Windshield Wipers

[Aronis]

Hi All,

I have been meaning to post this for, I don't know, two years!

I have found the wipers/blades on my RS6 and prior A6 4.2 to be, well, not so good. I am not sure if its the shape of the windshield or the wiper.

I have not found any 'replacement' parts for any Audi's at any of the major aftermarket windshield wiper blade sites.

Anyone have any suggestions? Brand?

The dealer replacement is about $50.00, come mounted on the arms, kind of a waste. I was able to cut and place a set of replacement blades on my A6, but on the RS6 I picked up a new set about a year and a half ago...no did not get the replacement under service plan...the bastards...LOL...

Mike

PS the wipers on my wife's Subaru are actually much better...it's two years old, driven in the same weather conditions, etc....

[Benman]

Mike,

Haven't had issues with the wipers, I find them to be pretty darn good (not quite as good as the wife's new Denali, but heck:trash: ). My thing is now I'm noticing more and more little "rattles and creaks". You still have the RS 6, huh? When is the lease up, August? :cheers:

Ben:addict:

[Aronis]

December....10 months.... I found wipers for the A6 at Bosch, trying to find supplier...the stock ones are 'ok' but not great, on second set now.
I was just wondering if other had issues, thought perhaps it was more to do with the shape of the windshield, etc.

Mike

[nene]

I always felt the wipers sucked on the RS6 as well.
Also, the movement of the wipers in super-speed, don't do well against heavy rain.

[Aronis]

super-speed, .

Mine actually is not that fast in Hi....I was quite surprised, and the sweep is about 1 inch less than in my prior 2000 A6......

How about windshield rehab....I did the clay bar thing, somewhat better, but not really great. I'm planning on a new windshield if I end up buying at the end of lease.

Mike

[ruxprncd]

Ben - for what it's worth, I just thoroughly went through my newly-bought 57K RS6 for misc creaks and the vast majority of it was solved by spraying all of the seals & edges around the doors with Dupont teflon spray. Amazing difference.

[Benman]

Ben - for what it's worth...

You know, I'll try that. Thanks!:cheers:

Ben:addict:

[DetailersDomain]

Bosch icons are great they are the like valeo ones but more readily available.

Put them on right when I go the car something like $50 for the pair my Audi dealer was like dam they put some cheap wipers on and replaced them with brand new oem ones as a favor, threw out the Bosch ones I was like what the hell!!!!!!!!

Anyway since then I've been meaning to got to pepboys to get them but haven't had a chance, i would recommend them.

I just picked up the A6 fitment.

[newmarketnow]

The OEM wipers on my RS6 have always, well, S^cked.

New OEM a month ago and again, less than 30 minutes in snow and there's build up, streaking and within 60 minutes, I'm doing the hand out the window thing to catch the blade and snap it back to get some relief.
Flat out dangerous and a bit sad / ironic with a car like this and Audi - promoting all the safety inherent to a quattro in snow and falling way short with visibility safety.

The dealer says "ongoing problem, hear about it alot on even the newer cars, everything seems to stick to them. No, don't know of any after market and have even asked around".

Aronis wrote above about Bosch blades. I haven't investigated these yet but are there others that others have found and are pleased with?

Best regards and Merry Christmas,

[DetailersDomain]

Bosch Icons are great or the Valeo's from Tirerack.com

[Copper]

Buy Valeo. Period.


Throw some silicon spray on them about 6 months after new, toss them when you hear them "chatter" across the windshield.

Rain-X if you are in a bad weather area also helps.


So much better than stock.

[Aronis]

I bought some from Tirerack but they do not fit not even close to the correct mounting hardware. They are in a box somewhere (just moved)

[Copper]

Did you order the correct part? Should be for the A6 which will fit on the RS6. I have not had fitment issues.

[DuckWingDuck]

Tirerack says these are the valeos: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/valeo/top_lock.jsp

[Spidercat]

Tirerack says these are the valeos: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/valeo/top_lock.jsp

Thanks DWD! I just ordered a set. I'll let you guys know in a few days how the fitment is. I just thought that my stock wipers were old and that's why they were so crappy. I've been meaning to get new ones for a while and never got around to it. Hope these do the trick!

[newmarketnow]

Thanks - Valeo it is for a personal Christmas gift. I hope the fitting is correct.

