I was driving home from downtown Houston today, and it started raining. Naturally, I turn on my windshield wipers, but instead of wiping smoothly across the windshield, they sort of vibrate across it, as if the glass were rubber. I recently applied a coat of Rain-X. Could that be the culprit? What is wrong with my windshield wipers?

 

I have always rain-x'd my vehicles, including my 8, with no problem (just don't do the top 2" of the passanger window!).

Dumb thought, but this happens to me when it's misty rain.

 

You could try applying some rain-x to the blades as well.

My wipers also tend to skip a bit if there isn't enough water on the windshield (misting) so I usually add a little washer fluid to the mix before wiping.

 

Why?

 

You may be right. I'll try that out and see what happens, because this is weird .

 

If you crack (open slightly) your window while its raining, the rain-x will cause/force the rain to enter the cockpit at a much more noticable rate than without. Leaving a couple of inches untreated will alleviate the issue.

In thinking about this I guess the curature of the window influences this--I mention only b/c I noticed the phenomena in my Jeep.

 

Just drive faster....you won't need wipers.....j/k.

 

Why use Rain-X if you are going to use your wipers??? I know alot of people swear by Rain-X, but personally I just use the wipers.

The wipers are chattering because of a waxy buildup on either the glass or the wiper blade.

 

That was my hypothesis. I used Rain-X because my windshield wipers went south after only 9,000 miles. I swear by Rain-X, but this is the first time this has ever happened to any car I've ever owned. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?

 

Go to your Mazda dealer parts dept and get a set of 'blades' - just the rubber inserts - they cost a couple of dollars, and replace them. By the way I have 14k miles on my car and the wipers are still working great, which is very good for the use/abuse they go through in Florda.

 

Try cleaning/wiping the blades with a cloth soaked in some IPA (isopropyl alcohol). Works for me.