Chronic windshield wiper "jumping/skipping" issue

[austin1346]

Since I've bought my car over a year ago I've been dealing with this weird issue where my windshield wipers jump/skip on the windshield in the rain, it makes driving during it almost unbearable. I've tried 3 brands of wipers and they all seem to produce the same problem.

Video of the issue: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xto4mQ1DuJo

The wipers do this strange jumping/skipping thing on every return swipe when the windshield is just slightly wet or damp, like from a light mist rain. Interestingly, setting the wiper speed to maximum does not produce the issue.

I have tried Bosch Aerotwins, Valeo, and Original Audi wiper blades (twice). Unfortunately, the Bosch wipers made it worse, the Valeo's were fine for a few days and then caused the issue again, and the Audi Originals worked perfectly for a month and then fell victim to the same problem.

I have also tried Stoner's glass cleaner, NuFinish polish, Meguiar's polish, Rain-x, and using a clay bar. Stoner's invisible glass fixes it for about 1-2 days but the issue always returns.

Also, squirting some windshield washer fluid fixes it temporarily for a few swipes, but it comes back quickly.



Do I need a new windshield? Maybe my wiper arms, arm springs, or wiper motor is bad? Or maybe my windshield is just so dirty I need to use a razor blade or steel wool (is that safe?). I have had people tell me it might be too clean and the rubber wipers are sticking on.

I think I will try #0000 steel wool while lubricating with soapy water. If that ruins the windshield then I'll just get a new one I guess. I'm willing to try anything at this point.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance for your help.

[GoneQuantum]

I had the same issue on my old S4, and I was unable to completely solve it. I never had issues with the OEM blades, but once they were wearing and I replaced them with some Bosch ones, I started having the same intermittent issue you are describing.

I found something online that said to apply glass cleaner to the wiper blades themselves and scrub as there could be some "coating" on them when they were new that could be causing it. Tried that, it made a bit of difference at first then went back to skipping.

Something else I read is that there could be some imperfections on the glass that the old wipers had conformed to over time, and the new ones were getting caught on. I had planned on using a razorblade or glass polish to try and fix it but never got around to it before I traded the car in.

Interested to see what others say.

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[SwankPeRFection]

Valeo 900209B and Valeo 9002411B are the only ones I’ve used that don’t have this issue. Also, if there’s any weird coating on the glass or other junk, even water spots, I’ve had good success with Griot's Garage Water Spot Remover pretty much stripping anything away from the glass. I’ve had these wipers for like 4 years on there and I’m just now thinking of getting them replaced since the right ones has some streaking in the middle of it.

[Slvrbul8]

Seems like its so clean its dragging. Based on the video, the small specs of rain are not enough lube to coat the windshield and get a smooth swipe. I see you've tried polish. I used to apply paste wax on an Acura Legend I had that did the same thing. Worth a try or maybe some ceramic coating could last even longer.

[Nillious]

It’s only doing it on the way down. Look at the arm in service position and see if it’s twisted. I had a car doing this and the wiper blade would lean over one way too much due to a twisted arm. As you move the wiper back and forth you should have an even amount of lean both ways. I took an adjustable wrench a gently twisted it back and it cured my problem. Something to check in case you haven’t. Compare it to the other one for reference.

[BucDan]

It’s only doing it on the way down. Look at the arm in service position and see if it’s twisted. I had a car doing this and the wiper blade would lean over one way too much due to a twisted arm. As you move the wiper back and forth you should have an even amount of lean both ways. I took an adjustable wrench a gently twisted it back and it cured my problem. Something to check in case you haven’t. Compare it to the other one for reference.

This, I had the same issue.

[austin1346]

It’s only doing it on the way down. Look at the arm in service position and see if it’s twisted. I had a car doing this and the wiper blade would lean over one way too much due to a twisted arm. As you move the wiper back and forth you should have an even amount of lean both ways. I took an adjustable wrench a gently twisted it back and it cured my problem. Something to check in case you haven’t. Compare it to the other one for reference.

This, I had the same issue.