I don't imagine Spider Cat has the same weather demands on his wipers as some of us.
For you Spider Cat - a pic from 12-21-07 of the dog and his thoughts of the weather and the OEM blades:

5911

[Spidercat]

LOL!
I DO miss that snow at Christmas, though! Absolutely breath-taking!
It rains frequently here, though. Not a lot (usually), but frequently. Just enough to constantly have semi-dry crappy wipers scitter and scrape along the windshield, leaving innumerable rubber scuffs right in my field of view, always when I'm heading into the sun! My only complaint with the car, though, so I'm happy. And hopefully this will be an easy fix!

[melsas]

What about these Twin Aero blades and arms from Bosch on ebay?
Anybody tried these?
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR bgColor=#ccccff><TD class=titlePadding width="100%">

</TD><TD noWrap align=right>Item number: 360007742806</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[DuckWingDuck]

wtf is "evodium"?? But on that ebay listing. It looks like they're selling you the arms too so you replace the whole thing...

[gjg]

wtf is "evodium"?? But on that ebay listing. It looks like they're selling you the arms too so you replace the whole thing...

interestingly you can buy the rubber alone in Europe, no need for complete replacement.... Although the stealer will make hard pitch to sell the "kit" .... :doh:

[DuckWingDuck]

$100+ seems a bit much to pay for windshield wipers esp. considering the Valeos on tireracks go for $30/piece. But you're right gjg, obviously they're trying to make rationalize the 'sale'....

[Spidercat]

Crap! Tirerack just cancelled my order for the Valeos. Seems that they are out of stock and have no idea when they'll get them in again- maybe 2-3 months.

[DuckWingDuck]

DOH!! Maybe time to give those Bosch a try....

[skiwi]

one of the issues i've had with my car is that the winscreen is scored (pock marks) from stone chips and this causes the rubber on the wiper blades to rip. on our allroad the wipers work a treat, with the non-fancy blades because the car has never been driven that fast to pick up stone chips on the windscreen ;-)

[Spidercat]

I got the Bosch Icons last week and installed them. Install was a snap, took 2 secs per wiper. Not so happy with the looks, though (not my taste), but they do work wonderfully (well, in that they actually wipe the water off the windshield, silently). Kinda what I expected.

[skiwi]

piccies??

[Spidercat]

Here's a link to an image of them on a BMW:
http://bmwboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21647

Here's the Bosch website for the details.
http://www.boschautoparts.com/Products/WiperBlades/Icon.htm

Here's the part # (I had to search for an '03 A6, for some reason RS6 didn't have wipers listed, but they fit the same, part 422A):
http://www.boschautoparts.com/RB.NA.AFTERMARKET.BOSCHAUTOPARTS.CMS/templates/VehiclePartFinder/VehiclePartFinderResultsTemplate.aspx?NRMODE=Publi shed&NRNODEGUID=%7bB045EDBE-2735-4740-B308-1FE402C47E2A%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2fResources%2fVehiclePartFinder%2fV ehiclePartFinderResults%2ehtm%3fYear%3d2003%26Make %3dAUDI%26Model%3dA6%2bQUATTRO_%26Engine%3dV8%2b4% 2e2%2bAWN%2bGAS&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest&Engine=V8+4.2+AWN+GAS&Model=A6+QUATTRO_&Year=2003&Make=AUDI

BTW, they were about $42 for the set at Checker Auto Parts. Not bad.

[DuckWingDuck]

So if I'm not desperate for blades just yet and can wait, what should I go for? The ICON or Valeos?

[Spidercat]

I think they look almost exactly the same, and both companies talk about how their rubber has magical wiping properties, so I bet there's not a whole lotta difference. I'd go for the Bosch Icons, since you can just go down to Checker (or your local autoparts store) and bring them back if you don't like them, rather than the mail-order hassle. I have no complaints with mine (granted it's only been a week). In fact, I'm going to pick up a set for my wife's A4- I just changed the OEM blades last year, and they squeek a little already, and we can't have that (oh, the horror!).

[DuckWingDuck]

Hmm, true that. Since it's raining, time to hit the store tomorrow to pick these bad boys up and test 'em out!

[jtessman]

Went to the dealer to inquire after I got my RS6 in July and tehy wanted $120 for the pair with the aero arms. After pulling a few refills from stock we found a set that fit perfect. Full charge - $12 (from a dealer!). Work perfectly and I have no complaints.

Copper's comment on Rain-X is right on - we got 70" here last year. With Rain-X you don't even need wipers at highway speeds (barring wrath of GOD 6"/hr type storms).