Wiper blade options for Model S

[vgrinshpun]

Do these wipers works with snow and ice? The last week in Chicago has been lousy and the Tesla wipers even worse. It is actually dangerous to drive. Any suggestions?

These Bosch Icon blades made huge difference for me. No matter how many times I've used the washer fluid with original Tesla wiper blades, I could not clean the windshield from the salt residue common on the roads before/during/after snow in our area. The Bosch Icon blades absolutely fixed this problem for me. I would say buy them - you will not regret it!

 

[InTheShadows]

We got the Bosch Icon's and love them. Is there any way to adjust the wiper arms so they sit lower on the windshield when not in use? They stick above the hood a little bit now because the connector is a bit larger than the OEM.

 

[jerry33]

We got the Bosch Icon's and love them. Is there any way to adjust the wiper arms so they sit lower on the windshield when not in use? They stick above the hood a little bit now because the connector is a bit larger than the OEM.

They don't appear to stick up any higher than my OE wipers. Perhaps the difference is more visible in real-life than in the picture.

 

[InTheShadows]

They don't appear to stick up any higher than my OE wipers. Perhaps the difference is more visible in real-life than in the picture.

I thought they seemed higher after I changed them. They stick up above the slip stream . There is about 2 inches of space below them that looks like they could be adjusted to ride lower.

 

[mknox]

I thought they seemed higher after I changed them. They stick up above the slip stream . There is about 2 inches of space below them that looks like they could be adjusted to ride lower.

I have found that if I turn the wipers off when the glass is "dry", they don't always park as far down and stick up like you say. If the glass is wet (more slippery?), they seem to park further down and I can't see the mechanism where the arm connects any longer.

 

[GetAmped]

These Bosch Icon blades made huge difference for me. No matter how many times I've used the washer fluid with original Tesla wiper blades, I could not clean the windshield from the salt residue common on the roads before/during/after snow in our area. The Bosch Icon blades absolutely fixed this problem for me. I would say buy them - you will not regret it!

+1 on the Icon blades, had the same salt residue issues in Toronto and they were completey resolved with the Icons. Get them and tell your friends!

 

[mknox]

+1 on the Icon blades, had the same salt residue issues in Toronto and they were completey resolved with the Icons. Get them and tell your friends!

My Bosch Icons showed up from Amazon last night. I'll put them on over the weekend. Not sure why I took the leap (peer pressure, I assume!) because to be honest, I haven't really had problems with the stock Tesla blades, and I do a lot of Hwy 401 salt-spray driving.

 

[CanuckS#69]

I switched from the original Tesla OEM blades to the icons and didn't notice a profound difference. There is still a section of the driver's side that smears in salt spray. Perhaps I need to adjust my spray pattern again to hit difference spots on the windscreen.

 

[InTheShadows]

I switched from the original Tesla OEM blades to the icons and didn't notice a profound difference. There is still a section of the driver's side that smears in salt spray. Perhaps I need to adjust my spray pattern again to hit difference spots on the windscreen.

Our OEM's were great. Got a little over 30k miles out of them. The drivers side started skipping in the middle. When I changed them they were noticeably less "springy" than the new icons. My guess is that is why the failed. The rubber still looked good on them. Usually I'm replacing blades because the rubber tears.

 

[fluxemag]

Tirerack.com lists Bosch Icon 28OE as driver's side, and 19OE as passenger side for a Tesla Model S. Has anyone tried the 19OE?

 

[fluxemag]

Tirerack.com lists Bosch Icon 28OE as driver's side, and 19OE as passenger side for a Tesla Model S. Has anyone tried the 19OE?

Just got this pair and the 19OE, while much larger than the factory wiper, works great and doesn't hit the other blade.

 

[Law&Disorder]

The 190E is too long! It catches on the A pillar (photo 1) and does not return to the park position (photo 2) unless you force it by hand. You definitely want the 180E. Fortunately only a $20 mistake!

