[Arb]

Your wrong I think JB, my wipers are also not great, they are not bad but do smear on the drivers side only, it's very annoying as on a new car I'd expect perfect cutting of the water off the screen.

It's not bad enough that I will worry about it now but expect it to be fixed next service, I'm of the opinion it's not the blade itself but the arm, as the passenger side is cutting the water away perfectly with no smearing.

 

[denn1s]

Your wrong I think JB, my wipers are also not great, they are not bad but do smear on the drivers side only, it's very annoying as on a new car I'd expect perfect cutting of the water off the screen.

It's not bad enough that I will worry about it now but expect it to be fixed next service, I'm of the opinion it's not the blade itself but the arm, as the passenger side is cutting the water away perfectly with no smearing.

Report it now and you might get some new wipers I made the mistake of waiting when my 2nd set turned pants, the dealer said they are only warranted for the first 3 months, disgusting in my opinion, at £40 a set My spend would be the equivalent of £240's worth having gone on to mine, more than £10 a month and the issue occurs in every season, not just winter

 

[v5020d]

Report it now and you might get some new wipers I made the mistake of waiting when my 2nd set turned pants, the dealer said they are only warranted for the first 3 months, disgusting in my opinion, at £40 a set My spend would be the equivalent of £240's worth having gone on to mine, more than £10 a month and the issue occurs in every season, not just winter

non gen wipers are cheep for a reason....bit like tyres,as for premature wear if parked in industrial areas like near factorys where there is fall out there can be increased wear,not uncommon our garage is near several steel works etc and we see large nos of cars with this problem,however cars out in the country are much less prone to faults.

 

[denn1s]

Generally only use genuine wipers p, even ones made my the same company e.g. Bosche, can be different from the OE blades, however I tried 2 sets of Volvo blades and they did not last hence trying the none genuine ones (not that much cheaper than OE

 

[Stueeee]

non gen wipers are cheep for a reason....bit like tyres,as for premature wear if parked in industrial areas like near factorys where there is fall out there can be increased wear,not uncommon our garage is near several steel works etc and we see large nos of cars with this problem,however cars out in the country are much less prone to faults.

non gen wipers are cheep for a reason? Really
A top brand like Bosch or champion are deliberately going to make ****/substandard wipers to keep the dealers and their profits happy ?

 

[denn1s]

non gen wipers are cheep for a reason? Really
A top brand like Bosch or champion are deliberately going to make ****/substandard wipers to keep the dealers and their profits happy ?

There is often a difference between what is supplied by the vehicle manufacturer to what the part manufacturer sell direct, this is not just wipers but break pads etc.

 

[ElClasico]

Does somebody know what are the current references? I'm afraid they have changed...

I think that now the right one for the front driver side is
AP26U 3397006838 https://www.bosch-automotive-catalog.com/en/product-detail/-/product/3397006838
but I don't know if there is any kit that could be cheaper than buying the two front ones separately...

 

[V40Jim]

i checked the price of blades at motorsave.....
£28.99 for front set, £13.99 for rear.... all bosch i was told....
might give it a shot at the start of the new year has i have the "lines" when clearing water from my screen...

 

[OldEngineer]

Just changed mine for Bosch from Halfords unfortunately. But they were far cheaper than Euro Car Parts. The kit is A310S and is a perfect fit in the Volvo arms and exactly the same profile. They also list a AM310S for more money but nobody knows why they list a second type. The outcome is superb. I hadn't realised how noisy the original Volvo blades were. They slapped at the drivers A pillar each time the direction reversed in light rain causing me to take the wipers off automatic. In Heavy rain the noise was less. But the new Bosch are almost silent and I can leave the system on automatic.

 

[peanut]

My original blades were making a noise, despite cleaning the blades and the screen. Had new blades fitted with my last service, cost £39.80. No noise and the screen clears completely .. I see some have had problems with Volvo blades but so far, so good!

 

[PAULTDI67]

When my genuine volvo ones wore out&didn't clear windscreen I bought some heyner things off eBay wish I'd not have to mess around with getting the right adapter when I did it was a tight fit no indication of what way round to fit them (top&bottom )turned out I'd got them on upsidea down turned themy round but they still left unswept area &had to remove arms from car &break clips to get the blades out complain'd to company &got refund then went &bought some Halfords own brand these are great no messing about with adapters they're quiet (a bit of noise at direction change )clean sweep&no juddering

Old engineer just a thought but if they slapped the pillar have you tried removing the arm&adjusting so it doesn't?

 

[OldEngineer]

I confused you. The slap was not against the pillar just adjacent to it. The noise was generated as the rubber folded back. Perhaps the rubber had become too stiff but it's not something I have experienced before. The Volvo blades were not used much in their 12 months on the car and still cleared the screen properly.

The reversing of the blade at the bottom of the screen did not generate a noise so perhaps they had become set in one direction.

 

[V40Jim]

molded rubber doesn't last forever.. that's why now they put manufacture dates on tires... think they have a 10 year life span... but that's mainly sat on the shelf.... would love a set of tires that lasted 10 years on the car lol...

 

[ElClasico]

Does somebody know what are the current references? I'm afraid they have changed...

I think that now the right one for the front driver side is
AP26U 3397006838 The Bosch Automotive Catalog is moving
but I don't know if there is any kit that could be cheaper than buying the two front ones separately...

Finally, I ordered a front set from Valeo "Silencio" with reference 574651.

Having paid 23 EUR / 20 GBP for it, the wiper blades seem to work fine for now.

However, they look a bit worse than the original Volvo ones because the plastic spoiler doesn't cover the whole body, leaving a black metal part visible.
Additionally, they feature a pretty big "Valeo" logo that I don't like much. I will try to remove it with some alcohol...

Below a couple of comparison photos: