Wipers on '07 Sonata

Is it just me, or are the wiper blades on the 07 Sonata the worst ever for
winter driving?

They seem just fine for rain, but once it turned cold, the wipers do not do
nearly as good a job as other cars I have driven. They leave large areas
missed when trying to wash off the road spray or water when near the
freezing point. It is as if there is not enough pressure across the entire
blade for a good wipe. I use the Prestone fluid good for the very low
temperature as I do in my other cars for years. The defroster does not
help much.

My guess is that the dealer will replace them if I complain, but a new set
of the same blade is still going to be lousy. Guess I should just get a
decent set of replacements.

 

My '06 is the same way. Worst defroster I've ever seen -there's
nearly no effect until the car is totally warmed up which takes
forever, and the wipers are marginal at best on rain and useless on
frost.

I thought I'd solved the problem by using an non-freezing deicer in
the washer tank, but during my last oil change the dealer apparently
decided plain old water was suitable for topping it up. First cold
morning after that, I suddenly had a car with built-in ice spayers
rather than de-icers. oh joy.

 

I'm not impressed with my 06 in this regard as I mentioned a year or so
ago. I believe the main issue is a lousy defroster, but wiper pressure
may be a consideration also, but mine leave a thin film of ice and I
think this is because the windshield is too cold. No amount of wiper
pressure will remove ice from the windshield!

And my Sonata will leave a band of fog across the inside of the
windshield if I don't consciously breath downward until the car is fully
warmed. And if I have four people in the car, the windshield top and
side windows never clear. This is the worst defroster I've had since my
original VW Beetles from the 70s.


Matt

 

Hello Edwin,

EP> Is it just me, or are the wiper blades on the 07 Sonata the worst
EP> ever for winter driving?
EP>
EP> They seem just fine for rain, but once it turned cold, the wipers do
EP> not do nearly as good a job as other cars I have driven. They leave
EP> large areas missed when trying to wash off the road spray or water
EP> when near the freezing point. It is as if there is not enough
EP> pressure across the entire blade for a good wipe.

Ed, it sounds like you have the regular wiper blades on the car -- the ones
with the open profile.

Winter blades have a rubber boot totally enclosing the wiper blade mechanism,
and this prevents moisture from getting to the levers and pins which contitute
that mechanism. Result -- excellent flexure of the business end of the wiper
and hence a better wipe. When moisture and water get to the pins and levers
of the open profile regular blades they can freeze up and cause reduced flexibility
to the blade element, hence the problem.

Here is a good writeup --

http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObj...ome.Owners.Parts.WiperBlades&language=english

Regards,
Wayne Mose

 

I never bothered with them in the past, but certainly will for next winter.
Only a few more weeks and it will be done for this year.
Checking on line, Auto Zone and Advanced do not list blades for the Sonata.
NAPA though, sell them individually and has both regular and winter blades.

 

So far, inside has been OK but I've not had four people in the right
conditions. As for the worst, my '64 Karmann Ghia. I carried an ice scraper
for the inside.

 

You will be amazed at their efficacy. The beauty about this, like
winter tires, is that at the end of the winter you take them off and
place the regular ones back on and that way they last for years.

So go ahead an buy them now -- no sense in getting crappy wipes for
the balance of the current winter.

Best Regards,
Wayne Moses | Houston, Texas
2005 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6 5-speed

 

I also am a firm believer in Winter blades for Winter driving. They do work
and if you face Winter weather even just a little bit, they are worth the
money.

But I don't know which set of wipers you thought would last for years.
Certainly the Winter ones don't. By the time Spring rolls around, the
Winter blades on my vehicles are absolutely shot - the boot is often torn,
and the wiping efficiency has deteriorated noticably.

In addition, because of the sealed unit, air can't blow through them, and
when the Spring winds start up, there are days the Winter blades won't wipe
at all, especially into the wind. Since you can't buy refills for these,
they go into the garbage every Spring.

As for regular wipers, the rubber inserts last one season at the most. I
will save the metal blade units, and just re-install wiper refills into them
in the Spring, but I have never met the wiper that truly "lasts for years."

The good news is that wipers, no matter what you buy or how, are
inexpensive. A small price to pay to keep good visibility.

Tom Wenndt

 

I'll echo Wayne's comment on how well they work, but I have never gotten
more than one season out of them. Now I just leave them on after winter
until I need new ones. That's usually late spring or early summer. Then I
switch to regular wipers until the begining of winter again. Here in
upstate NY winter wipers are almost a must. Insist on Anco wipers though -
there is a difference.

