Ok, so the title says it all. And dont go asking for pics right now because i dont even want to look at it. But here is the deal. I thought there was some smeared goo on my window cause my the inner edge/side of the drivers side wiper.

I go out today to apply some rain-ex, when i notice that the endcap for the inner side of the driver side wiper popped off, and left a permanent scratch along the entire path of that edge.

So what do i do, who can i blame, can i blame anyone and get $$ or a replaced window? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

But so you know, right now i am FRICKEN PISSED!!!!! :angryfire

 

If it is a manufacturers defect in the blade I would think it would point back to them. But that might be hard to prove.

D

 

the "hard to prove" part is the thing i am worried about.

 

In my opinion I would simply pick the cheapest route even if it means paying out of your own pocket.

But is there a warranty or guarantee written anywhere on the packaging? If so why not get in touch with them. The worst they can say is no. Then at least you definately know what to do at that point.

D

 

i couldnt find a warranty or anything on the box, but i did a few google searches and found snip-its of info like "lifetime warranty" or "5 yr warranty" but when i clicked on the link, i couldnt find that anywhere. I sent them a note via their website, and i got the "we got your message" email back. so i guess i will just wait to hear back, and if i dont in a few days i will try to track an actual person down to talk to.

 

I suspect that the person to blame and get money for the windshield from would be the installer of the blades.

 

WHAT?!?!?!? but thats me. The real person(s) to blame should be the individuals who designed, assembled, and quality tested the blades, but not me for buying and installing them, but thats not going to happen.

 

not for nothing but i would NEVER use rain ex it ruins ur wipers and glass.....it makes the glass more impure and it gets penetrated by crap a lot easier and just about anything can affect it.....the only thing i would say is wipe it down with a wet rag, wipe it dry with news paper and compound the scratches out.....if ur hesitant about compounding go to a body shop to do it..... I did it when i had my 2g tl and the dude at the body shop flipped on me because it was a new car and i was putting rain ex on it.....anyway if u use the stock wipers that acura has you'll notice a residue on it thats like newspaper ink and i think it has some kind of restoring properties to it.

 

huh, i didnt know either of those things. thanks for the info. but i gotta say, rain-x is a great product in the rain. but if it ruins my stuff, it may not be worth using...

 

the windshield wipers working properly are great products in the rain bro lol

 

true, and in the past 8 months i have gone through three pairs. stock( didnt like cuz they streaked), PIAA(they fell apart after a few months), and the Valeo(also fell apart after a few months). the PIAA worked great because the silicon helped to give that "rain-x" affect, but one of the little clamps that hold all the rubber and metal strips together broke which caused one end to fall apart leaving a loose rubber strip at the end which didnt do squat. The Valeos were great until they ruined my windshield. And now i am stuck with the stocks. So i sorta agree with your statement, but stocks just dont cut it. And when it is raining hard and the wipers cant move fast enough, any form of "rain-x" quality makes a huge difference because the water just sheets itself off.

So i dont really know what to do. Maybe i will just remove all wiper blades off my car and drive with my head out the window...

 

I check my wiper blades once a week, I clean them from any debris to prevent any scratches. You can't blame the manufacturer.

How long have you had valeos?

RainX is not good to use anyways. I only use this product, and it works flawlessly
http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...4x032&code=yes

Good luck with the fix. If the cost for repair is more than 100 bux, I would go thru the insurance company, it should be free.

 

bro trust me the stocks work best......the rain ex has to be completely removed....get a rag wet it wipe the windshield.... the water will most likely bead off.....but do it til it doesnt and wipe it dry with newspaper to remove ALLL of the residue from the rain x then get ur windshield compounded.....once thats done the stock wiper inserts will never let u down. i thought everything other than stock was the best....i was wrong trust me....i had the whole process done....my windshield is tinted so i see every single last thing on it more so than someone who doesnt.....so i know the aggravation of it....once the process was done i was and still am super happy i replace the inserts every 3-4 months 12 bucks for the 2 of them.

