davidspalding

Pages 301 and 302 (2006 Owner’s Manual) give you some good information on how to change the ICON-style wiper blades. But not the whole picture. This DIY is meant to show you how the blades are installed, so that you can remove and replace them without making mistakes that could send you shopping for a second set of blades, or a new wiper assembly. (If you have to ask what the dealer price on a wiper assembly with a blade in it is,… you don't want to know.)

For most pics, clicking the photo should launch a larger version of the image.

REMOVAL

The first thing the manual tells you is to lift both arms, and remove the wipers. I suggest removing the passenger wiper first, to learn how to do this, before tackling the driver-side wiper. Like a lot of wipers, this is "locked" onto the arm by sliding the wiper assembly from the base of the arm into a crooked end, where it snaps in place. Seeing the latch can help you visualize what you do. Depress the spring tab towards the wiper arm, and gently slide the wiper down towards the base of the wiper arm. Easy.





Instead of leaving the wiper arm up where a bump or unforeseen factor could slam it down on the glass, wrap the end in a soft towel or rag, and let the arm down gently. There. Isn't that better?



Now you're ready to get to work. No doubt you've examined your NEW blades, and see that there are two ends marked, "TIP" and "LOCK." Note the difference. The blades have a groove or slot running the length that will take the metal or plastic reinforcement splines. (It probably did not come with new splines. You'll reuse the ones in your current blades.) Below this groove is another slot which runs all the way through on one end, and on the other has a little ramp leading to a separate pocket. This is the "lock" feature of the wiper blade.



Since you haven't removed your old blade, you can't see what that second slot mates with. Along the interior length of the wiper assembly is a series of brackets which this slot slides through. The separate pocket on the "LOCK" end stops on the teeth of the last bracket on either end of the wiper assembly. (On at least my wiper assemblies, there is no "correct" end to insert the blade into, it's the pocket on the blade that makes it lock in place.)



Removing a used blade can be difficult as it has no doubt lost its slipperiness. You could spray some ArmorAll cleaner in there, but unless your wiper assembly is really dirty, oughtn't need to. The manual describes you peeling down the flexible end of the wiper assembly, but doing so carelessly could rip it. Instead, use a small-headed standard screwdriver, or better a “cuticle pushing stick” (you can find them in most “big box” stores, in the Beauty section with other nail care items), and work it underneath the end of the wiper blade on the "LOCK" side.

Once it's in there, you should be able to release the end of the blade from the bracket where that pocket has, um, locked in. (If you really can't do this without strong-arming it, try it on the "TIP" end, knowing that as you try to slide the blade out, the "LOCK" end will want to stick at each interior bracket.) If you can't lift it up like I've illustrated, you could squeeze the blade between the screwdriver/cuticle stick and your thumb on the edge of the blade and gently slide it out from the last bracket. A gentle tug is all it should take.





Now you ought to be able to slide the blade out along the length of the wiper assembly. Do so slowly, taking care not to drop the metal or plastic reinforcement splines from the blade as it comes out - you'll need those later. Now you can see how the end of the wiper assembly is a softer bit of rubber. Congratulate yourself for not damaging it.



PREPARATION

Once you've removed the blade, set the reinforcement splines aside. Clean them if necessary. You might take this opportunity to clean the interior of the wiper assembly. A light wiping with an ArmorAll wipe will clean out any dirt, and help the new blade slide in.

Remove your new blades from the packaging, taking care not to bend them. Put the new splines in their grooves, starting from one end and working them in to to the opposite end. The splines can fall out easily, so I found that holding the blade from the tip, hanging down, and slipping the splines in from the top, working my way down, went well.

Putting the splines into the new blade is easy enough; keeping them in while you insert the blade is another matter. They can tend to fall out with the slightest movement. Resist the temptation to glue them in, resist with all your might. I wouldn't even put silicone or other guck in there - keep the internal part of the wiper dry. Here's what I did: find some gentle clips (I've used OXO fridge magnets) or clothes pins, something to hold the spline in at 2-3 spots along the length. Don’t use clips so strong (e.g. butterfly paper clips) that they crush the wiper blade. Put them on the blade leaving a few inches to start inserting the blade into the wiper. Have one at the "LOCK" end so that the spline doesn't slip out of the end of the groove and slide out.



