Hi,
I need to buy new wipers for my tl and i don't have a clue on which to buy. I already applied rainx about 2 months ago, but i still need wipers for the florida downpours. I though about getting the PIAA wipers, the valeo ultimate or just the normal acura ones. Which one would be the best. I also need one that can also handle snow because i make constant trips to the north. Any help is appreciated

 

Ultimate looks really cool! Get them and let us know how they are!

 

Dude, you have 616 posts and you haven't figured out how to search?

There's numerous threads on this.

 

Bosch icon or valeo's, best wipers ever

 

Wipers are wipers, as long as they aren't standard junk ones they should work out fine. I wouldn't spend alot if I knew I was gonna have to change them out every 3 months or so.

 

Bosch Icon.. using them for the last 6 months and they are great...

 

I got PIAAs, they are great and the coating just makes the water bead off the windshield

 

i searched, but didn't find anything on the valeo wipers

 

I have Bosch MicroEdge or something along those lines for about a year now work great. They are a little pricey though.
I usually do this: I keep a healthy coat or Rain-X on my windshield and clean my wipers with alcohol every once and awhile to keep them fresh, and finally recoat the wiper blades with Rain-X themselves. I haven't had any probs doing this. Hopefully this helps.

 

This is "THE BEST"

 

I picked up set of the PIAA Sporza's from Pep Boys about 8 months ago and they work just as good as the day I bought them. On top of that, they have a "spoiler" of sorts built into the blade to keep the blade on the windshield when you are driving. I've had sets of the Bosch Micros, but IMHO the PIAA's blow them away.

 

the bosch icons are the same thing as the valeos, the Piaa's look a bit bulky in my opinion, and i put rainx on every 6 months and it last a long time (and the water slides of like the day i applied it). so its either between the bosch icons or the valero's, but i think i might get the valeros since they have the 26 and the 19 compaed to bosch who has 24 and 19

 

I put the Bosch Icon on and they are the best wipers that I've ever seen. They're not like those thin crappy reflex wipers, but they're thick and durable and withstand pretty much anything.

Matt

 

Bosch is making a new design, my friend works for them and is checking out if they have a size for my TL (2004 and up) , keep you posted

 

PIAA Super Sporza are the only way to go. Have'em on both TL and MDX and they look and work great

 

So the OEM inserts are not good? I need to get them replaced ...

Let me know

agi

 

Piaa.....

 

I install Bosch Icon yesterday on my TL and they are GREAT (especially with all of the rain on the East coast). They are extremely quiet.
The only problem is that Pep Boys did not have 26", so I installed 24"....not a big deal.

 

can someone with the bosch Icons please post a picture of them on the car from the out side and from sitting in the drivers seat. I really like the way they look in the package but I don't want to spend 40 bucks before I know what they will look like on the car. thank you.

 

My Acura is '06 so I do not think I need the wiper blades but only inserts. Will OEM inserts be OK? Or should I look elswhere for a better ones.

Let me know

agi

 

tommorow i will go to autozone and buy the bosch icons, so if they don't work that well or fit properly, i can return them without worrying about them being lost in the mail. The site said they have the 26 and 19 inches in stock.

 

You'll be fine with the OEM inserts from Honda/Acura.

A lot of people replace the blades because the replacement inserts for the aftermarket wipers are less expensive, easier to install and easier to find at stores than replacement inserts for the OEM blades. Also, some aftermarket blades may work better than OEM blades in areas where there is lots of snow or when driving at ridiculously high autobahn speeds in rain.

Congrats and welcome to the forums, too!

 

Thanks! Great forum! Happy to be a part of it. BTW, I love my Acura TL!

I'll be moving to Chicago area in 11 days, should I then replace the blades for the aftermarket ones such as Bosch since we are nearing the snow season? Instead of spending $25 for the OEM inserts I would have better wipers all together right?

What do you think?

 

Whoa, $25 for inserts?? That doesn't sound right.

Santa Monica Acura charges $5 per blade insert (the rubber edge part), and Honda dealers have charged me $3-5 per side for other cars' (shorter) blade inserts as well.

I think there are specific Bosch blades with heavier inserts for inclement weather, since you are going to Chicago, at the chain auto parts stores. I'd go that route instead of $25 for a couple of OEM rubber inserts if that's all you are being sold.

Have a safe and fun drive to Chicago!

 

Yes, that's what Riverside Acura in Little Rock told me. $25!

Do those Bosch's ones look good on the TL? Is it a specific model for inclement weather I should look for? And where should I buy them? I tried AutoZone or Ebay, TireRack.com but could not find any.

Anyone knows where to get them in Chicago area or online?

 

OEM, 55k miles and still works great!

