2009 Wiper blades - are OEM really the same?
 

Please help! It's just a little thing, but little things can be so aggravating!

One of the helper guys in our mechanic's shop (not dealer) replaced our wiper blades with some other brand. Not refills; whole blades. AUGH! Went back to get that fixed; original wipers long gone beyond dumpster-diving possibilities. Mechanic ordered OEM ones from dealer and they look better but somehow still not quite the same. As far as I can tell from calling around to dealers' parts departments they are the correct part number, etc. and supposed to be the same as what came on the car, and I can't quite put my finger on exactly what seems different, but they just don't seem quite the same - not quite as chunky/hefty as the originals? That chunkiness seemed so odd at first but really grew on me/us and we'd really like to have the correct original blades. We don't have any photos of the car that show the wipers well enough to compare. I've done some parking-lot snooping and seen other 8th gen. civics with the same blades we now have, but then again most people change blades instead of getting refills so that doesn't prove much.


Do any of you know if the currently available OEM blades are really the ones that came on '09 civics? Ours is a 4-door EX sedan.

Are there any of you out there who have an '09 (in case other years maybe were slightly different ...) who know you have only replaced refills and still have original blades who would be willing to post a pic?

Then, of course, if the currently available ones are different, where could I look to find real original ones?

Thank you!

Re: 2009 Wiper blades - are OEM really the same?
 

Dealer (factory) replacement blades are the same as original. We aren't installing Anco, Bosch or Rain-X and calling them "factory". (Is there an obvious name on yours?)

They could have been installed on the wrong sides. Blades are 575mm and 650mm, the longer one goes on the drivers side.
I can give you the part numbers if you want, maybe there are part numbers on your invoice to compare?

FYI we replace only the rubber inserts whenever possible. If a customer already has aftermarket blades, then we can't install OE inserts.

Sedan takes different blades than a coupe. Completely different.

Browsing Google for pics, came up with this, it looks pretty damned close:
http://www.shunting168.com/html_prod...-Blade-29.html

http://www.shunting168.com/pic/big/29_0.jpg


The factory wiper has a tab about an inch long that must be lifted up in order to slide the blade off of the "hook" on the end of the arm. I have not seen aftermarket with the same locking method (yet).

Read your owners manual, there is a "how to" on the wipers. Your blades should follow the exact same procedures to remove. If yours are any different, suspect they are not OEM?
http://www.marktastic.com/wp-content...1-1024x643.jpg


Or drop by a dealership and ask.

HTH

Re: 2009 Wiper blades - are OEM really the same?
 

Thank you for all that info! I believe that the ones that have now been put on are the real current OEM ones, with the tab as you described. Parts numbers 76630-SNA-A11 and 76620-SNA-A12. We're just not sure that they are actually the same as what was put onto 2009 civics when they were new or if the design has changed somewhat over the years, since they just don't seem to look the same (more curved at the ends than the old ones? A bit less chunky?). The guy in one of the parts departments that I called said that the one part number had been superceded - that it used to be -A11 but now is -A12. He wasn't sure if the actual shape/design had changed at all; just that the -A12 is what is made now and is the official OEM product offered at this time.

So anyway that is why I was hoping to compare with images from one or more vehicles that have only had the inserts/refills changed and are known to have the same blades they had when new in 2009. It is good to know that the coupe ones are totally different! My vehicle is a 2009 4-door, EX sedan, automatic, dark gray (those last 2 shouldn't matter, but just in case...)

We wanted only the refills changed (well, actually hadn't noticed anything had to be done with the wipers - the car was in for other service - but if we had wanted to replace wipers would have asked for refills) and the mechanic even had refills in stock but one of the other guys there just replaced with other blades and then the originals got thrown out. augh!

Re: 2009 Wiper blades - are OEM really the same?
 

The other night I was gonna go take a pic of mine, but mine is a 12. A wee bit different. And the batteries were dead in the camera.


76620-SNA-A11 looks like it is still a valid number in my catalog, but i can't see what happens if I were to actually try to place an order. I also can't see what cars that part number fits (number lookup), but it is labeled a 650mm wiper.


I'd sort of guess they (your shops helper?) didn't do just inserts because of issues with terminology. Refill, rubber, blade, strip, insert (I always call the rubber strip an "insert"), wiper, etc. may all sound the same to someone that doesn't know any better.
Hell, I can write "insert" right on the work order and parts department still can't figure out what i want. All reasoning ceased after reading the word "wiper" I guess.

If you got a pair of OEM wiper blades, I'd stop worrying. Replacement inserts will fit when you need them again next year.

Re: 2009 Wiper blades - are OEM really the same?
 

Likely took 1 look at the plastic cover/shroud they use and decided it just easier to replace the entire blade.

They look a little daunting at 1st glance.

I'm going to try for 1.5 years on my refills this time around... already over a year and no streaks.


Edit: I got the 76623-SNA-A12 refill a couple of weeks back, they look unchanged to me.