I put the spline in all the way at the "TIP" end of the blade, which gives it rigidity that helps in starting the insertion into the wiper. Stop giggling like a teenager and just trust me on this. As you can see in the pic, leaving a little un-rigid portion at the "LOCK" end will make it easier to remove at a later date when you R&R the blades again.



INSERTION

Inserting the new blade should be easy. You can see in my pic that I've cleaned the inside of the wiper assembly, so the blade slid in quite easily. The groove with the splines goes inside the wiper, and the groove that ends on one end with the "LOCK" pocket slides through the brackets.



I found it easiest to slide the wiper blade in by holding the wiper assembly vertically, and sliding the blade upwards into it from below. As I approached a clip I've used to hold the spline in, I simply removed the clip and moved it lower. On one occasion, my splines slid out along the groove, so don't abandon the clips entirely.

Note: on the driver's wiper there is a sort of spring in the middle of the wiper, which may need to be gently depressed for the blade to slide over.

Once you've slid the blade in most of the way, you're ready to lock it in. Check the length of the blade to ensure it isn't bunched up or missed a bracket along the way. If you have missed a bracket, just back the blade out, reapplying a clip or two for the splines, and feed through the missed bracket properly.

Insert the end of the wiper blade into the last bracket, where it will lock in place. Neaten up the soft end of the wiper in case this is caught underneath the blade.

Reattaching the wiper to the wiper arm is easy, just slide it onto the arm hook until the fitting (with the tab) locks in place. Let the wiper down gently. Repeat on the driver's side. (You’ll thank me for insisting you do the 400mm passenger wiper first as keeping blade, splines, and wiper aligned on the 650mm driver's wiper requires a little practice.)

I've seen the wiper blades (part numbers 76622-SEA-J11, 76632-SEC-A11 for the 2006, double-check for your year TSX) online for around $5 ea. You have no excuse not to change them out semi-annually. Give yourself a little incentive by seeing which routine maintenance you can do faster, the cabin air (pollen) filter behind the glove box, or the ICON-style wiper blades.

Finally, I find wiper blades work best on a very clean windscreen; gimmicks like Rain-X aren't necessary. Cleaning the glass regularly, particularly before a rainy day, does wonders. Drive with care in wet weather, a clean windshield boosts visibility forward, but does nothing to avert accidents – only a safe driver can do that.


Thanks to the service parts crew at Performance Acura in Chapel Hill for some tutelage in this.

kingkong222

you should put in a disclaimer. If someone gets hurt doing this, they can sue you for damages. Good write up.

Daffunda

I changed my rubber inserts while back.

They were a biatch... Took me about 15 minutes to get the metal strip to go right where it should go.

If someone sues you for doing this and gets hurt, then I think that guy is for one, a clumsy guy, and two an idiot for suing you.

litesout

Great write up! The parts numbers you referenced are the same listed for the 08 TSX as well, just in case anyone was wondering. And according to hondaparts.com, it should be about $16 for both of them at the stealership.

I do have to disagree about the Rain-X comment though. Due to the nature of my work, I drive around in the rain a lot. And Rain-X is a wonderful thing.

davidspalding

Listen, y'all, I don't want to hear about anyone getting a hangnail or poking yourself in the eye while changing out your wiper blades. Let's be careful out there, SAFETY FIRST.

jeenam

Wish I'd have read this sooner. Thanks for the write up.

mdkxtreme

dang thats a lot of work for just changing wiper blades. i think ill stick with replacing the whole wiper thing and not just the blade

davidspalding

~$10 versus ~$50. Your choice. (Unless you box up the Acura wipers and put on aftermarket wipers.)

It only takes about 5-10 minutes, and you won't even get your hands very dirty. About the same time and effort it takes to fill your gas tank. Trust me, it's probably easier than my detailed instructions make it look.

