robish4

When I bought my car in March, it came with a set of Bosch MicroEdge wipers. After not having a great experience with them, I decided to let the dealership replace my wipers when I got my oil changed.

TOTALLY, different experience with thd OEM blades. I love them. I may try to experiment with other brands down the line, but I'm completely satisfied with my wipers now.

AJT123

Use OEM.....they're like $12 each. They work wonderfully.

Johnhav430

I tend to like OEM, BUT. BUT what? I noticed my car had Rain X blade wipers, so I couldn't simply buy inserts anymore. Since Valeo is the OEM for my BMW and my wife's SUV, I decided to get Valeo ONE FIRSTs for the LS. When comparing the Valeos to the BMW OEM, they are identical, with the Valeos costing less than 50%. So I trust the name. If my tires are gonna be French, then might as well have the wiper blades as well!

Gronemus

I wish I could find them for $12 each around here...

AJT123

Hmmm that's strange. I don't remember the exact amount but I know for a fact I went to the dealer and paid less than $25, and they installed them too.

Gronemus

Actually I guess that's quite possible if they only installed wiper refills. Did you already have OEM blades on your car? When I picked up my LS back in October it had some aftermarket set of blades on the car and if I wanted to go back to OEM blades it would have been over $40 for the pair of wipers...

echo5rome0

I was told you can go to the Lexus dealer and purchase the wiper blade insert for only $3, they will try to sell you the entire wiper but the have the option for only purchasing the blade insert. I haven't tried it myself as I just got my first LS430 a few days ago with fairly new wipers. Ill go by the dealer and check to see if this is true since the dealer is a few blocks from where I live. I will let you all know my findings and if I purchase a pair just for the sake of it, I'll post a photo with the receipt as proof.

bradland

It's definitely true.
8521450061 and 8521450100
About $6 or $7 depending on your dealer.
Obviously you must have the entire Toyota/Lexus wiper assembly FIRST.
Your local Toyota dealer sells them as well...

Johnhav430

In a way I wish the original owners wouldn't throw those away, as they seem to do with the brake shims....at the same time the beam blades that everyone now uses seem to apply pressure very well, maybe even better than originals...I do remember the original assy's on my Nissan, and they generally didn't work as well as replacements/beams....

Kweigel

Just called my local dealer - 22 and change for the Passenger side blade w/refill, a little more for the Driver's side, about 55.00 for the whole shot.
My mechanic just put on new Toyota beam style blades on my new to me '04, replacing some worn out aftermarket blades. They seem to wipe ok, but not totally smooth and silent , like the factory blades on my old '02.
I can't bear to just throw them away, though. Eventually, I guess I'll go back to factory. They were real Niiiiiiiice. It's also nice to just change refills, much cheaper, and more satisfying (less waste).

Kweigel

My local mechanic put on a set of Toyota SightLine Blades for me. Brand new, out of the box.
They were terrible! Squeaks, chatters, uneven wiping, not cleaning. Worst wiper blades I've ever had.
Went to Lexus Service. The Posh Palace of Premium Motorcoach Maintenance.
58.00 later, had new Lexus blades. They install them free if you drive up behind the big fancy garage, at the service area. Otherwise, they'll try to charge you!
Lexus Blades - Utter Perfection. totally wipe all of the glass, no squeak, no chatter, no sound at all.
Yeah, they cost money...but the refill rubbers will be cheap!
Only way to get the true Premium Motor Coach Experience!!!

Giving the SightLines back to the mechanic. He can put them on someone's car that he really hates!

Johnhav430

I guess my choices are limited in that my maximum for wipers is $15 per side, and when I think about it beam type blades were newer when the LS was new. So maybe going to the beam makes sense.

the $15 criteria puts BMW OE out of my reach, but Valeo Ultimate is essentially the same, just not in a BMW box. On the LS430, got a chance to try out the Valeo One's, cost $11 for the driver side, $13 for the pass (go figure). Very uneventful, they work. This isn't a case like on my wife's SUV, where aftermarket is no good, simply because she has the pinch tabs and aftermarket requires an adapter which changes the angle of the arm. On hers, eBay to the rescue--$26 list ea. for OE refills. A dealer in NM sells them for $15, free 2-day FedEx (how do they afford that)....imho wipers have to work well, they're important, but one doesn't need to spend more than $15 a side....

jayclapp

Spending even $50 a year for wiper blades is nothing, around $4 per month. Big deal. Go with Lexus refills, forget about it, and enjoy the clean vision.

Johnhav430

Instant gratification or gratification in general is awesome. I often apply the MC v. MB to a decision. I'd be willing to bet the Valeos Ones, which are a 2015 design, are better than 2001 OE technology. Why pay more, for something that performs less well, is how I see it. In the case of BMW, if Valeo is OEM, again, why pay $40 when the non-branded is $15. To each his own

p.s. once adapters are needed, then I would gravitate towards OE, because adapters necessarily change the angle of the arm

FILTHEE

Shortly after buying my car, I needed to get wipers ASAP before a storm because mine were completely shot. They were aftermarket, so OE refills were not an immediate option and I couldn't find the right size Bosch Icons locally. I decided to just buy some cheap Kleenview ones from Advance Auto for $13.88 OTD for the pair.

I expected them to be mediocre at best given the price but I wasn't too concerned with it being a temporary solution. I was surprised to see that they performed much better than some Michelin Hybrids I had used in the past and worked just as well as the Bosch Excel+ I had on another car.

I live in Arizona, so it doesn't rain very much. My wipers are mainly used to clean the windshield after overnight dust storms or to clean bugs but have also worked well during a downpour. So for my needs, these inexpensive wipers have served me well in the past couple of months, so much so that I never ended up ordering OE replacement blades. If I get 6 months out of these wipers I will be happy and continue to use them.