 

[Racerx22b]

I had suffered through some extremely annoying chatter/skipping on a Feb 2015 delivered MS85 when the wiper speed was anything other than wide open. I applied Rain X to help the issue but it did nothing. After reading some comments on this forum said to strip the windshield of any additives so I cleaned the window ad nauseam and finally gave up. Sent car to service to address this issue and they blamed it on the Rain X which I think is absurd. I've used Rain X on every vehicle I've owned for 35+yrs and never had this issue. They replaced the blades at no charge with the Bosch blades (same as what came on the car) and said they cleaned the window and repaired the problem. Of course, the rain stopped for over a week so I had to take their word for it. Finally had rain last weekend and the problem was just as bad as when taken to dealer. Frustrating!!

So I took matters into my own hands and hit up Autozone and purchased the Rain X Quantum blade for the driver side (28" QBW-F) and it was a perfect factory fit and used the same clip system (PTP). This blade is impregnated with the Rain X product and applies it during operation.

Bad News... The smallest size it's available in is 19".

Good News... The "Expert Fit" line is the exact same blade without the Rain X product being impregnated.

Bad News.... AutoZone doesn't carry the expert fit.

Good News... Walmart does

So I went to Walmart and picked up the B-17-2 model and it again fit with perfection.

Now the wipers move with silky smooth perfection at any speed. It's amazing how something so simple can be SO annoying. I reapplied Rain X to the whole windshield and it had no affect on the wiper blade performance. If you don't care about the using the Quantum blade then you can just go to Walmart and save yourself a trip and purchase the Expert Fit model.

PRO TIP - When installing the Quantum blade leave on the yellow plastic strip that protects the rubber blade in place. Once installed then slide it off. Otherwise, your hands will be a mess. Trust me.

Video of chattering. Performed this way no matter how wet the window was.

[video]https://youtu.be/9hTbpq1q-Z8[/video]

 

[Andyw2100]

I had suffered through some extremely annoying chatter/skipping on a Feb 2015 delivered MS85 when the wiper speed was anything other than wide open. I applied Rain X to help the issue but it did nothing. After reading some comments on this forum said to strip the windshield of any additives so I cleaned the window ad nauseam and finally gave up. Sent car to service to address this issue and they blamed it on the Rain X which I think is absurd.

So I took matters into my own hands and hit up Autozone and purchased the Rain X Quantum blade for the driver side (28" QBW-F) and it was a perfect factory fit and used the same clip system (PTP). This blade is impregnated with the Rain X product and applies it during operation.

Now the wipers move with silky smooth perfection at any speed. It's amazing how something so simple can be SO annoying. I reapplied Rain X to the whole windshield and it had no affect on the wiper blade performance.

Glad you found a solution that works for you. But I have to ask...you said you were reading comments on this forum. So why didn't you just try the Bosch Icons that so many of us have switched to because they've solved the "lousy wiper blade" problem for us?

 

[Racerx22b]

Glad you found a solution that works for you. But I have to ask...you said you were reading comments on this forum. So why didn't you just try the Bosch Icons that so many of us have switched to because they've solved the "lousy wiper blade" problem for us?

Because my car came with the Bosch blades. Tesla also replaced the blades when they had it with the same Bosch blades again. The Bosch blades sucked (for my car). I mentioned this in my original post.

 

[Andyw2100]

Because my car came with the Bosch blades. Tesla also replaced the blades when they had it with the same Bosch blades again. The Bosch blades sucked (for my car). I mentioned this in my original post.

Actually your car came with Bosch blades, but not the Bosch Icon blades. I thought that distinction was common knowledge here, or at least was understood by anyone who had taken the time to research the wiper blade issue. It probably should be made more clear. I'll look for some of the references to that in other threads after posting, and come back to edit this post. But as I understand it, some time in the past year Tesla did start using Bosch wiper blades, but not the Bosch Icon blades. The Bosch blades Tesla is using are not as good as the Bosch Icon blades, and don't solve the problems. The Bosch Icon blades do.

(I installed the Bosch Icon blades, switching out the Bosch blades my P85D came with, and saw a huge improvement.)

Your post struck me as reinventing the wheel, so to speak, since everyone seems so happy with the Bosch Icons. That's why I asked my original question.

Edit: One of the posts I was referring to above: P85D wiper blades - Page 2

And if your car came with Bosch blades and you're still having problems, switch to Bosch ICONs and your problems will be gone.