 

I bought the car used '06 (Pre-Owned Certified) so it has gone through the Chicago winter once. The wipers are streaking so that is telling me that the OEM are not going to withstand another winter

So which OEM are the best looking (closest looking to OEM) that will perform well in the winter?

 

Some of the Acura dealers will ship to you, but the $10 inserts + shipping will be the same price as walking into a Pep Boys, Kragen or some other auto parts store and buying replacement blades with inserts.
Autozone should have them as well. The chain stores usually carry Bosch, Anco and a couple of other blades as alternatives; the regular and extreme weather blades are usually next to each other ("Weatheredge" was a line for one brand, I think, but I'm in Los Angeles 4 miles from the beach and never had to buy them... ) Oh, and try Wal-mart. The Targets near me don't carry the Bosch or PIAA line, but Wal-mart might.

I don't remember what the Bosch wipers look like; they all look similar from 15 feet away- semi-matte black painted metal frames- unless they have spoilers or thicker frames (PIAAs).

 

No matter what kind of blades you end up buying, I'd suggest you keep your stock frames just in case you want them in the future or if you sell the car you can put the stockers on for that OEM look.

Stay with the stock sizes. A shorter drivers blade may emphasize the "under-sweep" problem we have already. The under-sweep causes dripping right in front of the drivers face. The passenger blade sweep is not fully over-swept by the drivers blade and there is always a stream down the windscreen because of it. A shorter passenger blade would cure the under-sweep, but at the cost of reduced wiper coverage.

Since the new Civics use the new-fangled all in one blades this has me wondering what the RDX and TL-S uses.

BTW the PIAA-silicone blades are available as inserts for our stock frames.

 

So the PIAA inserts will fit our stock blades? Does anybody know if any of the other inserts will fit our stock blades?

 

i would buy the PIAA they are better than the Bosch. i try both of them and PIAA are a lot better. PIAA uses better material than the Bosch. Bosch can't hold up as good as the PIAA. i used to work at Napa for many years and even my daily customers agree with me.

 

when you buy PIAA wipers it comes with different inserts.

 

well a few days back, i bought the Bosch Icons since they were local. I had a problem with the driverside wiper, but the passenger one was much better then the traditional one. Also i bought a bottle of that RainX stuff and it was pretty good. (on sale for 2.99)

 

i remember someone posting a site where i can just purchase the factory blades again for cheap, acura 04 TL i never had trble with them until my GF tried to lift the arm off the windshield when it was frozen to windshield, lets say the rubber stayed on the window but the arm came uppppppp

 

anyone know where i can purchase the OEM wiper inserts for acura TL 04, i remember seeing a website where u can purchase them for about $5, dont remember site, can anyone assist?

 

you can go to your local NAPA store and ask for "Exact fit" wiper blade refills.

 

For an 04-06 TL
(16)76620-SEP-A01 BLADE, WINDSHIELD WIPER (650MM) (DRIVER SIDE) $15.87
(17)76622-SDA-A01 RUBBER, BLADE (650MM) $3.57
(18)76630-SEP-A01 BLADE, WINDSHIELD WIPER (475MM) (PASSENGER SIDE) $9.41
(19)76632-SEP-A01 RUBBER, BLADE (475MM) $3.57

 

x2 on the PIAA. I have them on all my cars and love them. I found that the PIAA ones also have the easiest to use mounting method, as it give you an easy to use push-click-lock thingy... I had the Bosch one before, and I remember that one it took me awhile to figure out how to use it, and I had to flip the wiper around 360 degrees, to get the stupid arm to attach to the blade. (I might be confusing it with another brand, but I know the PIAAs were th easist to work with).

Are you sure you're able to remove the stock inserts? On all my previous cars, the stock-inserts were not removable unless you cut them out... Besides, you'll need to replace the blade after a while. The blade will lose it's "springyness", which will make it so the wiper will not contour the windshield as well, resulting in chatter, and streaks.

And don't bother with the exact-fit refills. They'll need to be replaced in a month.

On a side note.... I never understood my imports always have to have different sized passenger and driver side wipers. My Grand Prix has two 22" wipers, and it looks to have the same sweep area. I hated having to buy two packs of refills just to get two different sizes. Oh well, it doesn't bother me that much I guess.

 

I've still got a while before I need new blades but I wanted to chime in about Rain-X... I really like the stuff but what I've found to work really well is Rain-X washer fluid. The washer fluid has Rain-X in it so that every time you use it a small amount of Rain-X is applied to the windshield. Much more convenient than applying the regular stuff IMHO.

 

Better yet, call your dealer to confirm pricing (some of them apparently jack up price on inserts, but Santa Monica Acura doesn't) and then pick them up when you are nearby, or drive to parts department on a Saturday. That's what I did. This avoids the wait and the shipping charge, which will be 2-3 times cost of inserts.