Jeff Allen & Guy Spangenberg
Your windshield wipers are one of the most important consumables in your car. If you get caught in the rain with a poor windshield wiper, your vision can be drastically reduced, which greatly increases the risk of an accident. And nobody likes an incident. So we’ve provided instructions and tips from an expert on how to safely replace your wipers.
Road & Track spoke to Kevin Hines, Senior Technician at McLaren Philadelphia, to learn how to properly replace wiper blades efficiently and safely. Hines is North America’s only factory-certified McLaren F1 technician, which means his main job is on $ 20 million worth of exotic cars. If anyone knows how to change wiper blades, then he does.
Before reading any further, we recommend that you consult your car owner’s manual for detailed instructions on how to change the wiper blades on your car. The manufacturer’s suggestions may differ from the instructions below.
Choosing the right blades
There are a ton of different wiper blades, but of course the most important thing is to make sure you have the correct wiper blades for your make and model of car. When deciding which variant is best for your windshield, look for reputable brands and make an informed decision. Go to the OEM if you want to remove the guesswork.
If you drive an ordinary car from a major brand, there is a good chance you can find compatible wipers at your local auto parts or department store. If you drive a little less infrequently, you may need to go online to find a kit that suits you.
Replace the wiper blades
Most cars don’t need tools to replace the wiper blades; You only need both hands. Find the blades on your car and raise the wiper arms in the air. They usually hold themselves in place under spring tension, leaving you room to easily change blades. Some cars may require you to lift the hood to gain access to the arms.
Now comes the part that you need to figure out for yourself: how to physically remove the wiper blade from the arm. There are dozens of different manufacturers’ designs of this connection, but most of them require a little fiddling and a slight flexing to release the wiper. We encourage you to refer to your owner’s manual to find out how to remove the blades on your car without damaging anything.
Aaron Brown
Aaron Brown
Be extremely careful once you have removed the wipers. “Every time I do a set of windshield wipers, be it on my personal truck or a McLaren F1, I always protect the windshield with something,” says Hines.
With the wiper blades turned off, the metal wiper arm is ready to touch the glass. If you accidentally bump it while changing the blade, it could knock off and crack the windshield. “I never leave my arm in the air without a wiper blade,” says Hines. “I was close to tears for breaking windshields.”
Professional quality microfiber towels (6 pieces)
Our recommendation: get a towel or two and place them on the windshield to act as a barrier between the glass and the wiper arm. That way, if the arm suddenly swings down, it will hit the towel rather than your delicate windshield. The last thing you want is for a quick DIY job to turn into a $ 300 windshield replacement.
Take the wipers you just removed and place them next to your replacement kit. Make sure they are both the same size, length, and connection points. After making sure that your new wipers fit, put them on in the opposite way you removed the old wipers. After attaching the new wipers to their respective arms, carefully place the arms back on the windshield.
Aaron Brown
Get into your car, turn on the accessories, and turn on your windshield wipers to make sure they are working as intended. Make sure they are not in contact with parts of the car that are not intended to be, such as the hood or windshield frame. If not, congratulations, you’re done.
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