Hmm...I made this thread in Oct 2005, yet I'm stilling running my original OEM blades :tomato:

I never ended up switching them out. I guess I was too busy modding other parts :)

I'm having a hell of a time with mine. I get a set of the Rain-X Weatherbeaters, 26 and 16, and I'm about to trash them to go back to OEM.

The 16 works fine, but the 26 misses a whole section right by the center of the windshield when it makes its pass, and doesn't catch it on the way back down, almost like at that point the blade isn't touching the windshield at all.

And I've tried 2 different blades. Any ideas?

couldn't tell you... i just noticed the tear, maybe, just yesterday.

Piaa. As soon as the OEM go thats what I'm getting. Have them on my truck (after trying all the other "best blades" ) and these are the ONLY ones that do not squeek or chatter. I hope they work as well on the TSX as they do on the truck, but I'll risk it.

you should also take a look at the Bosch Icons. they have no metal components and the blade is self supporting. i have some on my TSX and infiniti . check those out

I have had the Piaa on every car I have owned for the past 6 years. Even bought them for the wife and mom's cars...can't go wrong. Just make sure to follow the silcone wipe instructions when you apply if for the first time and make sure that windsheild is clean!

My valeo ultimates are still going strong. They worked great through the snow here last winter.

for me it's the Bosch Icon. Most awesome blades i've ever had on a car.

I only put the Rain-X on the windshield and rear window. The side windows just don't get hit directly by rain.

I don't know where you guys saw $10 or even $15 per blade when I search estore.honda.com (owner site) the blades are listed at, (LH) $19.43 and $20.45 for passenger side.

also did not have good luck with rainx. made my blades chatter and window got goopy. had to scrub it.

Dude, a little more cash money but RAIN-X all the way!

um from what i hear, applying rain-x to your windshield messes up your wiper blades.. correct me if i'm wrong guys...

Rain X is excellent. it also works well in the Northern winter although I find that it wear out more quickly. It recomends to apply it at warmer temperatures. I have done it below the recomended temp (not crazy below) and it has been fine. Usually in the winter I put the car in the garage and apply there and then let it setup for a couple of hours.

Do the PIAA blades fit the OEM wipers? I'm thinking about getting a set for my 04 TSX. Thanks!

I believe I just purchased the Bosch Micro Edge Excel. I haven't had to use them too much, but they seem to work fairly well. I am a big Rain-X user. Most of the time I just buy the additive for the wiper fluid.

PS - Am I the only one who notices that when you are on the highway, it can be pouring down raining, but the slipstream of air over the car keeps the back window bone dry!?

:agree: the rear window is always dry.

I use Rain-X on my windshield and rarely use my wipers when driving in the rain on the highway... water just beads up and flies off the windshield!

my OEM fillers are $9.20 each. i guess i am getting raped!

I agree. I've had them replaced at each 10K service on my 05. No need to look any further.

I'm replacing mine with the Bosch Icons. Got them off Amazon.com for a little under $40. Went to the local Kragens and haven't been able to find the right size.

Rain-X is great! dont even need wipers when your driving above 40. They save wear on your wipers so you dont need to replace them as often. so it saves some money that way. and better visibility.

Advanced Auto has the BOSCH Iocn on sale (25%) off. I got them because the are the Closest to the OEM blades for the look

Just bought the Bosch Micro Edge. Very smooth and quiet!

I think the stock ones on my '08 (Icons?) look very strange personally. Probably replace with more traditional ones when these go, at least for summer use.

Bosch Icons get my vote. Super easy install. OEM ones squeaked like crazy for me.

The OEM blades on my 2007 are Bosch and cost $40 per change. Is that what you meant? I just picked up them up at AutoZone for my Focus before I got my TSX.

They are great.

I'm looking at the Valeo Ultimates. I want to replace the OEM blades with some of the ones that don't have all the exposed armature. It drives me nuts that all the water and junk hangs up in the crevices and such then sprays back all over the windshield on the way back down. It is currently impossible to actually get the windshield all the way cleared while the car is moving and I think it might give me an aneurysm soon if I don't do anything about it (I'm a little OCD about a few odd things).

I have a question for those who use them though. I've seen a couple posts about various aftermarket blades being slightly too long on the passenger side. I want to know if any one has had this problem with Valeo blades, in which case I'd get ones that are an inch or two shorter. I have an '04 if that matters.

yeah, my 16" Bosch Excel+ is touching the windshield gasket, literally. I think I am going to return it and get another brand.

i had fitment issues with most of the ones i tried to, i forget what i ended up with but i may just go back to oem,

are the bocsh ones the right size for 04 tsx?

I measured the OEM passenger wiper blade, it is 15 and 11/16", not the 16" like the aftermarket bosch excel+. NO wonder it's such a tight fit.

I couldn't find the Bosch or Valeo Ultimates, but found a set of Rain - X Latitude wipers they look the same as the Bosh and Valeo "style" wipers. Very good strong sturdy construction.

So i bought them, I have Rain - X on the windshield and am now using these wipers, so far they are pretty good.

The reason I bought this style of wiper was to prevent the hinges from ice build up and to prevent having to wack the wiper blades to break the ice. I haven't had my car outside in any snow yet to see if they fit the bill but I would assume they should not freeze.

I always swap wipers in the winter time, so they end up lasting me a lot longer. OEM's for the warmer months and wiper blades for just winter. This seems to work fine for me so I don't mind the extra cost of the "brand" name wipers.

I'll have to report back in a month or so if the wipers were worth the money but so far they work pretty good.

Any fitment issues with the passenger side?

^^^^^^

Funny you should ask, and yes the pass wiper doesn't make contact with the curve of the windshield right at the very corner when the wipers are turned off.

