[N8N]

My 2009 335i acts like it wants new wiper blades... pulled one off to see if I could just refill the OEM blades. Looks doable *IF* I knew the trick to getting the end caps off the blades. Possible? Would like to do it for two reasons: 1) I don't like paying $50+ for a pair of wiper blades and 2) if they could be refilled I would try to use the rubber from some PIAA silicone blades rather than plain rubber, as I am using silicone on all my other vehicles and it's fantastic. Anyone figured out how to get these apart, or am I going to have to buy a pair from the dealer and then be the guinea pig?

[anthe93]

Bumping this.

Am looking into the same. Have a 2013 E93. I could care less about the free dealer wipers - I want to install PIAAs like on my other cars. There are 2 categories of drivers: those that swear by PIAA silicone wipers and those that never tried them. I do, however, want to keep the original blades for appearance and just change the refill inside. I can see the 8mm wide 26" PIAA refills look like they will fit perfectly in these (trimmed to the two lengths) if I can only get the end caps off. Am considering buying an OEM blade to destroy to get an end cap off and see how they "clip" on. If anyone has an old one coming off and wants to give it a shot, would appreciate some info. Thanks.

[hasta la pasta 27]

Any update on this? Dying to change my damn wipers seeing as mine just make visibility worse now and then leave a beautiful streak thats is PITA to see through at night when a car is coming at you

[N8N]

after looking at them more I just gave up and bought a pair of Valeo Ultimate wipers from Tire Rack. Was cheaper than going to the dealership even after factoring in shipping, and they appear identical in every way to the OEM wipers on my MY2009 E92.

It appears that the "spoiler" of the blade is part of the same rubber insert that forms the wiping edge, so it's not the same extrusion as a traditional framed wiper blade. Unless someone has a source for just that extrusion it looks like we're stuck buying new blade assemblies or converting to some other kind of blade if you want to try non-OEM (e.g. PIAA or Silblade) replacements. I no longer have my old F*rd pickup so I can't see if the pin-mount is the same as what BMW is using. I'll have a look at my Jeep but IIRC that is the more common arm-bent-into-a-U type.

anthe93: if you want to mess with this I haven't thrown out my old wipers yet but am in the process of culling my junk box to only contain useful stuff, if you want me to post them to you speak now

[Ricke90]

You probably just need to sharpen them. Autozone or Advance Auto has kits for it.

[BmerMeUp]

Originally Posted by N8N

after looking at them more I just gave up and bought a pair of Valeo Ultimate wipers from Tire Rack. Was cheaper than going to the dealership even after factoring in shipping, and they appear identical in every way to the OEM wipers on my MY2009 E92.

It appears that the "spoiler" of the blade is part of the same rubber insert that forms the wiping edge, ...

Went through exact same steps with my E91. Replacement? Oh - wiper wing... nope. Bought Valeo Ultimate @ Tire Rack. Look/Work great. Done.

Doesn't apply to you but I did replace my rear wiper with a normal no-name refill rubbber, and that works fine.

[N8N]

Bumping an old thread... we know that the Valeo Ultimate wipers are a perfect fit.

However, a discussion with someone about troubleshooting a wiper problem on their vehicle reminded me that I was using Valeo and not PIAA on my car... I see now that PIAA is listing these

http://www.amazon.com/97336-Silencio...&vehicleType=5

as fitting a pre-LCI E92/93. Anyone try them and do the little trim bits fit properly? For the slight increase in price, unless the Valeos impress me with their longevity, I'd go back to the brand I know.

As an aside, I am using SilBlades on my Jeep (they were cheaper than PIAA when I bought them) and the last time it rained they are starting to chatter, so I will be replacing them with PIAA as well when it gets too bad, PIAA seems to be the best there is with wiper blades. I am impressed however that the old blades on my E92 apparently lasted four years with no replacements, but I don't know if it sat outside every day or if the PO had a garage at work etc.

[TitanLH8]

bumping this thread...Valeo Ultimate wipers are $20 a pair on Amazon, the price is discounted at checkout....just ordered a set with free shipping!

[Three_thirty_I]

Well, my E90 had the OEM blades replaced in May last year with another set of OEM blades which must have been defective - they were noisy from the start and tended to shudder on the driver's side. Now if you want to p1ss me off, give me a set of wipers that do this. The original blades did not suffer from this problem (and as such were still fine at the time of being replaced), so I felt that these new blades would eventually settle. Never happened, and eventually they just got worse and even started to miss an entire patch on the glass on the driver's side - it was as if there was not enough pressure to keep the inner part of the blade against the glass or the wiper was too "springy".

After realising that the agents would not replace these regardless of their age and how little they have been used, I decided to simply replace them. But the price for the OEM parts was crazy, and was not going to spend that sort of money on the same blades essentially, so went searching and came across a thread here I think where someone had mentioned the Bosch A073S Aerotwin wipers specifically for the E90. Now I have the generic Bosch Aerotwin wipers on my E46 and another vehicle and they are really really good, so naturally I was very keen on these for the E90.

I managed to find the local supplier and bought a set which costed roughly half the price of the OEM wipers. Fitted them and noticed some differences between them and the OEM wipers which I hope these photos can illustrate.

The Aerotwin "wing" is a bit more pronounced than the original blades, and the back edge of the "wings" are slightly further back but still fits perfectly within the plastic retaining clip. The hole for fitment goes all the way through on the Bosch blades whereas the OEM blades are closed on the other side. Note how the upper OEM blade bows more than the Bosch blade - these are both the drivers side in these pics:





Have had them on for a good couple of months now and so far really pleased with them - took a while to get used to their slightly thicker appearance through the windscreen, but the important thing is that they do the job properly and without causing annoyance!

Just a note about these above mentioned PIAA silicone blades - firstly I don't know this brand and therefore cannot comment on them at all. Just had a look and found their website, looks like a good product range in general. Locally the closest thing that we have to this is a product called Durablade which uses silicone material for the wiper element. Now this I do have experience with and had them on various vehicles when they first came out years ago - they were simply horrible!! Firstly they were noisy and screechy, and then they would also shudder and typically miss the glass as they shuddered violently. I think the material being silicone and glass which is also essentially silicone based caused half this problem, the other being that these Durablades used the existing wiper frame (old technology) which is not as rigid and sturdy as the more modern wiper designs that are integrated like the OEM blades and for that matter the Bosch Aerotwin. So I am not sure how these PIAA silicone based wipers which are also available (from what I see on their site) for the E90 fares - worth a try I reckon, but personally I still have little faith in this material for wiper elements. The Durablade product promotes them as "lasting for every and will never perish or crack from sun damage" - but they will also never work properly... Technology does improve, so just thought I would put this out there to think about, not to say that these newer silicone wipers are necessarily going to perform badly like these did.