![]() No matter where you position the wipers in service mode, you will have to assume the strangest postures to flex each nozzle cover just far enough toward the windshield until you finally slide up the Narrow PTB adapter to the limit on each arm. Next is the apex test of your patience: even the Narrow PTB, once introduced to the beam, will not play nicely with Tesla wiper arm washer nozzle cowls. ![]() Simply twist off and chuck the two plastic tabs that make the part a Regular PTB adapter. Second, the so-called “Narrow PTB” connector that you need to install (which stands for “Push Tab Button” but might as well be “Pretty Tough B****” since it’s not much better than the first part) calls for a quick modification. With persistence, though, you’ll fling that bad boy off the beam soon enough and lose it forever in the tundra of your garage. You would guess you’re prying apart a disgruntled Tesla owner from their new E-tron (oh no he didn’t just say that!), or maybe worse. Not bad for a compatible set of silicone blades.Ĭompatibility may be promised, but, IRL (as all the kids like to say), expect frustration during the install.įirst, the attached “EZ-LOK” mounting adapter that you’ll need to replace with one of the enclosed parts is a heinous beast to remove. You are looking at $18.42 and $17.47, respectively, down from the $20.47 and $19.47 I paid in March. Note that for the driver’s side it’s the “ Michelin Endurance XT Advanced Silicone Wiper Blade 26",Last 2X Longer,” and for the passenger‘s, “ Michelin Endurance XT Advanced Silicone Wiper Blade 19",Last 2X Longer” (2X sounds good to me!). I bypassed Bosch (tough to find in silicone), passed by PIAA (tough to order) and ran away from Rain-X (tough to shell out a premium for), ending up with the same brand as my OEM tires: Michelin. Imagine my surprise, then, after checking every Tesla forum under the sun, when the leading Model 3-compatible silicone blade turned out to be for sale only at-drum roll, please-Wal-Mart. Come on, I use it in my own kitchen for an oven/freezer mitt, and it hasn’t let me down, yet. The main plus of this toney formulation is longer life, they say, thanks to the wide thermal range and environmental abuse that silicone can hack. Yes indeed, not long ago, silicone blades supposedly went from esoteric and sky-high expensive down to commodity items at your local Wal-Mart (I’m joking. Would I end up a.) coughing up for a pair from Tesla proper, b.) ordering a set from RockAuto this time (they did have very inexpensive name-brand variants that a fellow TOCNYS member assured me were the way to roll: cheap but often), or c.) going over all the options for a certain variety implanted in my head: silicone. The replacement blades, also rubber, inspired me to buckle down and do some heavy-duty wiper blade research. Anyway, the price was in the neighborhood of $29 for the pair, at the time, but has since dropped an entire buck.įast forward a few more months and I’m a rainy season away from two years of ownership. ![]() I decided to ask for a refund, expecting nothing, yet their overseas customer service rep “Christina” complied and refunded my credit card without fuss (Tesla shock and awe at work? Who knows!). Performance was so-so and they were noisier than the OEMs. The brand was XTechnor, and even with glowing reviews, those “OEM” blades were a letdown more or less from the start. I did clean them and applied Gummi Pflege a few times but soon enough went the lazy route and chose a cheapie Amazon blade set for a replacement. Then they started streaking modestly (which should be an oxymoron!). Mine worked like a champ for a little over a year. To the best of my knowledge, they are a traditional rubber composition, probably with a graphite coating. The stock Model 3 wiper blades, at least from my early 2018 VIN, appear to be Bosch OEM ‘frameless’ a/k/a ‘beam’ blades. It’s because the ones I installed were just that snazzy. No, though that would have been an epic comeback had the muse struck! Why do you suppose he asked? Ahhh, because windshield wipers were invented in my home town of Buffalo? (There was no back and forth he didn’t have to twist my arm, either.) During the Finger Lakes Region group drive last month, TOCNYS President Patrick Ho took note of my car’s newly installed wiper blades and asked if I would write a blog entry on them.
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