Winter's almost over... isn't it?

 

Reply to message from "Rev. Tom Wenndt" <> (Sat, 24 Feb
2007 13:27:35) about "Re: Wipers on '07 Sonata":

RT> But I don't know which set of wipers you thought would last for years.
RT> Certainly the Winter ones don't.

Not 'thought' ... 'experienced'. I have *never* had winter wipers that
lasted only one winter. If memory serves correctly mine lasted two or three
Maritime Canadian winters before the boots tore.

Knowing the boots to be the 'weak link' I was always careful with these
blades especially when they were 'iced in' at the base of the windshield. I
always made sure they were free before whacking them down on the windshield
to free the last few small bits of ice.

As for brand name? Since they were winters I wanted to get the least
expensive so I got Motomaster blades - the house brand name for Canadian
Tire.

As soon as spring came around off they came to minimize wear and tear.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:42:08 -0600

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Reply to message from "Mike Marlow" <> (Sat, 24 Feb 2007
14:10:21) about "Re: Wipers on '07 Sonata":

MM> ... Now I just leave them on after winter until I need new ones.

I was always itching to replace mine with my more aerodynamic, wing-
equipped summer blades. Plus I did not want to prolong any wear to the
boot.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:55:37 -0600

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Reply to message from "Mike Marlow" <> (Sat, 24 Feb 2007
14:10:21) about "Re: Wipers on '07 Sonata":

MM> ... Now I just leave them on after winter until I need new ones.

I was always itching to replace mine with my more aerodynamic, wing-
equipped summer blades. Plus I did not want to prolong any wear to the
boot.


You hadda go and introduce that element into the conversation, didn't you?
Now you've hit a longstanding curiosity point for me. Do you find the
wing-equipped wipers to really work at holding the arms tighter to the
windshield at speed? I've always wondered about that, and have had several
cars that would have benefited from such a thing if they really work.

 

Reply to message from "Mike Marlow" <> (Sun, 25 Feb 2007
11:46:02) about "Re: Wipers on '07 Sonata":

MM> .... Do you find the wing-equipped wipers to really work at holding
MM> the arms tighter to the windshield at speed? I've always wondered
MM> about that, and have had several cars that would have benefited from
MM> such a thing if they really work.

In my experience they work beautifully. Summer wiper blades should have
nice fine elements in their profile so that the air early passes through
rather than causing lift.

Add to that, a nice wing on the trailing edge and the resultant down force
developed from the wind flowing over the wing is just enough to offset any
lift generated by the wiper blade profile. The result is better contact
with the glass at all speeds.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Sun, 25 Feb 2007 18:39:55 -0600

=== Posted with Qusnetsoft NewsReader 3.3

 

Add to that, a nice wing on the trailing edge and the resultant down force
developed from the wind flowing over the wing is just enough to offset any
lift generated by the wiper blade profile. The result is better contact
with the glass at all speeds.

That can be a benefit. Today I was washing the windshield and the passenger
side is missing a 4" wide path near the top of the blade. The last two
inches make contact OK.

 

Oh so it is not only for me! I got the shock of my life 1 morning when
I sprayed ice onto the windscreen while driving into sunlight... I
guess it is part of Hyundai's cost cutting that they don't use anti
freeze in the washer fluid.. I changed it that morning itself..
Though I guess our winters in DC are relatively milder than further
to the north so I didn't have much trouble with the wiper blades.
though maybe if I had used winter blades I would have noticed a
difference.
..........

 

Reply to message from "Vineeth" <> (Mon, 26 Feb 2007
13:13:01) about "Re: Wipers on '07 Sonata":

V> Oh so it is not only for me! I got the shock of my life 1 morning when
V> I sprayed ice onto the windscreen while driving into sunlight... I
V> guess it is part of Hyundai's cost cutting that they don't use anti
V> freeze in the washer fluid..

Bought 3 new Hyundais (of 5 total) and none of them came with anything
other than washer fluid, so I doubt water in your washer system was put
there by Hyundai. They cut costs in other ways.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:13:23 -0600

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Washer fluid has alchohol in it wich evaporates faster then water.
Over the course of several months it reduces the anti-freezing ability
and acts more like water. If your car was on the lot for 6 months
before you bought it and then you didn't use up the fluid in the next
months before it got cold, you were left with blue water.
Bill

 

OK I guess that explains it. I don't know if it was in the lot for a
long time however I know I rarely used the washer fluid till winter &
we are looking at about 8 months....