Passenger wiper becomes useless in cold weather

[flyrv9]

Depending on what the dealer says, another option to try is to stick something under the hook part of the spring making it stretch longer and increase the force on the glass.

 

[nb rob]

I know his forum is in love with the stock wiper arms,
But winter blades exist for a reason.

Try the Bosch icons.

 

[hasoon2000]

Happens to mine in snow storms. I am going to try Bosch blades. I also get ice build up so thick on the base of drivers side arm it snaps and thunks with each wipe. I have to spray silicone on it before driving in a storm. Only way to keep ice build up off windshield is to blast defrost on high heat causing me to sweat my ass off.

P.S. I think it has something to do with the curvature of the glass on passenger side. I've driven through some intense storms and fortunately the driver's side does not ice up.

I'll save you the some money. I only use Bosch Icons and it happens to me still.

 

[jrandom]

From the responses above it seems you're definitely not alone! What year are the 4Runners are having this issue? (within the 5th gen)

2013 and has happened since it was new... not that extreme, only a small swath missed.



Curious about the spring length idea...


lol I wonder about people with right-hand drive 4runnners, does the factory flip the wipers so they are inverse of left-hand drive wipers, they must, else RH drivers couldn't see where they were going. Which leads to the question do they have the same issue with their passenger sides.

 

[scanny]

I have similar issue with passenger side wiper. Center of the wiper doesn't touch window when below zero temperature outside. My theory is that ice builds up inside the assembly preventing ends spread out properly and as a result middle of the wiper doesn't have good contact with glass. Probably since driver side wiper is a little longer it has more leverage and ice breaks due to that force.

Anyway, when it's cold I just grab passenger wiper by the end and gently bent it backwards, then do the same for other end. It helps in most of the cases, but I guess that permanent solution would be replace blades. I thought that it's an issues only for 2010 and surprised it's not fixed in later models by Toyota.

 

[engineeer]

Took it into the dealer today and they unsurprisingly recommended that it will be fixed by replacing the wiper blade insert.

I had them replace the insert and will be driving up to the mountains tomorrow, so we'll see if it fixes the issue or not.

 

[catrains]

on my 2016 I replaced the wiper blades and its working .. the OEM blades too small short so in cold and snow do not wipe tight to glass. try different blades with a higher blade .

up in the cold snowy North east this is a 4 month issue every year.

 

[sf jakey]

My 16does the exact same in the exact same environment. My recommendation is that all the Bay Area and Sacremento people NEVER come to Truckee or Tahoe in a storm or on weekends. At least that will solve my bigger problem!
Yes Im from the Bay Area also! I just figure since Ive had a house there longer than 90% of the residents, I can hate all the new people also!

 

[bofa]

Weird... I never had this issue in my 2012 and haven't experienced it in the 2016. The 2012 had aftermarket blades and I've stuck with OEM on the 2016. Actual temps here vary between single digits and low 100s and the window clears just fine. (Also FWIW I've not had any performance problems with the OEM inserts in extreme weather). It is garaged at night but usually outside all day. I vote mechanical too. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[4REIGN3R]

I know his forum is in love with the stock wiper arms,
But winter blades exist for a reason.

Try the Bosch icons.

True but that being said, if the driver side OEM blade is wiping fine, so should the passenger side.

I know I'll be changing over the the Icons for next winter :bravo:

 

[WVhillbilly]

Passenger side of the windshield has a lot more curve to it.
Try a better blade, if that doesn't help then the wiper arm needs replaced.

 

[engineeer]

Update: I didn't believe it would help, but swapping out the wiper insert did the trick. Apparently I had a defective wiper insert from the time the vehicle was new. Not entirely surprising as the 4Runner also pulled hard right with 4 miles on the ODO.

Took my 4Runner up to the mountains this past weekend and the passenger wiper worked properly the entire time.

It did develop some "no wipe" areas along the blade due to ice buildup, but a quick splash of wiper fluid cleared it up.

 

[e60ral]

isn't the no wipe area what you were talking about from the beginning?

 

[engineeer]

isn't the no wipe area what you were talking about from the beginning?

The no wipe area I was talking about in the beginning (and posted a video of) was almost the entire length of the wiper and not at all related to ice buildup.

The "no wipe" area I experienced this past weekend (with the new wiper insert) was a short length near the tip of the blade and was due to ice buildup.