Replacement wipers question

hamproof

Member
Hi,
Barely a year into ownership, I find myself having to replace the wipers. It's even garaged every day to boot. Anyway, it appears the OEM wipers have their own assembly with a fancy plastic cover (I assume for aerodynamic and reduce wind noise - similar to some Audi, Acura etc.).

Do you folks just buy inserts and re-use the metal stiffener and frame? Or buy entire wiper replacement unit? I haven't tried to see if I can actually remove the frame from the hanger. I bought some inserts and replace the passenger side just a couple of months ago, and looks like it is not working as well either. Store ran out of the 24" (IIRC) on the driver side. I've cleaned the windshield with Windex and wipe it with Rain-X as well.

On a recent trip, it was pouring like crazy and the wipers weren't doing their job :(
 
yes, they are aerodynamic and also reduces ice/snow build up... it is very difficult to find aftermarket inserts for this car... most american style wiper blades are 3/8" wide (9mm) but these new japanese blades use 10mm rubber... this means you can't find them at the store, and they use metal stiffeners instead of the plastic backed ones you typically find in an aftermarket 9mm insert

using the wrong inserts will cause chattering and poor performance, so don't try to fit the aftermarket ones in... the ends are also shaped wrong and won't clip on either (I tried)

AFAIK, the only inserts available at the store are the very common 3/8" ones and the old japanese style 6mm ones (not as easily found)... so you're going to have to go to the dealer for these inserts

I don't recommend replacing these with crappy conventional wiper blades as they don't look good and have poorer performance... you can try the super expensive frameless blades like the bosch icons, but they're really not worth the money IMO
 
Thanks for the info. How much roughly does the insert only cost from the dealer?

This might explain the poor performance on my aftermarket insert on the passenger side.
 
wiper refils

I ordered OEM replacments from Mazdapartscheap.com. Ther were $21.00 shipped to my home. I loike the OEM wiper design so I went with the refill.
 
I just replaced the originals with the Rain X Latitude blades. They work very well and I do not notice anymore noise than the stock blades.
 
Supposedly within the first year, I should get free refills if they are worn out. I'm going to test this out, as mine were worn and I had bought aftermarket ones. Actually entire unit and only taking out the rubber so I can retain the original casing.

I'm going in tomorrow to get the wiring harness recall done. Will see if they will actually give me the free refills.

I usually don't like to deal with dealerships having not been to one for 7 years now. But this is a safety recall and I got no choice.

First call to a dealership, service guy asked me if I bought the car from them, I said no ... he said, he'll call me back to take my info. Haven't heard from him since this morning :( Not a good sign of things to come.

Later in the afternoon, decided to call another dealership. Same question, put me on hold for few minutes and said to bring it in tomorrow.
 
Looks like wipers are indeed free. But the dealership I went to didn't have them in stock. So he ordered them. Sucks I have to be there next time as they need the old wiper assembly back (the hanger portion, not the arm). I thought they just the inserts back.
 
Honestly, while they really are required to replace them within 1 year, you seemed to have found a nice dealer that did not give you a hassle. I would keep that dealer!!!
 
CX9 wiper replacement

As usual, the dealership wants two arms and two legs to get replacement inserts for the CX9. I headed online to AMAZON.COM and bought Anco Contours C26UB for the drivers side and Anco Contour C17UB for the passenger side. Both installed with no adapters. I also bought a Valeo R-14H 14" rear wiper that was a perfect fit. Next time I'm going to Valeos for the front since I hear they are the original equipment supplier wipers. Go to www.valeowipersusa.com (make sure you put the "s" after "wiper")and you will see they do look original. But the Anco Contours work also. I couldn't find the just the rubber refills, so I bought the whole thing.
 
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Haven't posted in a long time. Now I know why I don't go to dealership. I was suppose to get the free wiper replacement. Service guy said he would order them and then call me. A year later, and no call. I guess I can't expect much from dealership, let alone Mazda.

On the wire harness recall, I should add when I got it back, the trim panels were out of alignment (no longer sitting flush) and I got some grease smudges all around the seat, dash trims and door armrest.

At the same time last year, I also brought my own oil and filter to have them do an oil change. I normally do these things myself. Anyway, when I do my oil change this past weekend (yes, I change oil once a year ;) the darn oil filter won't even budge. I normally use the Fram brand with the rough edges on the end for grip. Had to buy an adapter that uses a socket wrench. That didn't work either. Damn service guy overtighten it. After getting a longer socket wrench, I finally got enough leverage to loosen.

NEVER ever go to dealership or anywhere else if you can DIY.

Anyway, 5.5qts of Mobil1 and a 3/4 turn from contact of the filter, I'm done. After almost 2 years of ownership, running through 2 winters in Michigan, the Duellers are still good. Who was that fellow who claims the Duellers are terrible again? ;)

I'm done with using the factory wiper assembly. Have been using GoodYear wipers from Costco for <$10. Works much better than the premium stuff from Rain-X or Bosch for half the price.
 
The fronts can be replaced with aftermarket as they are like the regular hook design. The rear i had to buy from mazda. When i took the rear one off i noticed that it wasn't like the front the way the blade went in to the arm. The front arms are like my ford windstars. The rear blade was 15 bucks from mazda. Even though it is a lot of money i got 3 years out of my original wiper blades.
 
Rear wiper removal procedure?

How do you get the rear wiper off? I was looking at the manual and my rear wiper does not flip up as they indicated. You pivot the wiper up by an inch or so, but that's about it. Does it lift up further if I try harder or should I be doing something else?

I have a replacement wiper blade and assembly that I want to put on.

Thanks in advance.
 
Figured it out... Need to remove the center cap first, so that the wiper can flip up further.
 
The dealer replaced the wiper blades for me when I took it in for service. They put Rain-X blades on which were horrible. They squeaked, chattered, and streaked so bad I couldn't stand it any more so I replaced them with Bosch blades. They are much better.
 
I'm done with using the factory wiper assembly. Have been using GoodYear wipers from Costco for <$10. Works much better than the premium stuff from Rain-X or Bosch for half the price.

I went with the Goodyear wipers from Costco and couldn't be less satisfied. Less than 2 weeks and already seeing streaks all over the place on both the driver side (long) and passenger side (short) wiper. They are particularly bad on a dry windshield that needs to be cleaned or when they have some dirt, pollen, leaves, etc. on them. Stuff that usually disappears with a couple wipes on other blades seems to stay forever on these causing multiple huge streaks. I've had this style wiper before on other cars (Valeo) and was quite happy but I saved the OEM wipers and I'm going to have to find inserts for them. I figured inserts were hard to find and the Costco wipers were cheap so it was worth a try. I typically find that Costco has good quality stuff but these wipers are a disappointment.
Anyone have a good source for inserts?
 
My 2008 CX9 uses 26" wipers on the driver's side and 17" on the passenger side. Change to new ones just before the rainy season begins. Otherwise when the first rain comes, then anyone who didn't change their wipers will find the local autoparts store probably won't have your size. If this happens (as a temporary fix), you can use different size wipers. In my case, a 24" on the driver's side and a 19" on the passenger side works just as well. I change back to the 26" but left the 19" on since it cleared a larger surface area. By the way, I used Anco Contours since they have that aerodynamic profile like the originals did. They're still cheaper than the dealer part.
 
I went with the Goodyear wipers from Costco and couldn't be less satisfied. Less than 2 weeks and already seeing streaks all over the place on both the driver side (long) and passenger side (short) wiper. They are particularly bad on a dry windshield that needs to be cleaned or when they have some dirt, pollen, leaves, etc. on them. Stuff that usually disappears with a couple wipes on other blades seems to stay forever on these causing multiple huge streaks. I've had this style wiper before on other cars (Valeo) and was quite happy but I saved the OEM wipers and I'm going to have to find inserts for them. I figured inserts were hard to find and the Costco wipers were cheap so it was worth a try. I typically find that Costco has good quality stuff but these wipers are a disappointment.
Anyone have a good source for inserts?

I agree with this assessment about the Goodyear wipers from Costco. They don't seem to work well on the CX-9, which is unusual since they work quite well on my 2007 VW GLI. I also saved the CX-9 OEM wipers and I'll just buy a generic set of wipers and swap out the wiper inserts.
 
For the best prices go to DealerDirect Parts.com to order OEM Refills:
MAZDA-4377222-CX9-SP-4 for the Front Right Windshield Wiper Blade OEM Refill @ $5.81
MAZDA-4270322-CX9-TOUR-4 for the Front Left Windshield Wiper Blade OEM Refill @ $6.06
MAZDA-4376502-3-S-4 for the Rear Windshield Wiper Blade OEM Refill @ $6.05

I just replaced all three blade inserts with OEM parts for less the half the price of 1 OEM wiper blade. The OEM insert replacements work BETTER than aftermarket. Most dealers will only sell you the ENTIRE blade assembly but the inserts are available if you ask.

FYI, The OEM part numbers are:
TD1267333 (passenger side) @ $11.24
EG2167333 (drivers side) @ $11.27
G22E67333 (rear) @ $11.24
 
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For the best prices go to DealerDirect Parts.com to order OEM Refills:
MAZDA-4377222-CX9-SP-4 for the Front Right Windshield Wiper Blade OEM Refill @ $5.81
MAZDA-4270322-CX9-TOUR-4 for the Front Left Windshield Wiper Blade OEM Refill @ $6.06
MAZDA-4376502-3-S-4 for the Rear Windshield Wiper Blade OEM Refill @ $6.05

I just replaced all three blade inserts with OEM parts for less the half the price of 1 OEM wiper blade. The OEM insert replacements work BETTER than aftermarket. Most dealers will only sell you the ENTIRE blade assembly but the inserts are available if you ask.

FYI, The OEM part numbers are:
TD1267333 (passenger side) @ $11.24
EG2167333 (drivers side) @ $11.27
G22E67333 (rear) @ $11.24

thanks for this ^ very helpful. Though DealerDirect Parts.com is no longer in business. I ordered them from mazda USA parts.com.
 
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