Ever since I replaced the original equipment wiper refills on my 2006 Prius, I've had problem with the driver's side wiper, the really long one, "chattering" at highway speed, or sometimes slower. On the upstroke, the blade will skip over the glass making a chattering sound, leaving the glass nearly impossible to see thru because the water has not been wiped off, but left in closely spaced bars. On the downstroke though, the blade wipes smoothly. I've tried new Toyota brand refills, dealer installed, and I've recently tried an expensive after-market wiper assembly that has a teflon coating. That worked great for the first couple of weeks, but today it started the same chattering as the Toyota brand wipers. It looks as though the wiper blade is not flipping over on the upstroke so it trails the arm, but rather is being pushed in front of the arm which causes the sticking, bouncing "chatter" movement. I'm surprised to see no other mention of this in the forum. Could it be the arm has too much downward tension cranked in which prevents it from flipping over properly on the upstroke? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, JoeC
You know, this is ironic....i noticed mine does it as well this morning. I was just going to post about it until i saw this.
Sorry, never been an issue for my Prius, I'd go visit a dealer with the reciept and ask for a wiper blade that performs correctly. Is the glass clean?
This can happen on any car if the blade and arm are not properly aligned to the windshield, and can be corrected by a carefully controlled bend (twist) of the arm. Requires 2 pliers and/or wrenches. Tricky to do, and requires wrapping of the arm with something so it doesn't get scratched. If far enough out of alignment, any new blade will chatter like this in one direction.
Mine is the original set, 14,300 miles....it didn't do it tonight though on my way home...strange O and its only on the drivers side wiper on the bottom corner, the rest of the wiper works just fine
I've been using a new Michelin Radius 26" blade with excellent results. It's the new style wiper blade with no metal structure - very aerodynamic.
This is the style of wiper blade fitted to current model Prius here in Australia. I see them on cars at work. See them here The New Beam Blade Technology The beam blade is a newer design that continues to grow in popularity, appearing on many late model vehicles. This new technology eliminates the joints and hinged framework of traditional blades. In these “frameless blades” the arm force is applied directly to a curved metal beam that supports the rubber. The curvature is designed to evenly distribute the arm force along the length of the blade. The blade literally hugs the windshield. Two key advantages are improved, streak-free wiping and no open frame to clog with ice and snow. The Michelin®, all-weather beam blade has a connector system to fit 98% of the vehicles on the road. It allows owners to upgrade easily to the latest wiper blade technology for superior streak free performance. Buy 2 new blades at walmart and get $10 cash back via a mail in form you can find here.
I've had this happen while following a semi truck that was leaking fuel. The fine mist of diesel got on my windshield, and the only way to cure the chattering wipers was to clean the windshield with mineral spirits, and put on new wiper inserts You could try thoroughly cleaning the windshield with rubbing alcohol - isopropyl alcohol. Then clean the windshield with your normal cleaner. Put some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel, and use it to clean the wiper inserts If it still chatters, I'd suspect something is tweaked or bent on the wiper arm
Try engaging the wiper blade in a conversation and exhaust the subject, that often results in a silence for a time. Seriously, check that the wiper blade is correctly installed, it must be loose in the claws that hold the metal strip backing. It should slide easily lengthways a little. This allows the wiper blade to rock over a little as it changes direction.
