kchao2000

Hello all,

Owned the car about 1.5 year now. I can't remember since when the problem started, but the issue exist long enough. It mainly happens on the driver side wiper and 99% of the time happens when I do "1 click quick wipe" (you know when you push the controller down and wiper does a quick 1 time wipe). Wiper goes up no problem but coming back down chatters (or better description is "jumps" down).

I went to 2 different dealers. One did wiper arm adjustment (not sure if they really did or not but they said they did), and the other dealer said nothing wrong with the arm. I have wash clean the windshield with Dawn, followed by Glass Science Glass Scrubber, and then followed by rubbing alcohol so pretty sure the windshield is clean. Both wiper blades (from Audi dealer) are new, just replaced 2 weeks ago. But it still does it.

My questions are:

1. Could it be the windshield is way too clean to cause the issue?
2. Could it be wiper blade has some kind of film or rubber residual which cause the issue? Because if I use rubbing alcohol to clean the wiper blade, it has lots and lots of black marks/residual removed and it seems helped the situation.
3. Is it wiper arms really mis-aligned?

As far as I can remember, it didn't happened right the way after the purchased.

Anyone experienced the same issue? How did you fix it? Please advice and help. Thanks in advance!!!

spijun

As I remember alcohol is not good for rubber parts because it dries out rubber

abcabc

I've only noticed this on previous Audis if I used a clay bar on the windshield. It's like it doesn't like the windshield to be too clean or something.

uberwgn

Probably a slight mis-alignment.

MDub75

Rubber against glass without any lubrication (and hence, nothing but friction). That is probably why it's chattering. I would say lay off the dish soap and rubbing alcohol and use a product specifically formulated for automotive glass.

Loafer123

I had this problem with our 2006 A4 avant. The cause was using a windshield washer product that was designed to put a film on the windshield that caused rain and water to 'bead'. This product put a 'film' on the windshield. The film did not provide enough friction for the rubber on the blade to 'flip' when the blade moved in each direction- the blade stayed on one side and resulted in a skipping.

Don't know if this is the case for you. I would check to see if the blade is moving to each side of the rubber blade when it moves back and forth across the windshield. If it is not, check with your dealer to make sure the correct way for the blade to operate. It may be there is too much lubricant on the windshield; it also may be something else.

Good luck!

rarewolf

If it's indeed not a mechanical problem with the arm returning towards the rest position, I'd suggest trying a glass polish, commonly found in the car detailing section of your favorite auto store ...

HTH

81Coupe

Same thing happened to me. Rain-X. But it was 30 years ago. Because of that experience, I never apply anything on my windshields.

Reggie

I've had the opposite experience with Rain X - works great for me on my windows and wipers

awryexperiment

Have you considered whether the glass surface is etched or scratched? I was living with a similar problem on a previous car that completely went away when I replaced the windshield due to a stone chip. the new glass was not etched like the old was and the skipping stopped.

Is it possible you travel in an area with geologically abrasive dusts?