Was on a drive the other day, of course in Seattle it's raining like it always does. All of a sudden I hear this screechy grind coming from the driver side area of the windshield in sync with the wipers. I pulled over, and smelled it, and it definitely had a burning kind of stench and I knew my wiper motor is about to crap the bed. Thankfully I had Rainex handy and plastered it all over my windshield and it seems to do the trick for now.

Any suggestions on where to get a new wiper motor? I talked to the local mazda dealership, they say almost $300 just for the part...obviously buying parts from the dealership is a major ripoff. Any suggestions, links, is this an easy DIY, cold spec vs. standard???
Any info that would point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

You should be able to install it with basic tools. Pick up the part from a non Mazda source and take photos. You can then make a DIY for it.

 

Check out the various "part out" threads in the For Sale section, might get lucky and find a used one.

Here is the service manual instructions for the removal/installation:

 

The first place I looked had it for $115.....OReilly...

 

Don't tar all Mazda Dealers with the same brush...
First, most good dealers charge a standard mark up.
List prices for parts are set by Mazda Distribution or MNAO (Mazda North America).

Anyway, you can buy a brand new OEM Mazda Wiper on-line for $199.47

#FE01-67-340 Wiper Motor..

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...&siteid=214264

Normal Retail in the USA for OEM Wiper Motor is $255.78 , so I don't know where $300 came from, perhaps extra for Shipping??

 

So about the whole Cold Spec vs. Without Cold Spec question, how will I know which is which?