C5 x7 / mk3 wiper blades

[Y Cymro]

Drivers side genuine Citroen part front wiper blade rubber is braking up after less than a year. I don’t have the receipt to return it so bought a pair of Bosch Aero replacements which don’t fit the arms properly - there’s a taper on the arm which stops the after market blade from fitting correctly.
I’m loathe to buy another Citroen one as they dont seem to last long (though I’ll keep the receipt next time!).
Can anyone suggest a quality alternative that fits? The Bosch pair were £19 from Euros.

[Paul-R]

Costco do some decent ones - Michelin branded I think. They're not the same as the Michelin branded ones that Aldi were selling a little while ago.

[GiveMeABreak]

To be honest,in my experience (and I've used a lot of aftermarket wipers on Citroens) they are all crap. The Bosch Aero wipers being the worst of all on both the C3 and the X7 - constant squeaking and rubbing - worse than Chinese water torture. Eeach time I went back to a Citroen branded one - total bliss! So I can only speak as I find and not won't waste money on non-Citroen ones.

@ Y Cymro: I wouldn't stress over the receipt for your Citroen wiper - they don't guarantee their wear and tear parts at all - so it wouldn't have made any difference. We get a lot of magpies, crows and gulls here and they are always leaving a present on the windscreen and bodywork - and I don't know what they eat, but it tends to dry like concrete and is a sod to get off - any slightly raised stuck on crap will ultimately tear the wiper in places or worse - so I guess it's the trade off between having a softer clean wipe that's uber quiet or a badly fitting Bosch one that screeches away.

[Y Cymro]

Thanks for your replies. I’ll pop into my local dealer on Monday for a new OEM pair and drop the Bosch ones off to Euros on the way for a refund!

[GiveMeABreak]

Da iawn! Sounds a cracking idea to me.

Also, don't for get to 'Park' your wipers (a quick press down on the wiper stalk with ignition on), to allow changing them vertically - otherwise you'll scrape paint off your bonnet.

I would really suggest that while you're doing this, get some really good window glass cleaner on the outside and get all the oil off - and clear out any grit accumulated in the scuttle area where the wipers come back to rest. I find all the silt gets stored there and shoved back ont he windows when the wipers are used after a dry dusty period. Cleaning the windows of all the grease will really help the life of your blades.

[Y Cymro]

Also, don't for get to 'Park' your wipers (a quick press down on the wiper stalk with ignition on), to allow changing them vertically - otherwise you'll scrape paint off your bonnet.

Good idea, I’ve always wondered what was the point of that.
Hwyl!

[GiveMeABreak]

The other use for that function is for the winter - so stop your wipers getting buried and frozen under a tonne of snow and ice, allowing easier access to free them off the screen. They recommend parking them up in heavy frost - unless you happen to live in car vandal street!

[Y Cymro]

Thanks. I’ve owned the car a year and still learning new things about it! I still don’t understand the bloody Economy Mode though. Daftest thing I’ve found so far.

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, the good old economy mode is really there to help you not get into a situation where the battery has insufficent power to start the vehicle by managing certain functions and shutting off power to some non-essential devices. On a lot of X7s (and other PSA vehicles) the battery negative terminal is fitted with a BCSCU (Battery Charge Status Control Unit) as shown below:

The main function of the battery state of charge unit is to calculate the state of charge of the battery and to transmit this information to the built-in systems interface (BSI) in order to refine the activation of the energy economy mode.

For the technical aspect in case anyone's interested:-

The battery charge status unit is connected directly to terminal - of the battery and powered by terminal + of the battery.
System standby/triggering
Mode: Rest
In this mode, the battery charge status control unit does not carry out any operations; it is in a minimum consumption mode. The LIN is deactivated.

Mode: Local triggering
In local wake up mode the battery charge status unit carries out measurements, calculations and parameter saves in order under some conditions to reset the battery charge status parameter.
The LIN is deactivated.

Periodic local triggering (activated by the real time clock)
The battery charge status control unit is fitted with a real time clock which allows it to be triggered periodically. Local wake-up periods of the battery charge status unit:

• Once every minute for a duration of 0,3 second in order to measure the physical parameters of the battery.
• Once every hour for a duration of 10 seconds in order to reset the battery charge status parameter.

Local triggering activated by the exceeding of a current threshold
The battery charge status control unit is triggered locally when the battery current falls below - 500 mA (consumption on the network higher than 500 mA) or when the battery current is higher than 50 mA (current charged in the battery higher than 50 mA).

Mode: Active
The "active" mode is validated unconditionally when the LIN is activated (communication on the bus).
The battery charge status control unit is triggered with a delay of 0,276 second following the initialisation of communication activated by the BSI.
The battery charge status control unit becomes dormant following a delay of less than 1.3 seconds following the disappearance of or the request to stop communication on the LIN.

Triggering of the BSI following a drop in the battery charge status
When the vehicle is on standby, the battery charge status control unit can attempt to trigger the BSI each time the battery charge level drops by 10%.

Triggering attempts counter BSI
The "triggering attempts counter" parameter permits counting of the number of unsuccessful triggering attempts generated by the battery charge status control unit.

N.B. : A triggering attempt represents 6 successive unsuccessful triggering requests.

[Paul-R]

For the technical aspect in case anyone's interested:-

That would be me, then.

[jbbu]

FWIW I have a set of Bosch wiper blades on my X7 and am happy enough with them. The part number you want is A221S (3397007221) -- this is a specific fit set for RHD versions of the X7 and also Zafira B's apparently.

[white exec]

Currently using Denso wipers (and refill rubbers) on both XM and RAV4, from Toyota parts counter.
Really good quality blades, and available (in all sorts of lengths) to fit the standard 'hook' fitting of the spring arm. Impressively long life, even in the baking sun here.

Tip: If the car is parked up for long periods, and especially in the sun, wiper rubbers can get "set" into a bend to one side. This causes them to sweep (trail) quietly enough in one direction, but 'dig in' (=judder) in the other. A cure is to park up the car with a wine cork under each wiper arm, to just lift the blade off the glass. This stops the angled set, and leaves the rubber in its as-new perpendicular position.

[GiveMeABreak]

Unfortunately my experience with the comparatively expensive Bosch brands have all been poor - with squeaking and scraping from day one on both the C5 MK 1, II and the X7 and the C3 - so I am now thoroughly convinced that they are not made to fit properly. On every occasion, (lesson learned late in each case), reverting to Citroen wipers cured the problem and they simply don't squeak, so can't say it plainer than that, but each will have their own experiences - better or worse.

I rigorously keep the windows clean now and occasionally treat with some rainX too.

[Hell Razor5543]

I recently got a wiper blade sander, similar to the one in the following link. I have found that it does (when used properly) a decent job;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Windshield-W ... SwkEtbXqqD

[tengin]

I'm very satisfied with the Valeo VM461 wiper blades. No annoying squeeks or crumbling rubber yet (approx one year old now). On my old car they lasted about two years.

But I do wipe them off with a cloth from time to time and I always stand the wipers up when there is snow and ice.