 

and another wiper tip.....every single time u wash ur car wipe them dry with a clean rag and u see and feel dirt n dust n al the crap built up on it come right off.....then u'll have phenomenal results everytime

 

i dont want to sound rude, but if you read my first post the scratches were not caused by "debris", the plastic endcap came off and the two exposed metal strips scratched the window. the scratches are not under the blade, but just off to the side, right where those exposed metal strips are.

i usually do a pretty good job keeping my car clean(a few times a week), along with the wiper blades. it has probably been a week or so that i did a thorough check of the blades themselves, but the scratches just appeared so thats why i did this specific check.

i am at work, and i cant find record of the specific date of purchase. but it was sometime between December and February, and probably closer to February. Because thats when my PIAAs took a shit, which i also only had for a few months.

thanks for the link though, i will give it a try. but why do you say rain-x is not good?

 

thanks, i will give this a whirl once i get a moment this week,

 

good luck

 

blkaspec, that sucks!! I hope you get it all straight soon.

What length wipers does the TL need?

 

99% positive, 26" on the driver side and 19" on the passenger

 

^ Thanks. Didn't mean to threadjack

 

Where are you getting this Rain-X ruins your windshield nonsense from? Is your windshield tinted on the outside or something? That's the only way I could see there being any potential problem. It's just a surface treatment. It doesn't penetrate or chemically alter the glass in any way.

 

RainX seems to always fog up my windows too fast, and they definitely add a layer on the glass that you can feel... I don't know, I've switched, and I am pretty happy....

And I wasn't saying anything bad about you, I'm just saying wipers are cheaply made product, and unfortunately you have to constantly check them.

Try to get an estimate from an auto glass place, see what the quote is....
(I've had a wiper fly off in the middle of heavy rain, my friend decided to play a trick on me by loosening it....well he bought me a new windshield...and guess what, no more tricks! lol)


http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/17/r...-grudge-match/

 

It doesn't ruin anything, it's silicone and alcohol mixed together...It's just became too commercialized and diluted for better resale...so yeah..it sucks.

 

im not getting into this... go apply rain x to ur windshield once throughout this summer and when u can see anymore and replace ur wipers and u still cant see u figure it out every car ive ever owned with the exception of this one ive used it and ended up flippingo ut when i couldnt see anymore... and then one day confucius say RAIN X NO GOOD GRASSHOPPER....so i stopped using it and guess what? it was the rain x... im not looking at this thread anymore....so argue all u want thanks. lol

 

guys please...no fighting!!!



i have used rain-x for a very long time but never so any down sides. except of course when you dont buff the glaze off, then you get screwed when the sun hits it in the early morning or later night.

first i am going to wait to hear back from Valeo, then i will probably contact a body shop or someone specializing in auto glass work and see what they have to say.

 

Amazing...the first words out of your mouth are "who can I blame?". People really need to lose this attitude. What does an endcap falling off have to do with a design defect? Sounds to me more like "shit happens". The only person who should foot the repair bill is you.

 

fuck off!!!

those WERE NOT the first words out of my mouth you dumb piece of shit. read again, i asked if i can blame someone. not WHO can i blame, and that wasnt till the very end of my post. get a job and do something productive with your time.

 

??????

 

chill_dog, typically I'd be firmly in your camp here but I think he has a legitimate gripe. The product failed because it was defective and damaged his car in the process. I think you might need a lawyer to get anything from the company but it might be as simple as sending them a semi-threatening sounding letter on a legal firm's letterhead. If you know any one who would be willing to do this pro bono it'd be very helpful. Otherwise you're likely to end up spending more on the lawyer than you would to just replace it yourself. As much as I think you should fight the good fight, it could potentially be a lose-lose situation. :-/

 

oh come on, that wasnt fighting! that was just how i tell someone that they should actually read the post before adding a pointless comment.

even so, i got enough opinions to satisfy my needs.

thanks guys!!!

 

thanks man, thats a great suggestion. i am actually seeing one of my lawyer buddies this weekend. i will bring it up with him and see if there is anything he can do.