Oh, and it's more economical for the environment to just change the blades. Less packaging, less wasted materials on the discarded parts.

super20g

Anyone have the honda part # for the long wiper? The short they can pull up just fine, but the long they cant cross reference for whatever reason... They gave me a 'close' guess but the part didnt turn out to be the same width.

stylin

thanks I was actually going to look for a DIY for changing the wiper inserts! THANKS!

btw how was teh wiper inserts? should i go stealership or just aftermarket?

dP-

Excellent write-up with great photos!

davidspalding

I wasn't aware that they used these wipers or wiper blades on ANY Honda. Can you be more specific? (I.e., a Honda model which has these wipers.)

My local dealership charged me $10.xx and $10.yy for them, even though online (through the Acura e-Store, with the local dealership providing the part), they were $7.xx. I asked about this, the parts guy heaved a big sigh and talked about how even though I was searching for the part on HIS dealership's web site, the frame loading the Acura eStore cut the dealership out of the deal. Lame.

So I'd just order them online from one of the Honda/Acura dealers offering a discount. As mentioned, one out there is selling these blades for roughly $5.xx. Or ... you could call your dealer, tell them the price you see online, and ask them to match that price if you buy 2-3 pairs. A board moderator got a coupon deal similar to that.


Not sure if I was clear, but the pictured wiper blades were bought at an Acura dealer. Mitsuba must be the Acura OEM provider.

SoCaliTrojan

You make it seem more complicated than it really is. It only took me a few minutes to figure it out without reading any manuals. Nice pictures, though.

Jottle

Hey. Thanks for the writeup. I just did this, but I'm wondering if there's a direction for these things. Does it matter which end becomes the "lock" end? You could flip them around if you wanted to. The wipers inserts look symmetrical, so I thought it didn't really matter which way they went in. Any input?

davidspalding

As best I know, the wipers will go in either way. And as you confirmed offline, both ends of the wiper have the "soft rubber" area that you fold down to remove/insert the blade.

akk944

first post after a few months on this thread... hopefully it's not against the rules to post like this, but thanks! This tutorial really helped me along with the manual to clear up info on the "lock" feature or what ever you may want to call it. I changed mine today on my 06 after 3 years of owning the car (well 2 months over 3 years) and it makes a huge difference noise wise. Now is swooshes smoothly. I oppted to get the dealer replacement that costed 12 bucks for both sides which isnt too bad, but the dealer is over an hour away which isn't really worth it. I sureley will change the rubber in a year or two because the stock ones were bad since a year after i got the car (oops, waited a lil too long to change it good thing it wasn't oil in there that long:P) and it doesn't make sense to go all the way to the dealer. I see that advance auto parts sells break to fit refills for a couple bucks ($6 for both blades) and it's a mile from my house. So could I use them next time? Or will they not install correct? This would save me money and time. Also, I'm not a big fan of stocking up on OEM's so forget that idea .
Thanks
Kumar

davidspalding

Never too late for a compliment, thanks.

Try online Honda/Acura dealers. I get them for roughly $5 or so, and buy them in 2's, 3's so that I'm set for a year or so. I also get Acura blue engine air filters, so ordering blades with that (roughly the same change-out interval) makes sense.

Problem with aftermarket blades is that sometimes the "backbone" thickness isn't right, resulting in a bad fit, and it even coming out. I learned that with my gf's Echo. I'd stick with blades made for your wipers, but that's just my .

racecarbox616

damn...how often you changing that air filter?

Alperovich

good write up!

good luck finding a lawyer and judge to take that case.

afici0nad0

would these wiper inserts fit in the 04-05 wiper arms?

davidspalding

Every 10,000 - 12,000 miles.

Dunno. Doubt it.

I guess you could go to a dealer and ask for a 2004 76622-SDA-A01 (650mm blade) and a 2006 76622-SEA-J11 (650mm blade) and visually compare them. Or just go and get 76622-SDA-A01 and 76632-SEC-A01 for your 2004.



While you're at it, ask for 76620-SEA-G11 (2006 left wiper assembly) and 76630-SEC-A11 (2006 right wiper assembly) and see if they fit your 2004 wiper arms. If they do ... for ~$46 ($35 online) you could have the newer, arguably better wipers.

