[Quick Survey] If you were designing the perfect windshield wiper for your truck, what would you improve first?

[TreadAuto]

Hey everyone!

We're TreadAuto, proud sponsor of the forum, and we're currently researching windshield wipers and real-world driver preferences.

With rain and storm season picking up in a lot of areas, we figured this would be a good time to ask people who actually deal with real driving conditions.

A few things we're curious about:

1. What annoys you most about your current wipers?

2. What's one thing you wish wipers did better?

3. Have you ever used a wiper feature that was surprisingly useful? Or maybe something you've always wished existed?

Your ideas matter. They could actually inspire real features in future products, helping make the “perfect” wiper a reality.

Thanks in advance!

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[jordantii]

That's a tough one. I coat my windshield so rarely do I use my wipers. But I would say design a wiper that does not chatter on coated windshields.

 

[Sauce]

I wish the Ranger wipers folded up (not sure if theres any way to fix that).

 

[CACTUSGREYFX4]

I wish they would work perfectly when it's -30 and not streak or miss spots. Be more like they do when it's warm.

 

[got3fords]

That's a tough one. I coat my windshield so rarely do I use my wipers. But I would say design a wiper that does not chatter on coated windshields.

What do you coat with?

 

[NM Mike]

Wipers typically only last a year where I live. It bugs me that for the price, I can only get one year out of wipers before they don’t work well beyond 12-14 months.
Granted, where I live is tough on wipers. I’m in the southwest, but at 6500 ft elevation. UV is high here, so in the summer, the wiper material gets bombarded by the sun. In the winter, we get snow and ice that freezes the wiper to the windshield.
I don’t know why, but when wipers quit working well, its always the upper portion of the wiper, which leaves a spot right in your field of view. It’s never in the lower portion of the wiper.

 

[CaptAngry]

For me, an upgraded wiper would be heated but with replaceable inserts. I drive a lot in the mountains in the snow and a frozen, ice-covered wiper is not only annoying, it can be dangerous. Our Subaru and Lexus vehicles had heated windshield coils to help with this

 

[purdyd]

Just having an option for the ranger at 25 17 would be a good start.

i don’t want anything that leaves a residue behind or any rain repellant

i would like the option of buying just the wiper blade, instead of the whole assembly.

 

[jordantii]

What do you coat with?

So I use to have vehicles professionaly coated but now I just use a ceramic drying aid when I wash the truck. After the final rinse, just spray it on and dry like normal. Water beads like crazy. Make sure you soak your drying towels in a rinseless wash solution for about an hour after you dry to preven the towel from clogging.

https://a.co/d/0hmQVXAn

 

[TreadAuto]

For me, an upgraded wiper would be heated but with replaceable inserts. I drive a lot in the mountains in the snow and a frozen, ice-covered wiper is not only annoying, it can be dangerous. Our Subaru and Lexus vehicles had heated windshield coils to help with this

That's an interesting combination we haven't seen mentioned yet — heated wipers with replaceable inserts.

Would you be willing to pay a higher upfront cost for a heated wiper system if you could simply replace the rubber inserts later instead of replacing the entire assembly?

Also curious whether the biggest issue for you is ice buildup on the blade itself, or the blade freezing to the windshield.

 

[TreadAuto]

That's a tough one. I coat my windshield so rarely do I use my wipers. But I would say design a wiper that does not chatter on coated windshields.

That's interesting. Have you ever noticed your coating affecting wiper performance at all?

For example, any chatter, skipping, or streaking—or has it been pretty much trouble-free for you?

 

[CaptAngry]

That's an interesting combination we haven't seen mentioned yet — heated wipers with replaceable inserts.

Would you be willing to pay a higher upfront cost for a heated wiper system if you could simply replace the rubber inserts later instead of replacing the entire assembly?

Also curious whether the biggest issue for you is ice buildup on the blade itself, or the blade freezing to the windshield.

The issue is usually buildup on the wiper itself. Then once it gets the ice on it, the wiper is essentially useless until manually cleared. I'd definitely pay more up front for a system that worked

 

[jordantii]

That's interesting. Have you ever noticed your coating affecting wiper performance at all?

For example, any chatter, skipping, or streaking—or has it been pretty much trouble-free for you?

Not so much on the RR (just using a ceramic spray as a drying aid) but on my M2 that was professionaly coated the wipers would chatter like crazy. I am assuming the blade would not "flip over" and just skip since the glass was so slick. And I always kept the blades clean.

 

[Jason B]

That's an interesting combination we haven't seen mentioned yet — heated wipers with replaceable inserts.

Would you be willing to pay a higher upfront cost for a heated wiper system if you could simply replace the rubber inserts later instead of replacing the entire assembly?

Also curious whether the biggest issue for you is ice buildup on the blade itself, or the blade freezing to the windshield.

Not down here in the South. I wouldn't want my vehicle to come standard with heated wipers no more than I want heated mirrors or steering wheel. Those would be added cost to a vehicle purchase for something I'd never use.

 

[TreadAuto]

Not down here in the South. I wouldn't want my vehicle to come standard with heated wipers no more than I want heated mirrors or steering wheel. Those would be added cost to a vehicle purchase for something I'd never use.

Yes, I understand that regional differences lead to different needs.

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