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I got serious issues with my windshield wiper blades on my Audi A3 2001 8L1. I replaced them two times in the last 6 months because they can't seem to wipe the area they are supposed to.

Both times I bought 21" for driver side and 19" for passenger side. First ones I tried were good but they got bad in a month or so - weren't from a quality manufacturer. The second ones I tried were from BOSCH and they aren't good either - although these ones are straight instead of curved. None of them can wipe properly.

Can anyone tell me which ones would be good for my car? I was thinking of going with BOSCH Aerotwin Retrofit wipers as they are nicely curved and from a good manufacturer, what do you think? I really need some help so I don't buy another disappointing pair of wiper blades.

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  • Are you sure the connection between wiperblade and wiper arm is still functioning properly? That is; is the wiperblade held perpendicular to the windshield? Especially older cars with weaker wiperblade mountings have such problems.
    – Bart
    Commented Dec 28, 2016 at 11:33
  • @Bart The blades are firm and well mounted and I don't think they are the problem. My windshield is curved, specially at the edges, so maybe that's the problem?
    – erikvimz
    Commented Dec 28, 2016 at 12:31
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    Which part of the windshield are they not wiping? Is it the outer edge of the windshield? Do you have a picture of the affected area? Was it the same area of the windshield for both the straight and the curved wiper?
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Dec 28, 2016 at 13:24
  • @Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 On the driver side it doesn't wipe in the middle of the wiper. On the passenger side it doesn't wipe the right most edge, about 3 cm (steering wheel is on the left side of the car - had to point that out :D).
    – erikvimz
    Commented Dec 28, 2016 at 14:44
  • Any chance you could add a photo showing the problem so that we can all be on the same page about what we're seeing? I think an overall photo of the windshield showing what it looks like after a wipe or two would do it.
    – dlu
    Commented Dec 28, 2016 at 14:56

1 Answer 1

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If the wiper isn't contacting in the center, this is usually a sign the spring in the wiper arm has been distorted or is no longer strong enough to hold the wiper down. There are two ways you can solve this: - Get new wiper arms with new springs - A cheaper way, but may not work is to bend slightly (if possible) the wiper arm itself towards the windshield. You'd be bending the tip portion as far back towards the base as practical. In doing this, you are putting the tip closer to the windshield and effectively increasing the spring's spring rate which will keep the blade on the windshield better.

Bending the arm may work, but might work only temporarily. If you find in a short time the same thing starts occurring again, the spring may be beyond hope and would need to be replaced. You may check to see if you can get the springs themselves replaced, but that's highly unlikely considering how manufacturers do things.

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