Clarity PHEV wiper replacements sizes?

[petteyg359]

Interesting. Our Clarity (bought in Sept, built in June) also has the wiper noise Eddgie reports. Silicone vs rubber blades are the answer? Our old (2001) CRV had noise-less wipers only if we used the Honda refills. Glad I saw this thread before trying OEM refills for the Clarity.

With the relatively expensive full-assembly replacements I've never had that problem on my 2001 CR-V. Cheaper sets would be noisy though.

We wondered about paint protection. We didn't pay for this but perhaps they do it to all cars even if you've declined. Oncoming headlights at night appear as starburst patterns in our windshield, despite multiple window washings. Perhaps a coating would account for this annoying thing and the squeaky wiper blades. Anyone else have the light glare issue?

They applied the IBEX thing to my car without bothering to ask me if I wanted it, but I did purchase the hydrophobic windshield coating separately. Lights are not any more glaring than they are through any other vehicle windshield, and I hardly need the wipers most of the time because the rain just slides up the windshield with the air movement My wipers do occasionally skip, but I think that's just because they're a year old, not the windshield coating.

 

[Eddgie]

I don't have a problem anymore because the new refills corrected the issue. Just curious as to why the original equipment wipers would behave the way they did and mentioned this as a possibility. I never suggested that anyone do anything to their windshield.

 

[su_A_ve]

My dealer apparently puts it on all the cars they sell and attempt to charge $700 for it (which I would guess just about no one actually pays for). I have no idea if it is sprayed over the entire car or if the glass is masked off, and I don't even know if this is relevant, but I do think it is a possibility. Some window beading treatments can cause problems with wipers.

No paint protection added to my car, but it still skips badly unless it's raining heavy. I'll spend the few bucks and change them to see if they make a difference.

 

[Eddgie]

I don't know why the OEMs did the rumpumprump, but it would appear then that it is not something to do with the paint coating if you experience it as well.

The wiper blade itself is nothing special at all. It is a typical beam/aero style blade of the type used on many new cars, and common in the aftermarket.

I examined the original refill and it seemed flexible and without any sign of weathering so environmental does not seem to be the factor and since others with cars built even more recently than mine also seem to be having the problem, and since the new refills I put in mine fixed it, then it seems like it just has to be something in the composition of the original rubber.

As I said, I have resolved it for me and I suspect that replacing the rubber will fix it for some others, but can't of course promise that. I know it worked for me.

 

[JimW]

I bought my car in mid January, and it has been garage kept - never seen ice nor snow. Even though the wiper blades look and feel good, they started making the very loud brumpbrump sound a couple weeks ago. We were on a road trip and my wife was complaining, so I bought (expensive) Bosch Icons to replace, and they are very quiet. I was surprised that blades needed replacement that quickly. Seems like I usually get 2+ years. FYI, the originals are made by mitsuba.

 

[Eddgie]

My car was built in March and bought in July. Now I don't actually get that much rain here in central Tx, but in the last month, we have had a lot, and that is when I noticed the issue.

 

[DC1]

I changed out my windshield wipers with Bosch Icon (26") wipers and the sound is gone as well.

I have to think the original wipers that come with the Clarity are rubbish.

 

[KentuckyKen]

My wipers are doing perfectly fine and I bought in Feb. But then RainX is my co-pilot so they don’t get much use over 35 mph. I buffed RainX on the glass back in March, but since then I’ve gotten by just adding RainX to the washer fluid.
Another trick I’ve learned is if they get streaky, to lightly hone them with some very fine grit emery cloth while still on the arms. Most of the time that will rejuvenate them.
Yes, my middle name is cheapskate, although @insightman says it’s RainX.

 

[John Fritzen]

Ken, I was a rain x devotee until I discovered PIAA Super Silicone wipers. No streaking, reapplying, or nighttime glare. Going to replace the oem wipers with those. Note that I live in one of the rainiest parts of the country. They hold up well in snow and ice. Last about 2 years .

 

[su_A_ve]

Well, if the replacement refills from Honda are made out of the same stuff as the originals, then I would not trust them to be any better. I used the same refills in the Clarity that I had previously put on the Prius and they are dead quiet.

Just luck that I had the right refill on hand. As I recall, the Prius had one 26" blade and one 24" blade, but I just bought a couple of pairs of 26" refills and cut one to 24" on the Prius. So, I still had a fresh set of 26" refills.

The refills are frameless silicone. As I recall, I got two pair on ebay for less than $10. They were generic and I did not know how they would hold up so that is why I bought the second set, but the refills I put on the Prius were two years old and worked like new. These had been in the drawer for two years but looked perfect. I think the silicone refills are better than the rubber ones I have used in the past.

Not these but pretty much the same thing I think:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Univers...2754176651?epid=598854477&hash=item467d8e1e8b

There's a bunch of entries all with exact the same picture but with different letters at the end SM, GX, BE, etc. I though it was the same seller but now I see it's all different ones. I actually sent a message asking if they were different models, before realizing it was different sellers. Probably same seller with multiple accounts. Interesting...

