# Rain-X wiper blade for rear window?



## AudiAndyV (Jun 29, 2011)

Hey guys I'm in desperate need of a new rear wiper blade mine seems to have actually scratched my window. I just bought a pair of Rain-X Latitude wipers for the front but couldn't find a matching piece for the rear. I actually couldn't even find a measurement for the rear blade. The manual doesn't even mention what size it is. Autozone didn't have any blades to fit the rear actually. Are their rain-x blades for this? What size are they? Do you have to get OEM ones from the dealer?


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## TheProphet9 (Dec 30, 2007)

I'm in the same boat. I called the dealer parts guy and he said they don't have labeled sizes and they just come in plastic bags...so I measured my current one and it's 13" long.


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## AudiAndyV (Jun 29, 2011)

TheProphet9 said:


> I'm in the same boat. I called the dealer parts guy and he said they don't have labeled sizes and they just come in plastic bags...so I measured my current one and it's 13" long.


But can you replace it with a standard 13 inch blade or is is "special"?


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

Good luck FINDING a 13" blade anywhere other than a VW/Audi dealer...

Seems like nobody makes them that size in the auto part stores any more...


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## krazyboi (May 19, 2004)

OEM one has not done me wrong.


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

I replaced mine with the OEM as soon as the rubber blade began to 'chatter' due to having lost its pliability... Scratching the window... YIKES!

For a few dollars, it's really not that much to get the OEM, and a Rain-X version -even if there is one- won't do any better in the back.


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

OEM is one of those old skool blades with the web of arms holding the rubber. Need one of those springie ones that curls itself into a concave shape so I won't get those streaks.


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## AudiAndyV (Jun 29, 2011)

LWNY said:


> OEM is one of those old skool blades with the web of arms holding the rubber. Need one of those springie ones that curls itself into a concave shape so I won't get those streaks.


Have you found anything?


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

AudiAndyV said:


> Have you found anything?


no, still got my streaky old skool wiper. can't even attach those old skool wiper spoiler cuz it will only create lift in the rear.


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## Bezor (Jan 16, 2007)

Wow. I just walk into Autozone and buy one. Since its old school, it does come apart however. Just unclip it, slide out the blade, remove the two metal strips and reinstall reverse order. Cost of replacement rubber is what $10?


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## vwlippy (Jul 17, 2001)

I tried a couple of aftermarket blades and none of them really fit the wiper housing correctly. They are actually pretty cheap from the dealer. I'd just go there and pick one up.


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

Bezor said:


> Wow. I just walk into Autozone and buy one. Since its old school, it does come apart however. Just unclip it, slide out the blade, remove the two metal strips and reinstall reverse order. Cost of replacement rubber is what $10?


I kept my old one to do precisely this, but none of the auto parts stores have 13" replacement 'blade-only' options... I didn't want to cut a longer one down, since I've done that before and the cut end began to separate.

Are you saying that Auto-Zone has a 13" blade-only replacement?

Part # or it didn't happen! :laugh:


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

So, I just conducted a little experiment...

I bought a 13" replacement blade from the local Wal-Mart: manufacturer 'Anco', part number 31-13. Price at my store was $4.57

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Anco-13-Premium-Wiper-Blade/16794667

It looked like it would slip right in to replace the entire wiper & blade assembly... but unfortunately, the 'cage' is too wide, and it won't fit into the A3 rear wiper receiver.

-So -having spent the money & opened the pack, I decided to try using the blade and metal reinforcing 'springs' in the old (Audi OEM) wiper blade.

I had to bend one 'claw' of the replacement Anco blade open, to get the new insert and metal strips out (the strips have a 'lock' which prevents them sliding out).

Then I had to persuade the OLD rubber blade and spring-steel reinforcement strips out of the OEM blade assembly. -This was a bit tricky, but I was able to to slide them out.

Then I slipped the new rubber and metal reinforcement strips into the old OEM blade assembly... but be sure to slip the 'clip' end in LAST, and also make sure that the three little 'teeth' on the inside faces are alongside the rubber, so that they grip it and prevent it from slipping out.

UNFORTUNATELY... the replacement 'blades' are about a quarter of an inch too short, and the end away from the clips doesn't support the rubber all the way to the furthest 'claw'. -This means that if you try to run them this way, the rubber will eventually slip out from the end of the blade, leaving the 'claw' to scratch the glass.

I bodged a 'fix' by re-using the OLD metal blades AS WELL AS the new ones. -You have to do this on both sides. -It's an absolute bugger to get them in all the way, would probably be a little easier if you 'lubed' up the slots that they have to slide in (the rubber slots alongside the other metal blades) with a dish soap solution or something similar, but -using a pair of pliers and some creative curse words, I got them to slide in.

So... for less than five bucks I got something to work.

HOWEVER...

It's about a quarter of an inch shorter than the OEM blade, it's a WHOLE lot of farting around, and I think every time I do this from this point onward, I'm going to just buy the OEM blade and have done with it. -The saving is about $3, and the hassle and all of the fiddling simply isn't worth it.


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*FV-QR*

Oh yeah... one of those "while you're in there" things: 

Take a small sewing needle and insert it into both spray nozzles. -They have a habit of clogging up and when they do, the back-pressure can force the pipe to separate inside the rear hatch... pumping water into the rear hatch lock/latch assembly and sometimes causing the latch closed sensor to fail, meaning that your alarm either won't arm, or goes haywire when you lock the car... also you get a 'hatch open' warning in the driver display.

Ten second job. WELL worth doing.


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## Tcardio (Mar 19, 2009)

VWAddict said:


> So, I just conducted a little experiment...
> 
> I bought a 13" replacement blade from the local Wal-Mart: manufacturer 'Anco', part number 31-13. Price at my store was $4.57
> 
> ...


Keef, did you have some extra time on your hands today? That's one long post


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## KnockKnock (Jun 30, 2005)

Some of the failure of the rear blade is just that it accumulates so much gunk. Every time I get gas, I wipe the blade down, and that seems to help. But yeah, wish there were a more mindless solution.


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

tcardio said:


> Keef, did you have some extra time on your hands today? That's one long post


You nailed it. It rained.



All.

Day.

Long.










(still, it meant that I got to test out the wiper blade right away!)


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