Its been raining here and I noticed that my rear windshield wiper isn't working great. At first the wiper would miss a patch of water in the middle of its sweep as it failed to make contact. Then it started making the squeaking noise (the wiper blade squeaked), now I'm having issues with it even completing a sweep.

The wiper arm will go through its sweep but on the return it would get caught up and stuck halfway up the rear glass. Turning it on/off or trying varying speeds failed to make it get un-stuck. It wont get stuck if there is a huge amount of water on the window, but if I leave it on it will get stuck (unless I'm on the highway where there is enough water being flicked up to keep it lubricated). The wiper blade hasn't been replaced in at least a year, but it still looks fine.

My guess is that I need a new wiper blade. Is there any way I could replace the rubber part with a silicone insert since they last longer?

Believe it or not yes, there actually are some out there where the blade can simply be replaced, but I'm not sure if they come in 14in or whatever the rear wiper is. I can't remember who makes them - probably Rain-X or someone - I lost a lot of interest when I saw their $30 price tag. But I definitely saw them before in a Purcell Tire a year or two back

i've always been unhappy with visibility out the rear window in winter weather, that little rear wiper is not much. what works really well for me is to clean the glass with "weiman glass cooktop cleaner" you can buy it at the grocery store or walmart and it comes with a tool that uses cleaning pads. after you get the glass really clean and smooth, wipe it down with isopropyl alcohol. i buy the brand "PIAA" silicone wiper refills from summit racing, and i just cut it to fit, they come with a silicone wiping cloth to wipe the glass down when you install the new silicone wiper refill. it works really well, i do my windshield that way too and the wipers glide really smoothly across the glass and wipe the water away completely with no streaks.

i dont want to sound too obsessive compulsive but this really helps! summit racing part # PIAA-94033 $8.99 each 13" silicone refill

The hill across the way, Mt Tam, just got 17" of rain in 48 hours so I believe I will also look into my wipers after over a year of dust running. All the leaks in my rig have now lubricated the dust deposits (can't wait for my vent kit) and it has a most peculiar interior odor....

I have the same issue on my 92. When I pulled the plastic top panel covering the rear wiper motor. I noticed a white plastic link connecting two parts of the linkage broken. Don't think I'll be able to source just that piece or if it's serviceable. I always thought the way the rear wiper was odd, until seeing in a video that it should clean the entire back glass

For anyone in need of the OEM p/n for the replacement of their rear windshield wiper, it's going to be 85242-35010. This is for the 3rd gen.

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