Edit 2: Another--http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/40996-P85D-wiper-blades/page3?p=922615&viewfull=1#post922615

I purchased the ICONS and so far they seem to be much better then the stock Bosch wipers. Comparing them side to side the ICONS are made with hard plastic on the arm part of the wiper and excerpt much more downward force onto the windshield.

I am driving from Oakville to Blue Mountain this Sunday for a Ski trip and it is forecasted for Snow so I will be able to report back on the ICONS performance in the slushy and salty mix that will be spraying up on the car.

Edit 3: A third--http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/40996-P85D-wiper-blades/page4?p=922756&viewfull=1#post922756

Ok. I replaced my p85d stock bosch blades with the icon ones. The icons do a lot better than the stock bosh. They look the same but the rubber on teh stock is all black while the icons are kinda of white. So far so good. I really thought they were icons as well but i'm guessing not.

Edit 4: A fourth--http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/40996-P85D-wiper-blades/page4?p=923318&viewfull=1#post923318

I retract my earlier statement: the Icons are not the same as the stock blades I removed from the P85D. On closer examination there are several physical differences, the most notable being that the Icons have a slightly lighter color rubber in the thinnest part of the blade, the part that contacts the windshield; and the cross-section of the backing rib that creates the curve of the unloaded blade is highly asymmetrical in the OEM blades, and symmetrical in the Icons.

Edit 5: I'm not searching exhaustively, but it is possible that the distinction between the Bosch Icons and the Bosch blades Tesla is installing was only made in one thread, as all the posts above come from the same thread. If that's the case it is easier to see how you or anyone could miss that fact. I took the time to post these references in the hope that it may save others some aggravation in the future.

 

[Racerx22b]

Actually your car came with Bosch blades, but not the Bosch Icon blades. I thought that distinction was common knowledge here, or at least was understood by anyone who had taken the time to research the wiper blade issue. It probably should be made more clear. I'll look for some of the references to that in other threads after posting, and come back to edit this post. But as I understand it, some time in the past year Tesla did start using Bosch wiper blades, but not the Bosch Icon blades. The Bosch blades Tesla is using are not as good as the Bosch Icon blades, and don't solve the problems. The Bosch Icon blades do.

(I installed the Bosch Icon blades, switching out the Bosch blades my P85D came with, and saw a huge improvement.)

Your post struck me as reinventing the wheel, so to speak, since everyone seems so happy with the Bosch Icons. That's why I asked my original question.

Edit: One of the posts I was referring to above: P85D wiper blades - Page 2




Edit 2: Another--http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/40996-P85D-wiper-blades/page3?p=922615&viewfull=1#post922615




Edit 3: A third--http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/40996-P85D-wiper-blades/page4?p=922756&viewfull=1#post922756




Edit 4: A fourth--http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/40996-P85D-wiper-blades/page4?p=923318&viewfull=1#post923318




Edit 5: I'm not searching exhaustively, but it is possible that the distinction between the Bosch Icons and the Bosch blades Tesla is installing was only made in one thread, as all the posts above come from the same thread. If that's the case it is easier to see how you or anyone could miss that fact. I took the time to post these references in the hope that it may save others some aggravation in the future.

News too me. Never picked up on the distinction between the two. If these don't pan out I'll try these.

 

[ElectricTundra]

Auto parts guy says the 28AOE is the same as the 28OE but just has extra parts. HOWEVER, early on someone on here mentioned to avoid the A & B. So, is there a 28A or 28B that should be avoided but the 28AOE is OK? Or is the 28AOE the one to be avoided?

Thanks,

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Auto parts guy says the 28AOE is the same as the 28OE but just has extra parts. HOWEVER, early on someone on here mentioned to avoid the A & B. So, is there a 28A or 28B that should be avoided but the 28AOE is OK? Or is the 28AOE the one to be avoided?

Thanks,

I think (though not certain) that the A and B versions have different curves, intended for left and right sides of windshields, while OE's are symmetric. Maybe there's a piece in the A & B's that can be removed to take out the extra curve, but I've no first hand experience.

 

[FlyingJat]

Looking on Amazon for the Bosch Icon, I am getting a flag that says they don't fit my 2015 MS. Should I ignore? Will the blade have the necessary attachment option with needing to replace the arm?