Choosing the right windshield wiper for your vehicle is an important part of being a responsible car owner. Whether you live in hurricane-prone Florida or colder upstate New York, having a reliable set of windshield wipers can mean the difference between getting where you need to go safely and being helplessly stuck at home.
How to choose the best windshield wipers? We at FIXD know that buying windshield wipers may not seem like the most exciting part of owning a vehicle, but we’re here to help make the process as easy and quick as possible. We’ve done extensive research on different wiper brands to ensure we recommend the absolute best quality for your car, climate, and budget!
If you’d like to jump straight to our climate-based windshield wiper brand recommendations, keep checking out the catalog below to find exactly what you’re looking for!
Windshield wipers: the first thing to consider
There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding which windshield wiper is right for your car. There are hundreds of different brands and models of wipers, and sorting through all of them to find the best one for you can be overwhelming. Make sure you consider the following first things when starting the process to narrow down your search significantly:
Windshield Wiper Guide: Do You Even Need New Wipers?
You should replace your windshield wipers every six months to a year, depending on their performance. When you rub your hands on the rubber, do you feel something abnormal? When you use wipers, do they really make your visibility worse? Does it sound like someone is screaming when they slide through the windshield? If the answer to any or all of these things is yes, then it’s time to invest in some new effective wipers.
Where you live/the climate of your area
When shopping for windshield wipers, the most important thing to consider is the area you live in and the weather conditions that are common there. Your windshield wipers need to be able to withstand the harshest conditions experienced in your area, and different wipers work better in different situations. In our list of the best windshield wipers, we continue to separate our recommendations based on climate to make your buying process as fast as possible!
Attachment difficulty
While wipers are generally easy to install, different types of wipers are slightly different in difficulty to install. If you’re not entirely confident in your DIY abilities, don’t worry because we’ve created a video detailing the exact steps you need to take to quickly change your wipers!
We would also like to point out that different cars come with different wiper arms, which can affect which wipers can or can’t be fitted to your vehicle. While J-Hook is the most common attachment method for wipers, most of the wipers we recommend on this list come with a universal attachment mechanism.
Windshield wiper size
How to choose the best windshield wipers? It’s always important to make sure you know what size wiper you need for your vehicle. It depends on the size of your car’s windshield. Usually, you can consult the owner’s manual for the correct size, or, if you misplace the manual over time, simply Google the windshield wiper size for a particular vehicle and the problem will usually solve the problem.
Blade material
Different blades are made of different materials, and some are more durable and better than others. The most traditional and common material used for wiper blades is rubber. Rubber blades are generally less expensive than most other materials, but they also tend to last shorter than some other options.
Silicone blades are a newer technology that is generally more durable than previous rubber blades and also lasts longer. The disadvantage of silicone wipers is that they cost significantly more.
Coated blades are the third fast-popular option. These blades are usually rubber material, but they are coated with graphite or PTFE, which means they don’t wear out as quickly as regular rubber blades.
An important thing to note is that a specific blade material is not always suitable for all situations, and our list reflects this. Our recommendations include all 3 types of blade materials, all of which you can be sure of as the best blade for your individual situation.
Windshield Wiper Guide: Winter Wipers
Bosch Icon – a high-priced option
Pros
– Long-lasting
– Easy to install
– Double rubber lining
– Large curvature of windows
– Uniform pressure distribution
-Extreme weather resistance
-Wide compatibility
-Extensive sizing
Cons
– High price
Almost all reliable windshield wipers in winter conditions are Bosch Icons. They last longer than regular wipers and come with a double rubber lining (silicone case with a rubber core) that allows the wipers to withstand extreme weather conditions. The unique beam design enables peak visibility even when conditions become the harshest.
Although we’ve put these wipers in the winter conditions category, they’re also easily included in the rainy conditions section due to their wide range of durability. We know that these windshield wipers are a little more expensive than some of our other recommendations, but the pros of this brand far outweigh the cons, and we should know because we have tested them ourselves!
Trico Exact Fit – Low price option
Pros
– Cheap
– Reliable Brands
– Wide Compatibility
– Wide Range of Sizes
-Traditional, Hybrid and Beam Options
-Easy to Install
-Uniform Pressure
Cons
– There are no obvious drawbacks
How to choose the best windshield wiper? We all want to believe that there are multiple options in life, even when we buy windshield wipers. With Trico Exact Fit, you get a wide range of windshield wiper options, plus the added benefit of not having to sacrifice the cost!
The Exact Fits are available in 3 different styles: Traditional, Hybrid, and Beam. This means that no matter where you live or what the weather is, Trico has an Exact Fit wiper for your vehicle. No matter which style you choose to buy, you can be sure that you won’t empty your wallet in the process, as all 3 styles are in the relatively inexpensive range.
Don’t let the low price fool you! Trico is a trusted and established brand, and you can be sure that it only produces high-quality products, and when it comes to replacement blades, Exact Fit is a very inexpensive option.
Also, make sure that when you click on our link to buy them, you specify in the search bar whether you want regular, hybrid, or beam blades.
