HAL 9000
Honorary Master
- Joined
- May 27, 2008
- Messages
- 21,332
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When some motorists have had to have their front windscreen replaced, for whatever reason (stone chips, cracks, de-lamination, etc.), the unequal length wiper arms, which are fitted to most cars nowadays (usually a longer passenger wiper arm with a shorter wiper blade & a shorter wiper arm with a longer wiper blade for right hand drive sourced model cars and vice versa for LHD market sourced cars) and have had to be removed during the replacement process, are often transposed during the re-attachment of the wiper arms to the vehicle.
This means that the wiper sweep pattern is now incorrect and, in most cases, the longer passenger wiper arm (now fitted incorrectly on the driver's side), causes that wiper blade to foul the upper windscreen beading and/or the driver's side windscreen pillar, during its wiping cycle, due to it often having a different angle set for its sweep pattern, compared to that of the proper driver's side wiper arm.
Also, the shorter driver's side arm, now fitted on the passenger side, means that wiper blade does not clear the passenger side glass effectively any more either.
(These discrepancies are often exacerbated by the big difference in the length of the blades as well, for example. my car has a 24 inch blade on the driver's side and a much shorter 16 inch blade on the passenger side)
Over the last few days, I have seen this 'wiper arm swap' on a number of vehicles, including a Opel Corsa LDV, VW Jetta 3, Chery QQ3, Ford Figo, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai i10 and a Mitsubishi Triton LDV.
When I have had a chance to ask the drivers if they had had their windscreen replaced recently, they all replied 'yes, that this was the case'.
When I pointed out to them that their wipers were now fitted the 'wrong way around' - they all looked perplexed, as they had no clue that they should in fact be refitted 'the right way around' instead.
So, unless someone observant pointed out this discrepancy to them, they would have blissfully remained unaware of this issue, and wondered why the driver's side wiper keeps on making a 'kluk-kluk' sound as it hits the upper windscreen beading and/or the driver's side pillar during every sweep, when driving in the rain or using their washers!
Chery QQ3 - unequal length wipers (correct fitment):
Hyundai i10 - unequal length wipers (correct fitment):
This means that the wiper sweep pattern is now incorrect and, in most cases, the longer passenger wiper arm (now fitted incorrectly on the driver's side), causes that wiper blade to foul the upper windscreen beading and/or the driver's side windscreen pillar, during its wiping cycle, due to it often having a different angle set for its sweep pattern, compared to that of the proper driver's side wiper arm.
Also, the shorter driver's side arm, now fitted on the passenger side, means that wiper blade does not clear the passenger side glass effectively any more either.
(These discrepancies are often exacerbated by the big difference in the length of the blades as well, for example. my car has a 24 inch blade on the driver's side and a much shorter 16 inch blade on the passenger side)
Over the last few days, I have seen this 'wiper arm swap' on a number of vehicles, including a Opel Corsa LDV, VW Jetta 3, Chery QQ3, Ford Figo, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai i10 and a Mitsubishi Triton LDV.
When I have had a chance to ask the drivers if they had had their windscreen replaced recently, they all replied 'yes, that this was the case'.
When I pointed out to them that their wipers were now fitted the 'wrong way around' - they all looked perplexed, as they had no clue that they should in fact be refitted 'the right way around' instead.
So, unless someone observant pointed out this discrepancy to them, they would have blissfully remained unaware of this issue, and wondered why the driver's side wiper keeps on making a 'kluk-kluk' sound as it hits the upper windscreen beading and/or the driver's side pillar during every sweep, when driving in the rain or using their washers!
Chery QQ3 - unequal length wipers (correct fitment):
Hyundai i10 - unequal length wipers (correct fitment):