 

1) Ok, not first words, but anyone with a brain wouldn't take that literally. You related the situation and then asked who you could blame. That can only be interpreted one way.
2) Looks like you said it word for word to me.
3) You asked who you could blame before you asked if it was even possible...your intent was clear.
4) Sorry you can't handle the truth. Sorry I didn't tell you what you wanted to hear.
5) Grow up and act your age.

 

So you're just going to come in here and make outlandish claims that Rain-X damages your windshield then when you're called out on exactly how absurd that is throw your hands up and say "I'm right because I refuse to refute any and all accusations that I might be wrong". Only in a much less literate way.

Yeah there are better products out there and I agree that the Rain-X does cause your windows to fog up more quickly if it's not applied correctly (which is admittedly a pain in the ass, too much buffing required). But please, don't make baseless claims of fact if you know fuck all of what you're talking about. Honestly I can't say I'm surprised by this or your little hissy fit afterwards after seeing many of your other posts.

BTW, if you want to remove it, use rubbing alcohol. Cuts right through it.

 

Where's the proof of that? A part fell off...parts fall off all the time. The result of which is your problem. Was this a one-day old part that broke? I didn't see that in the story. Did something break or simply fall off? Big difference. I can only go with what was posted. It doesn't sound like product failure due to poor design from what was posted.

 

correct, not first words. but i took your statement just as literal as you got all hung up about what order i asked things. so i guess we are even there.


my intent was that i was pissed and i was looking for suggestions, not for someone to look at what i wrote, and because i didnt ask "if i could blame" before i wrote "who should i blame", they go all off about how it is my fault that my glass is ruined.

yeah, my intent was clear. my window is scratched because these wipers broke, and now i want to get some opinions on what i should do. did you not see my angry face, that is suppose to represent anger. sorry if i was impatient about my typing and it wasnt worded correctly to not get a dick response.

what truth cant i handle, that you have nothing productive to say...at all. or that something i bought broke, and now my car is damaged.

you are the old man, so why dont you act your age and share some of that great wisdom of yours.


and what parts "fall off all the time"???? when something breaks off or falls off or is torn off by the hands of god, when it ruins my car it is the same end result. i have gone through many pairs of wiper blades in my life, and all have failed due to deteriorating rubber, not exposed metal that ruins glass.

 

its not outlandish go apply it once to ur windshield now and leave it there the whole summer.....lets see how much u bitch and complain about it when u cant see because of some reason u cant figure out..."Ive changed my wipers 3000 times in the past 5 months but still nothing works" and then u get another windshield and bitch after u put that shit on it and it ruins it again its like taking leather soaking it in oil and letting it bake in the sun...... lets see what "magically" happens. outlandish? i think not ive had a lot of experience with all this crap and will take a stand on what works and what fucks up the car.....especially since this is my 4th tl i feel pretty comfortable shitting on some products that dont do the car justice or any car for that matter. have u seen what alcohol does to a window when its applied? even if it cuts through it i still wouldnt put it on.

Im throwing my hands up because I KNOW Im right and ive been there done that.....so im not gonna sit here, read this thread and waste my time trying to convince someone on doing right... no matter what, people do what they want so im not bothering with it... if u wana take the advice do it if not go get a new window and have a nice day.

 

Manufactures defect is still the liability of the company that produced it. What could he have done that would make this his fault? I don't see any indication that he was using the wipers to clear cement from the windshield for instance.

Saying it's his problem because a product failed under normal usage conditions in such a manner as to damage his property is outright absurd. If you sell a product it should not be expected to fail in such a way. If a wheel snapped off your car and barreled through a crowded sidewalk, would you say it's the drivers fault?

Come on, your position is absurd. I'm all for personal accountability but what could he have done to avoid this?

 

maybe you should ask questions before assuming. there was an old saying about people who assume?!?!?!?! again, at your age i thought you would have heard it.

 

blkaspec -

You certainly have more than your fair share of wiper problems. I would think you lived in Washington State or Oregon where it rains a lot. I'm not accusing you or anything but you must admit that it is somewhat strange.

 

Manufacturer defect is warranted only before using the product, this is what makes it's a defect. Now, product failure, it's a whole new soup...

Nevertheless, it never hurts to try out the warranty limits.

AND POST PICS ALREADY