Windshield staining and "one last wipe" after spray
01-12-2018, 05:27 PM
#21
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Just finished a three day road trip Minnesota to Florida during which my new Q7's odometer went over 2000 miles. These were three very rainy days: light, medium and heavy and the wipers worked great. Before starting out, after reading about wipers in an earlier thread, I used a plastic pot scrubber along with standard car wash soap to scrub the windshield in case there was some filmy gunk on the glass. Don't know if this had any effect at all on glass cleanliness. Maybe it was already clean after dealer prep. All I know is I had no problems at all during all levels of rain and road spray. For the most part, I keep the wiper control set to intermittent with rain sensor set to low. At this setting the wiper speed varies from off to very fast. The rear wiper, if left on, starts to chatter after a while because the glass gets far less moisture than the front. So I turn it on and off manually as needed. My only minor complaint is that the driver's side front wiper leaves a trail of droplets along the right side of its arc in the front passenger's forward view. My washer reservoir is filled as delivered from the dealer.
01-13-2018, 06:11 AM
#22
AudiWorld Member
I went to the store with the intention of purchasing Bosch but they didn't have the size for the passenger side.. Since I wanted the same blades on both sides, and I've had good experience with Trico I gave these a try.. They come with the fitment adapters..
TRICO Ultra: High-performance Beam Blade TRICO® Windshield Wipers
TRICO Ultra: High-performance Beam Blade TRICO® Windshield Wipers
Thanks guys
01-13-2018, 07:24 AM
#23
AudiWorld Member
Interesting read and thanks for the inputs! While the OEM wipers have been holding up well so far and have not experienced some of the issues mentioned here, will definitely keep the PIAA silicone wipers in mind as future replacements.
01-13-2018, 08:33 AM
#24
AudiWorld Senior Member
Hi JT,
Which store, I'll be in Nassau tomorrow (most likely) and non of the AAP's in my area carry them. If you can tell me the size and the store, I'll give them a try. I am OK with rear wiper, except the spray seems to be misaligned.
While wipers may not be the best (although they look great after wiping) I'll switch the blades, however there is definitely something on the windshield, and it's only getting worse because all the road dirt and oil seems to be sticking to the windshield, making it worse every day.
I never had to use anything on my windshield in any of my vehicles, so the using a steel wool would make me nervous.
New wiper may help with cleaning better, but I don't see how it can help make the water slide off or bead without sticking, unless the cause is the wipers not clearing what's on the windshield properly in the first place.
I saw videos on youtube suggesting cleaning twice, clay baring, and finally waxing. I wouldn't really want to wax a windshield, and I am not sure if claying will remove anything windshield needs to have.
Which store, I'll be in Nassau tomorrow (most likely) and non of the AAP's in my area carry them. If you can tell me the size and the store, I'll give them a try. I am OK with rear wiper, except the spray seems to be misaligned.
While wipers may not be the best (although they look great after wiping) I'll switch the blades, however there is definitely something on the windshield, and it's only getting worse because all the road dirt and oil seems to be sticking to the windshield, making it worse every day.
I never had to use anything on my windshield in any of my vehicles, so the using a steel wool would make me nervous.
New wiper may help with cleaning better, but I don't see how it can help make the water slide off or bead without sticking, unless the cause is the wipers not clearing what's on the windshield properly in the first place.
I saw videos on youtube suggesting cleaning twice, clay baring, and finally waxing. I wouldn't really want to wax a windshield, and I am not sure if claying will remove anything windshield needs to have.
As far as a film on the windshield, there very well may be one.. But in my case, all I did was replace the blades and didn't spend anytime scrubbing the windshield because as you know, the weather here hasn't been too conducive for being outside and cleaning anything up until a few days ago.
As soon as I installed the new blades they worked perfect, no noise and cleaned great. So if there was a film on my windshield that was affecting the OEM blades it had no effect on the new blades.. And the best part, the wife is very happy because the chattering was driving her nuts..
Hopefully you get the same results..
01-13-2018, 10:41 AM
#25
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thread Starter
It was an Advance Auto on Jericho out in Huntington, however I'm sure other stores like Autozone, Pep Boys etc would have them.. Even Walmarts have a pretty big selection of replacement blades..
