Clarity PHEV windshield wiper "slap"

[PriusGeek]

My 2018 (55k miles and going strong!) has an annoying habit ever since I changed the wipers. It seems that the right-hand wiper periodically "slaps" the right windshield pillar. It is more pronounced when in intermittent mode. The wipers still work as well as they ever did, but the noise it makes when the blade slaps the pillar is really distracting.

Has anyone else seen this? Anyone know if there is some kind of adjustment that can be made? I asked Honda about it and their only response was "oh, those aren't Honda wipers"; not much help.
Thanks!

 

[insightman]

My 2018 (55k miles and going strong!) has an annoying habit ever since I changed the wipers. It seems that the right-hand wiper periodically "slaps" the right windshield pillar. It is more pronounced when in intermittent mode. The wipers still work as well as they ever did, but the noise it makes when the blade slaps the pillar is really distracting.

Has anyone else seen this? Anyone know if there is some kind of adjustment that can be made? I asked Honda about it and their only response was "oh, those aren't Honda wipers"; not much help.
Thanks!

Did you experience wiper slap with the Honda inserts? Alteratively, as @KentuckyKen would advise, try Rain-X.

 

[coutinpe]

I had, not a slap, but a knock out punch on the right side after replacing my windshield. Had to take it to the dealer to readjust the arms.

 

[Landshark]

The mounting/pivot point on the OEM blade assembly is off center by .25” and the assemblies are side specific. Aftermarket assemblies, or incorrectly installed assemblies may not follow the same arc as the OEM assemblies.

Below are the instructions for putting the wiper arm in position for blade/assembly replacement.

 

[PriusGeek]

Did you experience wiper slap with the Honda inserts? Alteratively, as @KentuckyKen would advise, try Rain-X.

Thanks. Didn't mention this in the original post, but the assemblies are a pair of Rain-X. Landshark makes an interesting observation. That quarter inch difference in the pivot point could explain the issue. Once again, the wiper system proves itself to not be the highlight of an otherwise great car!

 

[Landshark]

Didn't mention this in the original post, but the assemblies are a pair of Rain-X.

It’s possible that the recommendation to try Rain-X was in reference to their water repellent product. However, that product may only help with the dry-rub feature and not so much with the slapping issue.

 

[insightman]

It’s possible that the recommendation to try Rain-X was in reference to their water repellent product. However, that product may only help with the dry-rub feature and not so much with the slapping issue.

I have OEM inserts and even though nothing wiper-wise had been changed for more than a year, I noticed a noise when the left wiper reversed its swing at the A-pillar. It seemed like the blade was hanging up just before the reverse. I tried Rain-X water repellent (regular, not the fancy new ceramic version) and the noise stopped.

It's possible that the crud I removed during the thorough cleaning of the windshield before the Rain-X application might have corrected the problem, but I didn't think to try them out then. I was going on a long trip with rain predicted, so Rain-X made sense. I bought a new set of inserts, too, but didn't install them after seeing how well the old ones were working after cleaning the windshield and making it slippery.

 

[Landshark]

I have OEM inserts and even though nothing wiper-wise had been changed for more than a year, I noticed a noise when the left wiper reversed its swing at the A-pillar. It seemed like the blade was hanging up just before the reverse. I tried Rain-X water repellent (regular, not the fancy new ceramic version) and the noise stopped.

Water repellent products seem to help with the issue that you mention. The issue in the first post is that of the wiper assembly actually striking, slapping or contacting the A pillar. As described, it does so “periodically” and is “more pronounced when in intermittent mode”.

It’s possible that the issue is just the wiper blade “sticking” at the end of its swing. However, that doesn’t match the description we’ve been given.

The page from the manual that was posted previously, included instructions in the sidebar for automatically resetting the wiper arm positions. Simply, “active (sic) the wipers ONCE (emphasis added) and they will automatically reset”. Perhaps just once is the trick?

 

[y2kisaac]

I had this exact issue with the drivers side! I ended up having to adjust the wiper arm assembly manually, I took off the arms and put them back a few splines down. that seems to have fixed the problem for me. Im not super handy but it was a pretty easy job!