Purchased a 2009 RX with 48,000 miles on it. When I took it to Lexus dealership for 50,000 mile service I asked to have the windshield wiper blades replaced. The service technician said the wipers were an aftermarket brand and he couldn't replace the rubber insert so he replaced the wiper blades with another aftermarket brand.
I'm confused as to why the previous owner would have replaced the wipers with an aftermarket brand when apparently the OEM brand can just have the rubber insert replaced? Are the OEM rubber inserts so expensive that someone would replace the wiper blades with an aftermarket wiper?

 

No telling. Previous owner may have perceived a benefit to the aftermarket wipers for various reasons or could have been unaware that the OEM's had refills. Your dealership may have not had the refills, could not order the refills or may have not been able to identify who made the wiper and what refills to order, if available. Aftermarket does not necessarily mean that refills are not available.

We're not using OEM wipers on our RX and there are refills available for our wipers. I just recently replaced them.

 

I replaced my front OEM wipers with aftermarkets. There is no cost/benefit for me to drive an hour in each direction to the dealership for refills. I've messed with refills before, IMO swapping the whole blade out is faster and less hassle.

 

I know our local dealer does not stock the inserts and tries to sell you the whole wiper blade at about $45 a pop! You can buy several really nice aftermarket blades for that price!

 

My original wipers were faded so I replaced them with these. They work a little better than the OEMs with new inserts because the springs that push them down are always new.

 

About a month or so ago I replaced front OEM wipers with aftermarkets from Costco. Impressed with the quality, Goodyear.

There was no cost benefit to me, not to mention that when I went to the Lexus dealer to inquire about the refills they were totally out of stock and had to be special ordered. I needed the wipers same day plus Costco had them in stock.

 

+1 Robbyk

V/r

Khoi Nguyen

 

On my RX, I replaced mine with frameless single beam wiper blades just on look alone! I hated the high ugly looking old spider design's my car came with.

On the other hand I had no idea that I could have replaced only the inserts on my GS. I actually liked the stock blade design. Probably would have saved 10 bucks with inserts instead of getting my favorite Bosch Icon's from Walmart.

 

So, Toyota USED to stock replacement inserts for their wipers. They were about $8 each. However, Toyota no longer makes replacement inserts for their wipers. This is across all 3 brands (Toyota, Lexus, and Scion). This is why dealers only sell aftermarket wipers now. Dealers make more money selling aftermarket wipers I guess. So you are forced to buy aftermarket wipers now. I suggest Costco, Amazon, or any local auto parts store for wipers.

 

Have you got a picture of what this frame-less design looks like? Luckily for us down under, the local car shop (read chain) sells refills for a number of vehicles.

 

The Toyota/Lexus dealer in Kendall Miami has the inserts. I just bought a pair. With tax, about $19. They work very well. In fact, I tried Bosch Icons (on strong recommendations at this Forum) and, though I much prefer their frameless form factor, I find that the OEM wipers wipe better, more consistently and for longer.

 

Bosch Icons, can not go wrong with them.

 

Good blade for a premium brand. I have had better luck with PIAA Super Silicone and noticed they last longer too.

Both the PIAA and Bosch are pricey. However these frameless design blades are the best performing blades for the money. Not sure on the longevity of their rubber compounds though.
Currently i've got a set of Goodyear branded frameless blades from Costco on the RX350 and a cheap ebay frameless set on the RX300. So far they have been performing very well.

 

I prefer PIAA as well but there are plenty of good options out there.

 

+1 for Bosch Icons