As far as a film on the windshield, there very well may be one.. But in my case, all I did was replace the blades and didn't spend anytime scrubbing the windshield because as you know, the weather here hasn't been too conducive for being outside and cleaning anything up until a few days ago.
As soon as I installed the new blades they worked perfect, no noise and cleaned great. So if there was a film on my windshield that was affecting the OEM blades it had no effect on the new blades.. And the best part, the wife is very happy because the chattering was driving her nuts..
Hopefully you get the same results..
As far as a film on the windshield, there very well may be one.. But in my case, all I did was replace the blades and didn't spend anytime scrubbing the windshield because as you know, the weather here hasn't been too conducive for being outside and cleaning anything up until a few days ago.
As soon as I installed the new blades they worked perfect, no noise and cleaned great. So if there was a film on my windshield that was affecting the OEM blades it had no effect on the new blades.. And the best part, the wife is very happy because the chattering was driving her nuts..
Hopefully you get the same results..
There are several Trico's (Edit, wow, they have 8 different ones), which one did you go with? It's 26/20, right?
01-14-2018, 12:33 PM
#26
AudiWorld Member
Clay bar works well on windshields, as does a basic glass polish.
VW used to send out a complimentary kit that contained 3M clay and some lube in a small spray bottle to owners who complained. However, the polishing routine generally liberates far more crap from windshields that appear to be completely clean.
Regular wiper blade changes are important, too.
VW used to send out a complimentary kit that contained 3M clay and some lube in a small spray bottle to owners who complained. However, the polishing routine generally liberates far more crap from windshields that appear to be completely clean.
Regular wiper blade changes are important, too.
Clay bar is a great idea. Bon Ami cleanser (NOT Comet or another product which will ruin the glass) will work as well. I pay to have the wiper blades changed at each annual service. Audi should include this. Their protocol says "replace if necessary" but it is NEVER included. Steel wool scares me. Seems like it would leave small particles that wear out the blades if not washed off thoroughly.
01-15-2018, 03:45 AM
#27
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thanks, the main difference is my wipers seem to work very well, and it's not raining much, just a drizzle for example, the vision is very clear since there isn't enough water accumulating on windshield. I did have the chatter that you speak of (as well as judder) in the beginning but it went away quickly, it's another reason why I don't want to deep clean because whatever got on the windshield may be making these wipers slide better.
There are several Trico's (Edit, wow, they have 8 different ones), which one did you go with? It's 26/20, right?
There are several Trico's (Edit, wow, they have 8 different ones), which one did you go with? It's 26/20, right?
I went with the Ultra blades, and yes 26/20..
TRICO Ultra: High-performance Beam Blade TRICO® Windshield Wipers
01-15-2018, 04:28 PM
#28
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Join Date: Apr 2008
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For those who went with PIAA, which version did you get?
Aero vouge?
Super Silicone?
S-Tech?
My factory blades streaked from day 1. I have cleaned the blades and used a razor blade on the windshield to try and clean it to no avail.
Aero vouge?
Super Silicone?
S-Tech?
My factory blades streaked from day 1. I have cleaned the blades and used a razor blade on the windshield to try and clean it to no avail.
01-16-2018, 06:33 AM
#29
Glad I read this thread. We've been having snow for the past month and intermittent rain and it seems the road salt is getting caught up in the streaking and so the streaks aren't just water droplets but smeared road salt. Every turn of the wipers seems to smear the salt more unless the rain or snow is heavy and is adding water to it to dilute the salt and move it elsewhere. I thought there was something wrong with my eyes.
Driving at night felt like a hazard since oncoming car lights just made the smeared salt all the more noticeable.
We just replaced a wiper a week ago after it just randomly fell off within a month of ownership. I might try dealing with the windshield before looking to replacing the wipers. Again.
Driving at night felt like a hazard since oncoming car lights just made the smeared salt all the more noticeable.
We just replaced a wiper a week ago after it just randomly fell off within a month of ownership. I might try dealing with the windshield before looking to replacing the wipers. Again.