Does anyone know if the rear wiper blade pressure can be adjusted? The rear wiper on my 4Runner isnt making enough contact with the window to make a full swipe. Maybe a replacement spring? I replaced the wiper insert with my last oil change...didnt fix the problem. Thanks for the help folks!

happened to me when I got mine new (to me). Anyway, I replaced the whole assembly and all was back to normal (100% contact). Cost something like $30 (something like that at Toyota) i don't think you can "adjust" the rear wiper.

Try just replacing the blade assembly. You should be good to go.

Looks like I will be paying a visit to my local parts department then. I'll have to take a closer look at what's causing the issue before I give the dealership any of my money though!

Did you just replace the wiper arm that connects to the motor? my wiper is awful...

I'd certainly try that first. Oftentimes, just replaceing the insert won't do. The blade assy itself provides some of the contact pressure.

There is no real adjustment to this rear wiper arm/blade. The arm typically gets pulled from car washes. I do have a permanent fix for this though. You'll need to pull the entire arm off the splined motor shaft. But first, remove the plastic end cap by slightly spreading the sides and slipping it off the end of the arm. Loosen the nut and with a small pulley, remove the whole arm from the splined motor shaft. Dissasemble the entire arm by carefully bending the blade arm away from the arm itself. It will come off, just don't force it too much. Turn the arm over and remove the spring between the long and short arm sections. Carefull, this spring is tough and you'll need to use some force. The repair consists of two steps. First, bend the spring ever so slightly to shorten the overall length of the spring. Just slightly. This will put a little more downforce pressure on the arm to the glass. Now for the big part. Notice how the arm works without the spring. The arm pivots in the center against the small arm section. There is a flange that stops the arms movement against the spring's force. That stop flange needs to be shaved so that the arm closes further (1/4" slightly yields decreased angle to the window). This shaving off of 1/4" from the stop, will make the arm apply greater pressure/travel to the window itself thereby pressing the wiper blade against the window nicely. Reassemble and reistall the arm. Problem should be corrected forever. I've done it to mine and it works great now, better than new. Puts nice down pressure against the window to wipe nicely, and returns nicely to the rest position. Good luck......let me know how you make out.....

I also did this mod, and it worked great. Took all of 5-10 min. I did not even remove spring. I just bent arm at elbow and used small dremel grinding wheel to shave off stops and chisel to pop them out.

x2 on what Dave said.

If you bend the arm back at the hinge, exposing the vertex, you can file/cut/saw down the contact points.

Cutting down the contact points allows the spring to then be able to pull the arm farther in, closer to the window. Doing this enough will eventually get you to the perfect spot.

Make sure you dont cut too much off. If you do and it tries to reseat the arm after the wiping process it may be pulled too far in to slide abck down into the arm holder on the door. The arm needs a little natural bump-spacing in order to get back to the holder position when it's not being used.

Another thing to look at is the actual pivot hinge on the arm. In many cases, this joint gets rusty, and tends to restrict the springs ability to pull the arm/blade against the window glass. Because the arm is pulled out when the wiper arm is at rest, if this joint is rusted, it tends to stay in that position. I have found that spraying the joint with WD-40 or PB blaster, and working it a few times frees up the arm and it works as it should. Or you could just replace the arm, as others have suggested.

Okay I don't know what to shave, is it the part that I have circled? This thread has baffled me for years and I am finally taking the plunge. Also happy belated halloween according to my tablecloth. Looks like the previous owner may have tried this already!

I cant see your picture at the moment, but if you bend the wiper back and then slowly close it again you will see where it comes in contact with the base. This is the part you shave down so that it can close more.

yep. that's it.

I have personally done this. the wiper works as its now!

there's also this option, $16.50 for two shipped.

http://surewipe.com/products/

Oh yeah I heard about that ;)

Rear Wiper arm problem solved