When considering the safety features on your vehicle, airbags, emergency brakes, and blind spot monitoring technology likely come to mind. However, it's essential not to overlook a crucial component – your windshield wipers. Often underestimated and forgotten, these wipers play a significant role in your daily driving experience. Therefore, it's important to ensure they are in excellent condition and regularly inspect them for signs of wear and tear. Are you familiar with the warning signals indicating that your wipers are worn out? Do you know the factors to prolonging their lifespan? Explore the information below, and if your vehicle requires substantial maintenance, schedule a service appointment with the Bennington Nissan team today!
When you’re checking out your wiper blades, look for these indicators of wear:
- Broken frame: detachment of frame arms at joints or connection points.
- Metal Corrosion: especially at joints and claws.
- Visible cracks, tears, and missing pieces in the rubber squeegee’s edge.
- Flex rubber squeegee back and forth to see if it is still flexible. Aged squeegees will have difficulty conforming to the shape of your windshield and create streaks.
- Check squeegee wiping edge for rounded edges which can prevent the wiper blade from making strong contact with the windshield and reduces wipe quality.
- Tug to ensure the wiper blade has been securely installed on the wiper arm.
- Check that squeegee is secure in the wiper frame.
Your wipers can break down due to several factors:
- Sun: Ultraviolet light and ozone deterioration
- Oil: Car waxes and exhaust hold rubber-deteriorating oil
- Airborne debris: Sand, mud and dust carried in the wind
- Moisture: Acid rain and salt water (in moist air both near the shore and inland)
