had zero issues. I think BMW has some of the best wipers of any make. With that said you probably do more miles than me (about 9-10k/yr for me). I also make sure to clean them whenever I wash the car. I use some washer fluid on a micro fiber. This is my 5th BMW and have always been impressed with the wipers.
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      01-13-2018, 01:59 PM   #3
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I've also found the BMW wipers to be very good compared with those from other manufacturers.
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      01-21-2018, 10:19 PM   #4
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How much are OEM wipers? I have an Acura and they use the inserts which are pretty cheap to replace.
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      01-21-2018, 11:45 PM   #5
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About US$47 for OEM or US$23 for Bosch equivalent (part number 61612219147 for the pair), no inserts the blade and rubber are a single item.
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      01-22-2018, 07:36 AM   #6
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Thanks for the input. Keep chiming in.
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      01-22-2018, 10:22 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveInfante View Post
Thanks for the input. Keep chiming in.
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147

and then return them anytime you want for a new one...
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      01-22-2018, 10:31 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xantdieselx View Post
I've always used OEM and have had zero issues. I think BMW has some of the best wipers of any make. With that said you probably do more miles than me (about 9-10k/yr for me). I also make sure to clean them whenever I wash the car. I use some washer fluid on a micro fiber. This is my 5th BMW and have always been impressed with the wipers.
My experience is totally opposite. In both my 128i and M235i wipers always made cheap screeching sound. Wipers in my brother's $18000 Mazda 3 are much quieter and stick to the windshield better. And yes I clean my wipers with a microfibre on a regular basis, it makes no difference.
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      01-22-2018, 01:17 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aerobod View Post
About US$47 for OEM or US$23 for Bosch equivalent (part number 61612219147 for the pair), no inserts the blade and rubber are a single item.
This really bothers me having owned other BMW's where you could just buy the inserts relatively cheaply. I will say to avoid the Goodyear ones that Coscto sells, at highway speeds they do NOT work properly

Bill
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      01-23-2018, 08:55 AM   #10
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So far so good with the latest RainX ones I got. Quietly cleared all the rain in a heavy storm with ease.
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      01-23-2018, 08:56 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveInfante View Post
Thanks for the input. Keep chiming in.
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147

and then return them anytime you want for a new one...
Then I have to deal with shipping them back.
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      01-23-2018, 10:41 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveInfante View Post
Then I have to deal with shipping them back.
Yes but you get them for free...

You rather buy a new one for $47 than ship it back ?
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      01-23-2018, 11:06 AM   #13
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I almost never use my wipers so I only tend to replace them every few years, at the earliest. Rain-X, ceramic coating, and similar products usually does a good enough job for the weather we have in TX. Didn't realize the damn wipers were so much for this car, though.
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      01-23-2018, 07:02 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveInfante View Post
Then I have to deal with shipping them back.
Yes but you get them for free...

You rather buy a new one for $47 than ship it back ?
If these turn out to be less of a value than the BMW units then I will consider it. So fa so good though. I think that these will hold up. The weather here is very sunny and hot during the summers with lots of summer showers so the next 8 months will tell the tale.

I'm all for not wasting my hard earned cash but performance versus price is more important than the hassle to me.
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      01-26-2018, 10:54 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wheelwright View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by xantdieselx View Post
I've always used OEM and have had zero issues. I think BMW has some of the best wipers of any make. With that said you probably do more miles than me (about 9-10k/yr for me). I also make sure to clean them whenever I wash the car. I use some washer fluid on a micro fiber. This is my 5th BMW and have always been impressed with the wipers.
My experience is totally opposite. In both my 128i and M235i wipers always made cheap screeching sound. Wipers in my brother's $18000 Mazda 3 are much quieter and stick to the windshield better. And yes I clean my wipers with a microfibre on a regular basis, it makes no difference.
Sounds like your doing something wrong.
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      04-06-2018, 01:20 PM   #16
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Arrow

Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147

and then return them anytime you want for a new one...

I like fcp euro myself. Probably will go with them...or just RainX from Amazon!! Usually replace yearly on all my vehicles in October.


biz
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      09-26-2021, 03:56 AM   #17
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Reviving the thread. I bought the ICON wipers and they don't come with the adapter to fit on the car.
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      09-26-2021, 09:09 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147

and then return them anytime you want for a new one...
They are about $10 cheaper on Amazon.
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      09-26-2021, 12:50 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xantdieselx View Post
I've always used OEM and have had zero issues. I think BMW has some of the best wipers of any make. With that said you probably do more miles than me (about 9-10k/yr for me). I also make sure to clean them whenever I wash the car. I use some washer fluid on a micro fiber. This is my 5th BMW and have always been impressed with the wipers.
^^^
I only use OEM/Dealer
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      09-26-2021, 02:32 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147

and then return them anytime you want for a new one...
They are about $10 cheaper on Amazon.
Sure but you have to buy them every time. With fcp you buy them once and then you just pay shipping to return back like less than $10
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      09-26-2021, 10:22 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147
and then return them anytime you want for a new one...
I second this strategy. I trade my wipers and cabin air filter every spring for new ones on the FCP free replacement warranty. Shipping for these to send them back is cheap and this year I dropped them off in person on my way to New Hampshire from NJ. I hear people send back oil but I am good for paying for oil although they cheerfully take it back if you send or bring it.

I probably would use the guarantee for brakes too but they don't stock the brakes and rotors I like.

///Rich
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      09-27-2021, 09:49 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich.Wolfson View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by pikcachu View Post
You can buy them ONCE here https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...es-61612219147
and then return them anytime you want for a new one...
I second this strategy. I trade my wipers and cabin air filter every spring for new ones on the FCP free replacement warranty. Shipping for these to send them back is cheap and this year I dropped them off in person on my way to New Hampshire from NJ. I hear people send back oil but I am good for paying for oil although they cheerfully take it back if you send or bring it.

I probably would use the guarantee for brakes too but they don't stock the brakes and rotors I like.

///Rich
I do it for oil too on usps large flat rate box

Then cabin filter, wipers and brake pad sensors on another one
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