Good to hear this fixed it for you guys. Going to try it on my car and I'll report back the results.

Before I mess with it, how did you guys twist/orient it? Is the rubber blade supposed to be exactly perpendicular 90 degrees to the windshield? I think I remember reading that the blade is supposed be angled about 7 degrees towards the hood but I'm not sure if it was for the B8 or B7. Did you guys twist it so the blade is angled toward the roof or the hood of the car?

Thanks in advance.

[a4darkness]

Oh man what an annoying problem. I've experienced this before however it was definitely due to worn out blades. Strangely enough, only on the decent as well.

FWIW, wanted to throw this out there. Recently switched to Piaa Si-Tech Silicone Wipers and have been very pleased with the results.
I did not use the windshield coating and they needed two rain cycles to break in. Initially there was some skipping here and there but now that's gone and they're great.

Piaa 97050 20-Inch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Piaa 97060 24-Inch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[austin1346]

For anyone with the same issue, I've found a video of someone fixing the same exact issue with skipping on the return swipe. It looks promising and I think I will attempt it this weekend.

Here it is:

[austin1346]

Welp, just spent the last hour twisting on the wiper arms in different directions and I only managed to make it worse. I twisted them back to normal and now I am at square one again.

While messing with the blades I noticed there was small black powdered rubber coming off the blades just from touching them. These wiper blades are only about 5 months old, but I do park outside in direct sunlight and it does rain here very often so they get a lot of use. It may be that they're just bad already.

I ordered the PIAA silicone blades and will report back if it's solved or not.

[ML24WA]

Had this issue on a b7 when I used to live in Canada. When I mentioned it to a service person at a dealer while buying something else, he mentioned to try to clean the hinge points along the wiper arm. They can sometimes fill with crud and stiffen up which causes a lot of chatter. Sure enough doing this regularly solved my problem. Cheers

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[carguy19]

Sounds kind of primitive but this made mine go away completely.

Buy some fine steel wool ($2 at target or home depot), unfold the steel wool and rub the entire windshield with the steel wool on the surface dry (I went over mine twice to make sure I didnt miss any spots).
After this I applied rain X per the instructions.

Not only do my wipers not skip and jump anymore, I barely have to turn them on since the surface is so smooth with the rain X on it.

Probably worth a try for under 15-20 bucks total.

[evanb]

Sounds kind of primitive but this made mine go away completely.

Buy some fine steel wool ($2 at target or home depot), unfold the steel wool and rub the entire windshield with the steel wool on the surface dry (I went over mine twice to make sure I didnt miss any spots).
After this I applied rain X per the instructions.

Not only do my wipers not skip and jump anymore, I barely have to turn them on since the surface is so smooth with the rain X on it.

Probably worth a try for under 15-20 bucks total.

^^^ This ^^^
Use 0000 steal wool. You might not even need the Rain X.

[austin1346]

After cleaning the windshield a few times with soapy water (water with a squirt of dawn) and denatured alcohol, then installing silicone wiper blades I cannot reproduce the issue. If it's only a temporary fix I will attempt the #0000 steel wool method next. After that I'll just start replacing parts starting with the windshield and wiper arms as I have nothing left to try, lol.

[SwankPeRFection]

Just keep in mind that this is almost always an issue with dirty glass that has some kind of residue on it that isn’t being cleaned by whatever normal glass cleaner you’re using. This is why acidic or alcohol based cleaners work best to get rid of the film on there you can’t see. Scuffing stuff also works, but really acidic based cleaners like water spot removers work best and will do double duty.

[austin1346]

Just wanted to confirm that cleaning liberally with dish soap, denatured alcohol, and switching to PIAA silicone wiper blades alleviated this issue entirely for me (It's been almost 6 months and hasn't happened since). I hate to revive this thread but the problem was really annoying and I had to deal with it for over a year in an area that rains at least once a week, usually more. Wanted to make sure a solution was provided for anyone with the same issue.

The PIAA silicone blades are expensive compared to other blades and leave small water trails in very heavy rain but I'd much rather have it this way instead of the loud and annoying jumping.