Everyone seemed to always recommend these wipers, and I've always used PIAA Super Silicones, so I decided to give these a try again (mostly since I was too lazy to drive across town to the store that carries PIAAs)... I've found these to be utter crap. I bought a two sets for two different cars from two different stores in two different cities... They are streaking on both cars now after only a week, and so badly on the TL I can't see crap with all the glare from the streaks...

Meanwhile my other car still has two year old PIAA Super Silicones on them, and they are still working streak free.... If I can't return these, I may just throw them away

Am I the only one having such luck with these on their TL?

 

when I was researching those wipers I read a few reviews where people had bad luck with them

 

I'm on my second set up Icons and they've been good to me. No streaking or any issues.

I did recently pick up a set of RainX Latitude wipers because (1) they're on sale at Pepboys (rebate on the second wiper) and (2) they got a great write up in consumer reports and another publication (can't remember which one) so I wanted to try it out.

If they weren't on sale and I needed new wipers, I would definitely go back to the Icons.

 

i dont know much about that brand. so i went to google and checked the review on those blades and yes there fair amount of people that are having the same problem. also one question little bit off topic ??? did acura's really came with that color of you had custom painted. looks like a good paint job from you profile picture.

 

it must be custom painted because acura never came up with this color. but whoever painted his car did it very nice though!!

 

the picture was photoshopped if i remember haha

 

I run the Rain x ones...So far no issues and had them for like 2-3 months.

 

you guys know that the oem blades come with replaceable inserts, right? i've only had to switch mine out once thus far, and they're only ~5 bucks at the dealer (surprisingly)...

 

Yes, they are crap. I read reviews here and other places that recommended them, but I have not had luck with them. I don't know if they changed them or what, but I'm about ready to take them back and try and get my money back.

I've only had them about a month and almost right away, I was getting streaking. I never had that problem even with cheapo wipers.

 

stay away from Valeo's version too! the end cap came off of mine and the exposed metal scratched the shit out of my windshield...forever pissed about that one! i have the PIAAs on now and love them...and i am a repeat buyer and haven't found anything better.

 

ive had them on my car for almost 2yrs, and no issues

 

Yeah, my driver side streaks and my passenger doesn't. It bugs the shit out of me. I'll be replacing them soon.

 

I had the Icons on my RSX for about 2 years before I had to replace them. Overall I was happy with them.

Just picked up the Rain-X Latitudes for both cars a couple of days ago only because Autozone was out of Icons for the sizes I needed. We'll see how they work out.

 

Lol, yeah my TL is actually Blue, I photoshopped that pic several years ago... I tossed the boxes for the wipers, but I'll see if I can return them anyways, or maybe exchange them for another pair or something...

Good luck with the RainX ones. I had those on the TL a few years ago. Those started chattering after a month or two.

 

+1
Been using replacement Honda inserts for over a decade and has been the best so far.

 

good luck trying to return crap blades, I've never been able to successfully do this (even if I just bought them a few days ago)

 

I picked up a set of icons two weeks ago and so far I have not been too impressed. There are days when they've worked perfectly and others they have streaked. I think thtey tend to streak in cold weather...they worked great during some mild days last week. BTW, I ended up paying $8/each, so I am not going to complain. I was going to buy another set for my other vehicle due to the price, but I think I'm going to give the Rain-x ones a tray.

 

I replaced my stock wipers with the Icons the second week after I bought my car. BIG MISTAKE!! The streaks are so bad they can't be polished out. And driving at night is terrible with all the glare the streaks catch. It is one of my pet peeves to have a perfectly clear windshield and these wipers just pissed me off. It made me change my comprehensive coverage to a $0 deductible cause one day I am going to throw a bigass rock at my windshield so it can be replaced with a streak free one. And I'll be damned if I pay for it! And then I'll try the PIAA super silicone wipers.

However I have the ICONS on my dad's nissan altima and no problems there. Windshield is still clear. I think the springs on the wiper arms on the TL must be tensioned too tight for the ICONS to work properly. And the rubber of the wiper seems to drag instead of glide causing the streaks.

 

I did it before with the PIAA Super Silicones on my other car, because the blade tore. I returned it without a receipt and without a box and I told the guy I bought them a month previous. They just looked up my purchase in the computer happily exchanged them because those wipers have a one year warranty. The Bosch also have one year warranty, so I don't see why they would hassle me over those and not the PIAAs. Only difference is the store I suppose, but I guess this will show me if I'll continue to patronize NAPA, or if I'll exclusively go to Baxter.

