Wiper Blades

bartman146 · 09-23-2009, 04:34 PM

I finally got around to getting new wiper blades for my 09 Borrego LX 4x4. I bought it in Jan 09, so they are about ready to be changed for winter. I looked around the internet and found out that the driver side blade is 24 inches and the passenger side is 20 inches. I couldn't find anything about the rear blade online. I stopped at walmart and took the front two blades off and measured them to make sure and they were 24 and 20 inches. Thankfully they used the "hook" shaped connector because I've talked to guys at auto parts stores and they said it might be some weird type of connector. I took the rear blade off and it has some funky connector I've never seen before, and it measured 14 inches.
In walmart I found the standard low priced brand blades along with some very expensive ones. I settled on Michelin Radius blades. They are the ones without the metal frames. The OEM blades have some sort of fancy plastic covering on them, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to find anything like them, but the Michelin ones look pretty good compared to the $2.99 cheapos. The driver and passenger side blades were each $12.97 plus tax, about double what I usually spend per blade. I went back out to the Borrego and they snaped right on and look and work great!! I went to the Michelin Radius website and they have a $10 mail in rebate for buying two blades at walmart; the rebate expires 9-30-09.
Now to the back wiper blade. I stopped at Auto Zone and they said that it was a special blade that I'd have to get from the dealership. So I drove about 15 minutes to the dealership I bought the truck from. The parts guy said that he'd have to order it and it would be like $18.99 plus tax. I said ok and order it, so hopefully its the right one when it gets in. I can't believe that the 14 inch rear wiper blade would be almost $20!! I took some pictures of the hook rear wiper connector and the front "hook" connector along with the new Michelin Radius blades.

smuook · 09-23-2009, 05:38 PM

According to Kiaparts.com, you can order the following parts for the rear wiper from the pic below:

5 - wiper insert: $3.66
4 - wiper blade: $3.66
1 - wiper arm: $31.10

Seems to me you would only need the insert.

smuook · 09-23-2009, 05:41 PM

Your Michelin blades look good... how do they work?

Just as a note, front blade cost is as follows from Kiaparts.com

Right - $14.64
Left - $17.08

bartman146 · 09-23-2009, 06:00 PM

I was thinking of replacing just the wiper insert on the rear wiper blade, but I was afraid of breaking the plastic case. There could be an easy way of getting it out, but I'm just afraid of breaking something.

The new Michelin blades work great so far. They held up through the car wash, but I'm still waiting for a big rain to see how they do in it. I also want to see how they do in snow and ice. Since they don't have any joints they should do well because they won't freeze up as much.

I didn't order my blades from the internet because I wanted to make sure that they fit correctly. I've ordered an oil filter for the Borrego and they sent me the wrong one and it took 2 weeks to get an exchange.

I also apply Rain-X every three months or so. I wouldn't want to drive a car without it on. I even applied it to my rental car after someone hit my Borrego a month ago.

bartman146 · 10-22-2009, 07:06 PM

I've been in some good rain since putting on the new blades and they work great. They work so well that I got a pair for my wife's Spectra.

bartman146 · 10-26-2009, 04:46 PM

I hadn't received a phone call from the dealership about the back wiper blade since I first posted this thread. I had forgotten to get a hold of them for awhile, so I stopped there today to see if it came in and guess what?? They still did not have it in, and no explanation why!!!! They parts guy said it would take a day or two to get! I'm about sick and tired of the dealership I've been going to (same place I bought my Borrego). I hope they get it in or I'm going to start going to a different Kia dealership!!

bartman146 · 10-28-2009, 04:13 PM

Finally got the rear blade. Too bad it was $18.99 plus tax, but oh well. Part number: 983601G000 from Kia parts.

bartman146 · 02-12-2010, 03:30 PM

I just bought a pair of the Michelin Radius wiper blades for my wife's 06 Spectra. I went online and found out that they still have the mail-in rebate for $10 if you buy a pair at Walmart. The rebate is good until June 30th, 2010. They say one rebate per household, and I bought a pair last year. I called the rebate place and they said to use a different address so that I can still get the rebate, so I'm having it sent to my parents house. Here is the website: Pylon Manufacturing Corporation . They're still $12.97 a pair, but are worth it. The pair I bought for my Borrego in September are still working great, even after heavy rain and snow! They handle ice, snow, and the ice scrapper very well!

Rick2456 · 02-12-2010, 09:58 PM

Trico makes a replacement rear wiper blade for Borrego. It snaps on and off very easily. Takes about a minute, if that. It is called the Trico Exact Fit, part number 14-A. Costs about $12 and looks like a carbon copy of the original wiper blade. Nice thing was, the same blade also fits the rear wiper of my 07 Santa Fe SE AWD, thus I changed both trucks at the same time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smuook

According to Kiaparts.com, you can order the following parts for the rear wiper from the pic below:

5 - wiper insert: $3.66
4 - wiper blade: $3.66
1 - wiper arm: $31.10

Seems to me you would only need the insert.