 

[phev_one]

I don't think I saw it previously posted, but I have found Honda will usually warranty cover "wear" items in the first 12 months/12K miles. My dealer has always replaced wiper inserts if I complain about them not working well in the first year.

 

[Jordan]

Eddgie, thank you so much for posting that eBay link with the wiper refills. Oh my goodness, they work so much better than the ones that came on my car. So much quieter and just work better. Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[petteyg359]

Replaced mine with Bosch Icon last night. No more skipping.

 

[su_A_ve]

How do you replace the inserts? Do the end caps come off? Looks like they can but can’t figure out how.. Help!

 

[Jordan]

I think you squeeze the end caps. They don't come off if I remember correctly. In the owners guide, it does tell you how to do it. Sorry I'm not at a place I can give you more specific directions.

 

[craze1cars]

Seems this hasn't been mentioned yet, but for anyone interested, here is the Honda part number for the rubber insert/refill: 76622-TDK-J01
MSRP at your dealer is $7ish each (in US). Left and right are identical. It's shared with at least 1 wiper on newer Accords, CRVs, and HRVs.

It's not like these are obscure or hard to find, and they're likely to be fresh and new with high inventory turnover if purchased from your local Honda dealer. And IMO they're reasonably inexpensive too for a dealer purchase. I'd chalk up the originals on many Clarities chattering and failing early to the fact that these cars had to travel across the ocean to get here, along with likely riding the rails for a while, then on trucks. Salt spray from a long ocean trip, harbors, rail dust, road transport, etc, and just generally being outside in various weather and sun in at least 2 countries on opposite sides of the world, plus extended sitting outside on various lots around the world...that's all pretty hard for the original wipers to survive...after all they're just flimsy rubber strips and are exposed to everything.

I truly believe the fact that this is just about the only Honda car not made on this continent is a big contributor to the early demise of the originals. And I also find it hard to believe that the factory wiper rubbers sold by Honda for Accords, CRV, and HRV are all garbage too...

It just happens they're not very new anymore on the Clarity, despite the fact that the car might be new to you. Wipers don't last all that long.

I will personally be buying my refills from Honda dealer, rather than guessing on quality from Ebay and Amazon aftermarket refills. FWIW wife stopped in at our local dealer and asked parts counter for a pair -- they charged her $15ish including tax for the pair, and the parts guy insisted on walking outside and installing them for free right away...so I didn't even have to mess with it. She tells me they're now working great. My originals were chattery too.

 

[Sandroad]

I just installed PIAA Super Silicone wipers to replace the year-old OEM wipers that were getting sticky/noisy/streaky. The new PIAA wipers are very streaky on this warm, rainy day in January, despite having cleaned and prepped the windshield well. My wife complained immediately about heavy streaking right in front of her vision line. Super disappointed in the Super Silicone blades and consider it a complete waste of $25+ per blade. I'm going back to the used OEM blades right now (which are still better than the new PIAA) and will get a set of Michelin blades at Walmart for a third the cost. I've had great luck with Michelin and should have known better than to jump on the hype about PIAA. What's the famous line?......"There's a sucker born every minute." or something like that.

 

[su_A_ve]

I think you squeeze the end caps. They don't come off if I remember correctly. In the owners guide, it does tell you how to do it. Sorry I'm not at a place I can give you more specific directions.

Yeah, the manual doesn't show the ends come off. Simply push in a little bit until it clears. The blades I got in ebay were a little tight fit. They were the exact length but in the end they were stretched a little so it was hard to push in. I did only one. Let's see if it's any better. If so, I'll try the other one.

 

[Richard_arch74]

I just installed PIAA Super Silicone wipers to replace the year-old OEM wipers that were getting sticky/noisy/streaky. The new PIAA wipers are very streaky on this warm, rainy day in January, despite having cleaned and prepped the windshield well. My wife complained immediately about heavy streaking right in front of her vision line. Super disappointed in the Super Silicone blades and consider it a complete waste of $25+ per blade. I'm going back to the used OEM blades right now (which are still better than the new PIAA) and will get a set of Michelin blades at Walmart for a third the cost. I've had great luck with Michelin and should have known better than to jump on the hype about PIAA. What's the famous line?......"There's a sucker born every minute." or something like that.

Thanks for your review and taking one for the team. Did the PIAA's get good reviews?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Inside EVs mobile app

 

[Sandroad]

Thanks for your review and taking one for the team. Did the PIAA's get good reviews?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Inside EVs mobile app

They had mostly positive reviews, but the 10-15% negative reviews were for streaking and smearing. I see the Amazon price is now up to $32 per blade! That's a huge increase just since I ordered mine. I know some folks will be going from terrible, worn out blades to the PIAA and will be happy to see anything out the windshield again. But for the cost, I expected long-lasting perfection and these were an epic fail at their price point.