Dktran31

old thread but great write up! gonna use it when i replace my blades soon

tftimm

Just used the writeup, excellent. I ordered them and installed them. The first one took 10-15 minutes while I read the writeup and was careful not to break anything.

The second took about 2 minutes. I haven't used them, but I installed original OEM blades.

Thanks!

ZAXDude

I had mine replaced on my '06 recently at the dealership. They only charged me like 11 bux to replace 'em both. I'd rather pay 'em the 11 bux than do it myself i think. lol

davidspalding

I took a chance last week and tried some no-name brand glass cooktop cleaner/polish on parts of my windscreen, in hopes of removing some long-term buildup (e.g. clearcoat and other things that automated car washes deposit). It didn't help the water "beadability" any more than Stoner's Invisible Glass (which I swear by), but the glass buffs quite nice now after a normal cleaning. And my wipers are now silent.

YMMV.....

em199si

An easier way to insert the splines without clamps or frustration is just to insert them at just the tip, then start sliding it in to the assembly. As you are sliding the wiper insert into the assembly, guide the splines into the wiper at the same time.

Also, it was much easier using the cuticle tool or whatever because its more rounded to prevent damaging the rubber part of the assembly.

mickey513

The frameless wiper blades work right out of the package, no need to deal with removing anything from the blades. I put on a set of Rain X Latitude and Valero Ultimate on a couple of TSXs and they work just fine right out of the box.

Remove old one, clip new one in, shouldn't take more then a couple of minutes.

davidspalding

I've done it that way ... but found sometimes the splines will slide out while I'm inserting the blade (doing this vertically, mind you). Last time I changed blades, I was familiar with everything so the clips weren't necessary.

... And costs 3X more money. If you've got $ to burn, maybe you could send me some?

The thread's about how to do it, not whether or not to. But thanks for your input anyway.

808havok_tsx

i haven't had to do a DIY yet cuz the dealership installed new inserts for free at my 30k service...

but for all of you who complain of bad fitting wiper blade replacements and such - there's nothing wrong with OEM inserts and nothing fits better than OEM...

sortudo7

Great write up Just did this on my car, took about 5 mins for the driver side and like 1 min for the passenger side. I did it the way of inserting in the tip first with the metal splines since I didn't have any clips. Worked like a charm! TYVM!

Ck98vteC

+1 on the Stoners glass cleaner. It has a Rain-X effect and I don't even need to use Rain-X anymore.

thatflyingpan

Thanks for the write-up! I just replaced mine today. Bought the blade refills from a local dealer through the Honda estore (cost me $8.26 +$7.50 ship). Took about 20 min to change.

studdly

Is there a link for orderring wiper blade replacements for the 2004 TSX?

SoCaliTrojan

You can order it from any of the online Acura dealers, like acuraoemparts.com , oemacuraparts.com , handa-accessories.com .

I think the 2004 TSX wipers are different from the 2006 (I remember hearing that 2006 sits lower for a more stealthy look), so make sure you order the right one. There is a TSB for the 2006+ wiper chatter, so if you can use 2006 wipers, make sure you order the newer blades and wipers.

davidspalding

For those interested in the new wiper assemblies (TSB B07-015), the part # for the set is 76660-SEC-305, and the individual pieces are:

Left wiper 76620-SEC-305 (replacement insert 76622-STK-A01)
Right wiper 76630-SEC-306 (replacement insert 76632-SEC-305)

jskrobot

Good write-up! very detailed, helped out a lot. Got mine done very quickly from the use of this.

ran-d2007tsx

Newbie here. Thanks, thanks, thanks for the great post. I live 200 miles from the nearest dealership and never would have figured this out without the pics and play by play instructions. Took me ten minutes total.

Santa Rosa Steve

I just installed these and can confirm that they are much better than the one-piece rubber blades... no chattering or skipped areas as was the case with the original '06-'08 design...

vthree

iTrader: (1)

i think these parts went up in price.. when i check now i see: 76620-SEA-G11 BLADE, WINDSHIELD WIPER (650MM) (DRIVER SIDE) 21.04

and the other is 16 something..

aascsm

This is a really good product as well...

http://www.amazon.com/Aquapel-Automo...8812503&sr=1-3