I recently found that there was a patch towards one corner of the rear screen that wasn’t being cleared by the rear wiper.

Diagnosed this as being down to not enough tension from the wiper arm which in turn was due to the sprung hinge being generally gummed up.

This was pretty straightforward to sort with squirts of some WD40 and a bit of wiggling. If I were to do this job again however I’d make sure that the WD does not dribble down the glass screen from the wiper as I found it was a pig to get off the glass afterwards (had to use some Autoglym glass polish in the end).

Whilst having all this fun I decided to renew the wiper blade. Discovered that my car (built early/mid 2016) in fact takes the newer Bosch A425H. 2016 SDV8 AB

i think the rear wiper must be the most forgotten maintenance item...

good tip re not getting the WD40 on the window....


...also, i find the cheap 'poundshop' 16'' wipers are pretty good. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Yes it’s very common for the rear spring pivot to seize up, so almost zero downforce pushing the blade against the glass. I found it better to remove the arm (see WM in the Wiki above) and treat it with ACF-50 which lasts much longer than WD40. Being off the vehicle allows the joint to be thoroughly manipulated to get it nice & free, and it’s then simplicity to change the blade at the same time. A good job to do now, before Winter sets in!  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” -where’s the fun in that?

It’s not the squirting that’s the problem, it’s the dribbling afterwards!  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” -where’s the fun in that?