Over the pass few years, it has been increasingly difficult to buy the rubber refills for my wiper blades and I end up having to buy the whole blade. Is there a reason that this is going on?
What make and model of car? I haven’t noticed it. Auto parts stores have had replacement rubber of the correct length for every wiper I’ve had to work on.
PS. I live on the desert and the sun ruins blades in short order. I guess maybe the replacements aren’t made of the highest quality rubber.
most of the places I’ve seen have the ‘quick change’ blades, with the whole assembly included - just pop off the old ones and snap on the new. I’ve done it in about a minute - much easier to replace than just the rubber.
I agree that it has gotten harder to find refills at the local ***-Mart or super drug store, but they are still available at the local NAPA dealer or Weird Al’s Auto Parts or SuperStock Racing Equipment type stores.
We just bought some from a local parts guy, but they were the whole assembly; not just the rubber. What year is your car? Ours is a '97.
Brand “A” blades take brand “A” refills. If you goto a store that stocks brand “T” blades they may or may not have refills for your blades. But you can get a whole new blade. And remenber that now you have Brand “T” blades and need that type refills.
Auto parts counterman, going on Twenty years.
I need a life.
Replacing the refill (rubber only) is a certified pain in neck on some designs. It can be really tricky getting the rubber and two steel rib strips to all slide properly into the 4-8 pairs of tabs that hold them. And as Booker57 mentions, different brands of wipers have different designs to where the refills are not interchangeable with other brands. Further, sometimes the mechanism of the blades is worn or distorted, keeping it from working optimally.
Most shops and many do-it-yourselfers would rather spend a few more bucks and replace the blades (rubber and its holder, with flexing mechanisms), thus circumventing those problems. The market changes reflect this - more blade styles are available, more blades are sold, less refills are sold. Hence, retailers are less inclined to stock refills.
I have said it before, and I will say it again. If there is an OG in heaven, the blades/refil designers from Brands A, B and T will spend all of eternity changing blades in the rain for customers.
The problem is more than what Gary, and Booker said, in each brands there are several versions, Brands A and B bobth have more than one refill for a given length. You think that wiper blade technology hit the apex of its zenith in 1950 or so, but no, every year there is something new.
It is often cheaper to buy a universal replacement blade then to try and find the correct refill.