As far as OEM inserts go... The reason I replaced them in the first place was because the OEM inserts chattered really fast during the weather I put it through.

 

I have the Trico Neoform ones for my TL. I think the pair was $5 off together. I guess as expensive the Icon's are they are terrible. The only complaint is that these ones mount above the wiper arm so when it's operating, it gets very close to the edges of the windsheild.

 

I'm not happy with my Icons either, a buddy of mine bought them for me as a gift. They streaked within the first week of use and haven't gotten any better.

To the guy that has permanent streaks in the windshield...that shouldn't be happening unless something scratched it....

 

Napa was the store that refused to accept my return. I refuse to go back now.

 

I don't exactly know how it did that either, but the wipers were cleaned with alcahol before installation. Sooo...
I don't blame the wipers, however I blame the combo of these wipers and the wiper arms of my TL. They don't work together well.

 

I picked up a set recently (forget when exactly). We've had a lot of rain (and even some snow ) since then, and I've had no problems. I'm very pleased, so far. My OEM blades crapped out after a few years, but because they hadn't torn I didn't replace them. Chattered all the time. I got the Icons due to the positive reviews, a sale plus rebate, and past experience with various Bosch wipers.

Bad apples can come off the assembly line (as I just found out with a new monitor I got). Perhaps there's a bad batch floating around out there

 

Important: the blades have a left and right side differance in the making - the spoiler edge built into it
Make sure you have the A and B blades where needed

the advantage of these flexible blades over the oem/inserts is better pressure distribution along the length of the blade

If you have streaks or poor performace there is probably crud on the glass
Clean the glass with rubbing alcohol on newpaper- works great

I love my Icons, will try the newer version this year

 

PIAA ftw!

 

I guess I'll find out after work then...

 

RainX has two types of wipers. One is the Latitude and I can't remember what the other one's are called. Do you know which one's you had?

 

I've put Icon wipers on all of our cars (TL, Jetta, Subie wagon) and I love them. The best thing is that don't chatter at highway speed like most others do.

Also, when they're all frozen with winter crap, you can simply chip it off in one piece by bending the blade, as opposed to conventional wipers that you have to bang on the windshield.

 

Didn't know this. Somebody provide me with a link plz.

 

I guess I lucked out... The NAPA next to my work, where I bought them, were pretty nice. They let me exchange them for another set... I'll see if these are any better...

 

Part 17 and 19

Keep in mind you would need to use the original metal support from your wiper so I hope you kept the arm.

LINK

 

I have had the same pair of rain x latitudes on my car for two winters now. Cali winters that is lol, but they work well and I have hardly any complaints.

 

The actual parts numbers don't matter as long as the refills are the correct length-- they are Honda "narrow" blade inserts which can be obtained at Acura or Honda dealer parts counters and are $5 to $7 each.

FWIW, with the OEM wiper blades, you can also get "narrow" refills of the inserts from auto parts stores made by Anco, etc., but those refills do not use the OEM metal reinforcement strips on the inserts. They also have to be bought in pairs where driver and passenger side blades are different lengths.

 

Don't ever buy Anco or Trico blades, those are some of the crappiest inserts I've ever used. Those will chatter, squeel, streak, etc, within a few days to weeks.

FWIW, I took our TL in for some other service, and got an SH-AWD loaner, with < 1000 miles on the clock... The wipers on that thing blows, it was streaking and smearing water everywhere, even after I windexed the windshield... So much for OEM inserts Niiiice car tho

Also, the RainX blades I used before were the Weatherbeaters.

 

I've never had a problem with the OEM, Anco or Trico in 25+ years-- they all worked perfectly as long as they were the correct size and attached either to their own blade or the cars' OEM blades, and last more than a year. Maybe it's because the weather is pretty temperate here in SoCal.

The TL has OEM insert refills, while our Odyssey has had Ancos for past several years.

 

When I lived in Los Angeles, it seemed like it only rained maybe one or two weeks out of the year, so I can see how they lasted you a year or mroe

In the Pacific NW, we get REAL rain I also think drizzle is murder on the blades, cuz you get just a misting on the window, and the wipers have to wipe the water along with whatever crud has built up on the windshield...

 

That I did not know.

See, after all these years I still learn new shit here at 3G. Thanks erick

 

link? there's no link...just drop my your local acura dealer man
edit: i think they may be ~8 dollars + tax? note: they have some sort of coating to help longevity...it's gray and it gets everywhere if you're not careful installing...

 

you're very welcome, sir
note: ^ up top, i'm pretty sure i paid ~$8 total, for both... can't remember though...i just remember being surprisingly...surprised (cheap)!