Even when sitting in the pass seat it isn't enought to notice but I see it from the drivers seat more becuase I'm look at it from an angle.

My 2007 TXS passenger wiper would squeak like crazy since the day we bought the car. I figured out what the problem was. The wiper blade insert was installed upside down. There is a bunch of lettering on the insert blade that causes the squeak. I took the insert blade out and flipped it around and no more squeak!!! I was ready to go buy new aftermarket blades until I figured out what the issue was...

Stephen

is there a visual way to see if you need a replacement? (kind of like checking how much tread is left on a tire) I usually just wait until the wiper sucks at doing its job before replacing.

that's a visual... except you look at the windshield and not at the wiper...


also when you clean the blades themselves of the dirt and grime that builds up see if they're cracked or 'bent' one way or another... that's another way of telling

My trick is that I'll clean blades with some Armor-All once in a while, with a thin wipe. If there's friction or a "rough" feeling as I slide the wipe up and down the blade (please, no innuendo remarks), it's time for a replacement.

Not mentioned in a while, but IMHO keeping your windhshield clean not only helps in better visability (which I love about this car, compared with the square porthole of my '87 Jeep), but helps wiper blades as there's less dirt/obstructions for them to encounter. I clean the front and back windows roughly every other gas fillup, more if needed, and naturally during a car wash. Only crappy blades need replacement every year. YMMVAPW.

i always wondered when i was getting an oil change and the service guy will tell me i needed new wipers and wondered how he would know they are going bad. Even though i knew i needed new ones, i wouldnt buy it from them since its usually higher when i can go to the local auto zone or something to buy replacements

Are there any aftermarket blades that have the side-mount connector like the OEM blades on the '06 TSX? I have not found any aftermarket blades that mount like them and the top mount blades that I have tried do not fit correctly. Any suggestions?

OK so here's some what of an update on the Rain-X latitude wipers. I posted earlier that I just installed the Rain-X latitude wipers on my wife’s TSX. And they worked great but we hadn't had any real snow to test them out in.

Well we just had a huge snow fall here in Toronto over the weekend and I got to test out the Rain-x latitude wipers and a set of Michelin radius wiper.

Now I own a 2000 Honda Prelude, since my response will be to the performance of the wipers on the Prelude take this as "my own experience" it may be different on your car (TSX).

I had to go out to get some things and decided to take my Prelude as I have snow tires on it and I find the VSA on the TSX a pain sometimes that and the fact the TSX is still on stock tires I didn't want to bother even trying to take it out in the snow.

I pulled out the Prelude and off I went, now my car is lower than the TSX but the snow tires make a world of difference.

I'm heading out and I still have OEM wiper blades on my car with Rain-X applied on the windshield. The wipers are freezing from the snow and this was the exact reason why I bought the Rain-X latitude wipers blades for my wife’s TSX.

I pull over into Wal-Mart and buy a set of Rain-X latitude blades for my car as I figure ahhh what the hell my OEM's aren't getting the job done why not they work great so far on the TSX.......

I put them on the car and now am using them in the snow storm and the bottom line is THEY SUCK..... When the snow is still hard and freezing the wipers didn't stick to the windshield like they should have and didn't clean the windshield at all.

In fact they did a worse job of cleaning the windshield under these conditions than the OEM blades did.

The problem with the OEM blades is in weather like this I'd have to open the window and reach around the front and pull up the wiper while driving and let it smack against the windshield to break the snow and ice off of the hinges.

Well same thing with these "frameless" wiper blades. When the defrost was hot enough to melt the snow and ice on the windshield to make it watery then they did a decent job but not what you would have accepted.

I was heading to Costco, while getting a few things I saw the Michelin radius wiper for $9, so I thought what the heck they can't be any worse the Rain-X blades.

Got out to the parking lot and swapped out the blades as I’m heading home I figured I'd return the Rain-X blades back to Wal-Mart.

In comparison the Rain-X blades look to be better build than the Michelin which look to be on the cheap side. But on closer inspection other than the hinge where the wiper arm is attached they are identical. I would think it's the same manufacture if I didn't know better.

So on with the Michelin wipers, and the result they were the same and not 1 ounce better than the Rain-X blades.

These frameless wiper blades are crap, they work with wet slush but when the wiper it self gets wet and the weather is cold enough to freeze, the wipers get hard and don't conform to the curvature of the windshield enough to clean as they wipe.

I returned the Rain-X blades and kept the Michelin's they were practically half the price of the Rain-X blades I'm still not convinced that I will keep them but I haven't had the chance to go back to Costco so for now they are still on the car.

I think the problem isn't so much the wiper but perhaps the "spring rate" on the wiper arm which was designed for the OEM frame-wiper. Perhaps the cars that have these frameless wipers as OEM might have tighter spring rates for the wiper arms that apply more force to the wiper to conform to the windshield with more pressure.

Once again this was in my Prelude and I'm sure I would have had the same results in the TSX maybe even worse as the drivers wipers is 26" long "more" wiper to freeze and not enough pressure to clean the windshield.

If I had to I'd go back to OEM on both car's as I didn't seen any improvement with these new wipers under these specific weather conditions.

Just my :2cents:

Interesting. Where were they failing to make contact, in the center or at the edges? Those Valeo Ultimates are advertised as making continuous contact along 100 some points across the blade. In the pictures it shows them having quite a curve to them as though they have a lot of tension that make the tips want to press against the windshield. I'm curious if the problem you're describing with the arm spring being to weak is because the blade itself is too springy and pushing the center of the blade away from the glass.

I'm about to drive 600 miles through a lot of wintery slushy crap and I really need to find some better wipers to deal with the muck that will be throughly coating every surface of my car.