New wiper blades not flat on windshield

Fellow leafers,

I replaced my wiper blades last night and the new drivers side blade won't sit flat against the windshield. I'm not sure if the new Rain-X fusion blades are too springy, or if the wiper arms may have been damaged at some point.

The old blades must have been close to factory (2011) vintage (I've only recently purchased the car). The rubber was breaking off and trailing the blade in places! So I assume the old blades didn't have much spring left in them.

Some photos below. Is anyone able to post equivalent photos from their vehicle? The 'kink' in the arm looks too perfect to be damage, but if this has been bent I will either have to try and bend it out or replace the arm entirely. I did notice a zip-tie on the arm down near the spring, so the previous owner may have also had issues with the wipers.







I also replaced the cabin air filter. Amazing the amount of junk that builds up....I'm guessing that dates back to 2011 too :|

Aussie said:

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I also replaced the cabin air filter. Amazing the amount of junk that builds up....I'm guessing that dates back to 2011 too :|

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If you wait too long on replacing cabin filter it can result in intermittent operation of the HVAC. :shock:

I would not worry too much if a bit of the ends of the wipers don't touch.... Run the washer fluid and see that the wipers are doing a good job... That's all you need. maybe the wipers will settle flat after a while.

powersurge said:

I would not worry too much if a bit of the ends of the wipers don't touch.... Run the washer fluid and see that the wipers are doing a good job... That's all you need. maybe the wipers will settle flat after a while.

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When I first put them on they won't getting the water off very effectively, but they settled and are all good now

I had this same issue with my 2015 LEAF and discovered that the issue was caused by the difference in design between the old blades and rainx blades. The old blades mount offset to the side, and the rainx blades mount straight on the top. The straight-on mounting causes the wiper arm to actually hit the blade mid-way and rest on it, causing it to not put full pressure in the middle of the blade as it should.

I could not find any after-market blades that mount to the side like the original blade. And not wanting to be going to Nissan for new blades every year, I decided to modify the arm a bit by bending it. My first attempt was just to bend the end of the arm down a bit. This fixed the issue of the blade not fully contacting the windshield. However it caused the sprayer jet to hit the arm itself. I could not find a way to adjust the sprayer jet to solve that issue.

So I then noticed my wife's Subaru wiper arms have an offset jog bent into them so that they still have a low profile (thus avoiding the sprayer jet) and allows the arm to miss the blade. I removed the arm from the car, clamped it into my vice and went to bending on it. I got the shape right without breaking it, and just a bit of scratched paint on the arm. Anyway, in case it helps someone else...

It looks like a common issue with some aftermarket wiper blades. Again, only with some, as mine (I also have rainx's on my Leaf) are fine, do not have any problems (https://www.carid.com/windshield-wiper-blades/). Though a friend of mine has got poor quality blade on his Prius. And it is curious, that packaging seems to be the same (I mean, quality of pack). Maybe it is a defect or something. Or, the rubber may be too old so doesn't keep the shape.Though I agree, that even though this might seem quite irritating, in fact, it is not a problem as long as the wiper does its job.

I'm having this exact same problem, I saw many have said the Costco's Goodyear wiper blade works, so I bought a set. The 16" one works just fine, but not the 26." The far end just doesn't sit flat, and if I push it down, it'll stay there for a few wipes and then disengage again. The other end also interfere with the wiper arm and you can hear the noise.

I've used the Windex blade from Sear, they fit perfectly but are complete garbage quality wise, only lasts about a year. Does anybody know definitively what quality blade is completely compatible with the LEAF?

The dealer-supplied blades on mine seem fine. Have you considered buying a set and installing them yourself? For that matter, mine were only $30 installed, IIRC.

hmmwv said:

I'm having this exact same problem, I saw many have said the Costco's Goodyear wiper blade works, so I bought a set. The 16" one works just fine, but not the 26." The far end just doesn't sit flat, and if I push it down, it'll stay there for a few wipes and then disengage again. The other end also interfere with the wiper arm and you can hear the noise.

I've used the Windex blade from Sear, they fit perfectly but are complete garbage quality wise, only lasts about a year. Does anybody know definitively what quality blade is completely compatible with the LEAF?

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I installed the Bosch Icon blades that I bought off Amazon last March. They seem to work with no issues.

I also am on my second set of Bosch icon's from amazon and they work great. I did go with 24A for the drivers side and 16A for the passenger side. I prefer the slight smaller blade length in the snow and slush we get.

BrockWI said:

I also am on my second set of Bosch icon's from amazon and they work great. I did go with 24A for the drivers side and 16A for the passenger side. I prefer the slight smaller blade length in the snow and slush we get.

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Finally got around to replacing the Rain-X blades. The new Bosch blades work perfectly.

LeftieBiker said:

The dealer-supplied blades on mine seem fine. Have you considered buying a set and installing them yourself? For that matter, mine were only $30 installed, IIRC.

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This is the whole blade, not just rubber refills, correct? I'll call my Nissan dealership and see what do they charge.

I called my Honda dealer and they have the rubber refills for $8.50 each, free install. I'm inclined to do that because I really like the quality of Honda's factory refills (I think same brand as Nissan's?).

baustin said:

I installed the Bosch Icon blades that I bought off Amazon last March. They seem to work with no issues.

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Did you get the 24" or the 26" for driver's side?

hmmwv said:

This is the whole blade, not just rubber refills, correct?

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Correct. I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JU5W54/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hmmwv said:

Did you get the 24" or the 26" for driver's side?

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26" (stock)

hmmwv said:

baustin said:

I installed the Bosch Icon blades that I bought off Amazon last March. They seem to work with no issues.

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Did you get the 24" or the 26" for driver's side?

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I got the 26" size that was listed as the proper one for the Leaf.

I bought the Goodyear blades at Costco as they were on sale for $4 each. The passenger side was fine, the driver side blocked the wiper fluid spray and made an annoying clicking sound as the arm rubbed the blade assembly.

So if you read through the fine print of the directions (in at least 3 languages), there are instructions to call an 800 number and get a free offset adapter mount. 3 days later I received a couple and (after reading the directions again) finally figured out how it attaches. Anyway, not bad for $8.

I had the same issue with the Rain-x. Didn't sit flat and streaked the windshield.

Re-ordered this from the Amazon -- these are much close to the stock blade.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JU5W54/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So I am having an issue with the rear wiper not touching a circle of the back window. I don't have a picture, but it's very strange. Its about a a grapefruit sized circle in the middle of the rear window that doesn't get wiped. :?: