windshield wipers..... walmart or lexus?
 

I've had my es300h for a year now and one of the wiper blades is not cleaning properly.

I think i read that it should be changed every 6 months, but i haven't changed them at all. It's garaged at night, but it is outdoors during the day, where it suffers a "Chicago winter"

it is coincidentally time for my 20,000 service

do you guys get your wipers installed at the dealership? or just go to your local walmart/auto repair store? at walmart, it's free installation if you buy the blades from them.....

I wouldn't have a problem using either the dealer or Wal Mart, Auto Zone etc. Just depends on how much you feel like spending. Both types of places can do the job. Each does it all of the time.

Look for Trico Exact Fit blades. I believe they're sold at Advance Auto Parts. Trico has several blades for various conditions such as winter, high speed driving (they don't lift off), summer, etc. These blades will connect to the Lexus factory wipers very easily. Takes about 5 minutes for each change. They cost about half what the Lexus replacements do and you get the entire blade - not just the rubber part. I believe that they also will install them free of charge although I did mine myself.

If you still have the OEM wiper blade assembly, then you have two options:
1) Replace on the the rubber inserts, which you can purchase from Lexus for a reasonable price (~$10 range). This is good value since you maintain the original blade assembly made for your windshield shape you only change out the wear and tear portion. Best to check out Lexus Dealership for your car specific wiper blade insert pricing.
2) Replace the entire wiper blade. This allows you to buy any brands of wiper blades. However, most likely going forward you will have to replace the entire wiper blade again and again since most off the shelf blades don't have rubber inserts being replaceable.

I personally prefer Option 1 if the pricing is reasonable (i.e. $10).

Thanks for the advice on the rubber inserts. Economical and less things to replace :) I'll try getting it done this weekend!

well, i went to the dealership and for the wiper inserts (not the whole blade), they want $28 each.

as in $28 for the L and $28 for the R

no thank you.

Sewell's has them for $28 shipped for a pair......

That's why they call it a stealership...

My blades will be 1 year old in a few days and like my other Lexus vehicles, the blades have outlasted any other brand I have owned previously - they still work as well as they did a year ago. I will stick with Lexus blades when these expire.

For all I know, they could be Bosch or even Trico blades. Toyota buys them from somebody.

Yeah, they probably even use a couple of suppliers to assure availability.

my es300h wiper blades lasted 1 year, but my 2009 camry hybrid blades lasted 3 years, including 1 chicago winter and 2 south dakota winters!

hmm, so maybe spending the extra money for "oem" wiper blade inserts for nothing?

looks like i'll look into consumer reports for wiper blade recs.

I've been using aftermarket wiper blades for years on numerous vehicles. They keep getting better. Bosch, Trico, Rain-X, and many other brands that are available for the specific car and the environment where they'll be used. Some are as expensive as OEM and most aren't. I've found that they fit and operate perfectly. I don't understand why Lexus would charge $56.00 for INSERTS! This is why people buy aftermarket parts. CR should steer you in the right direction...

As someone who spent 40+ years in the automotive aftermarket before retirement and sold thousands of wipers, I would highly recommend the OEM rubber inserts provided you still have your original blades. It is a simple 5 minute job to replace them yourself. I just replaced the inserts on my 2010 Acura for under $15 and will do the same on my Lexus when they need it. Before replacing your blades, you might try soaking a cloth in rubbing alcohol and cleaning them well. Many times, this makes them work like new.

Good advice! It really works!

I do this as needed and regularly get 2-3 years or more from blades.