How to Change Windshield Wiper Blades

Why Replace Windscreen Wipers?

Windscreen wipers sit on your windshield, so they bear the brunt of everything in your path. From blistering heat and intense sunlight to cold conditions and torrential rain — and all that dirt in between — there are many factors that wear away at your wipers. After a while, your wiper blades will split, tear, harden, or crack beneath the pressure, and they may signal the beginning of the end by leaving blurry patches across the windscreen when you try to use them. If you don’t change wipers straight away, the rubber may eventually come off, which will almost certainly scratch your screen.

When Should You Change Wipers?

Torn rubber and a scratched screen are the most obvious signs it’s time to change wipers. Ideally, you will catch wiper wear long before this stage by keeping an eye out for earlier tells. For example, if your wipers are skimming over the windscreen and leaving everything ahead looking ill-defined, changing car wiper blades should be added to your ‘to-do’ list — pronto. Similarly, squeaking and shuddering blades are screaming to be replaced. That said, changing windscreen wiper blades once a year is the best way to maintain clear visibility ahead and avoid inflicting damage on your windscreen.

Which Wiper Blades?

When it comes to windscreen wiper anatomy, there are two main parts: the blade (which attaches to the wiper arm) and the rubber (which makes contact with the windscreen). Yours will either have detachable blades and rubber, or a single unit consisting of blades and rubber fused together. To determine which variant you have, either inspect it yourself, consult your car manual, or ask one of the experts at Machter. Your car manual may contain some useful information regarding how to replace wiper blades. 

You Will Need…

Changing window wipers calls for aftermarket blade replacements, your car’s owner’s manual (to confirm and refer to the correct blade size), a measuring tape (to verify blade length), and ideally a clean microfibre cloth and glass cleaner. It’s also best practice to wear protective gloves while changing car wiper blades. If you’re grappling with hard-to-open packaging or clips that are corroded to the blades, scissors and pliers can provide shortcuts out of tough situations or rusty manoeuvres.

Before you get started on the step-by-step, make sure you’ve measured the length of your driver’s-side, passenger’s-side, and rear (if applicable) wipers. To confirm you have the correct blade size, consult your car owner’s manual and measure the blades you’re about to replace. You may also find an online size finder tool to be useful.

How to Change Wiper Blades

Step 1: Out with the Old Blades…

To remove the windscreen wiper blades, unclip the blade and rubber assembly. (If you need clarification about how the clips work, refer to your car’s owner’s manual.) Before you remove a blade, place the microfibre cloth on the windscreen; after removing the blade, lower the corresponding wiper arm onto the cloth. This will cushion its landing, preventing arm flicks and glass cracks. Repeat this process on the other blade and wiper arm.

Step 2: …In with the New

Once you’ve bought bonded blades in the correct length, the only thing left to do is install them. There will be no further adjustments required — even the correct clip will come included with the aftermarket product. Attach your blades to the wiper arms the same way you removed them — only in reverse, of course — and everything should fit into place.

How to Change 2-Piece Window Wipers

When it comes to replacing two-piece windscreen wipers, you have two choices: either swap the rubber with a refill or — to keep things simple — treat the rubber and blades as one and replace them as a whole unit. Here’s how to replace the rubber only:

Step 1: Remove the Blade

Although you can replace the rubber while the blade is attached to the wiper arm, it’s certainly easier to detach the blade and go from there. To remove the blade, undo the clip and lower the wiper arm onto the windscreen — but first, place that protective microfibre cloth exactly where the arm will be lowered.

Step 2: Remove the Rubber

Slide the rubber out with pliers. If you encounter a small clip at either or both ends of the blade, press down on it with the pliers to release the rubber.

Step 3: Fit the New Rubber

Before you put anything anywhere, first check that the new rubber is the same width as the one you’ve just removed. If it passes the ‘width’ test, you’re all good to slide it into the blade, making sure it passes through each claw before you finally lock it in place at the wiper’s bottom. 

Step 4: Trim the Rubber

Wiper rubbers are multi-fit, so you’ll need to trim the overhang — until you reach the final cut-off of 25 millimetres past the wiper blade’s final claw.

Step 5: Do It All Again on the Other Side

Needless to say, windscreen wipers come in pairs. Once you’ve done it on one side, it’s time to finish the job by repeating the process on the other side.

When you make it to step 3 2.0, don’t stress if the rubber widths differ from those you measured the first time around. Some vehicles have different-sized rubbers on the left- and right-hand wipers.

As we mentioned earlier, replacing the rubber alone is the more complicated way to do it. If you prefer the sound of a streamlined method, here’s how to replace the blades and rubber as one unit:

Step 1: Remove the Blade

Unclip your wiper assembly from the wiper arm. As always, place the protective microfibre cloth on your windscreen to ‘catch’ the wiper arm once you’ve lowered it.

Step 2: Choose a Clip Adaptor

Look at the clip adaptor on your old blade. Now scan the clip adaptors that come with your new blade and find the one that matches. Once you’ve met your match, snap it onto your new blade!

Step 3: Fit the New Blade

Remember the way you detached the assembly from your wiper two steps ago? Well, do that again, only in reverse, and your new assembly should clip on without issues.

Step 4: Rinse & Repeat

Repeat this process on the other wiper and you’ll be good to go!

How to Change Window Wiper Blades: Some Final Tips

If you’ve changed your windscreen wipers and they still sound noisy or are not performing as they should, it may not be the wipers that are at fault — it may be the windscreen itself. To address this issue, give your windscreen a good wash — or even a deep clean using glass polish — and then see how the wipers fare.

Remember to check and top up your windscreen washer fluid whenever you change your wiper blades.

You should also get into the habit of checking your windscreen wipers every few months, even throughout summer. When you keep a prudent eye on them, you can catch them underperforming fairly promptly, which may earn you a few places ahead in the queue that inevitably forms whenever the rains first arrive.

Change Wipers with Machter

Now you know how to change window wiper blades, it’s time to equip yourself with the components you need. At Machter, we have the quality parts you need for a crystal clear view ahead.

Get ahead of the crowd (and the weather) as we enter the colder, rainier part of the year — shop aftermarket windscreen wiper blades and parts with Machter.