OEM Wiper Blade Refills -- No Longer Made???

[stevekat]

I took a look at RealOEM.com and BMWFans.info and neither site seemed to offer any blade inserts, only entire wiper blades. What was interesting is there was only a $22 - $30 difference between the cost of a set of wiper blades and a set of full wiper arms, that seem to include the blades.

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

They discontinued the VALUE LINE rubber refills...the regular (more expensive) refills are still available.

You can look them up in the part database to see how much the BMW regular refills are....may be slightly different depending on which side of the facelift you fall on.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by stevekat

Especially Santa Monica BMW who seem to regularly almost double the list price of the parts before they give you a quote.

I have 3 local dealers in a 15 minute radius from my house, the closest one in my town I always call first for parts, even though I know the other 2 dealerships are always cheaper. The parts dept in my town is consistently 20% higher than the other 2, and even when I point blank tell them i'm sorry but its much cheaper at XXXX dealership, they say, "ok, have a nice day".

I guess they make enough money on newer BMW's

[Qsilver7]

I do find it interesting that item #7 (rubber refill) is listed as for 9/2004-up...but there's not build restriction for the wiper blade #9.

So, if #7 fits #9 for the face lift e53...but there's no build date restriction for #9...then why won't #7 fit the pre-face lift since they use the same blade? Hmmm.

If a pre face lift e53 X5 owner was in need of new refills (for approx $20)...I'd stop by my local BMW dealer and ask the parts guys if they can answer this conundrum. We may find out that the rubber refills (#7) might work for the early e53s...or we may find out that they don't.

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i WIPER ARM/WIPER BLADE

[Clockwork]

I had the Bosch icons and they were Garabage for me (did not provide consistent contact across window arc and yes I removed the plastic clip on the wiper arm.
I went to Michelin Stealths from Costco. $12/wiper blade. Beats the $25/ wiper blade for Bosch Icons.

[Ricky Bobby]

I guess I must be in the minority, you're like the 3rd person telling me the Bosch Icons did not work right for them, I've had mine on almost 2 years and no complaints on my car or the wifes.

[stevekat]

Number 7 did not come up for me at all when checking for a 6/2003 e53 (I just picked a random 2003 date for mine since I had not checked its build date.) If the wiper blade (entire part) and wiper arms are the same, I would imagine the blade refills (inserts) are the same.

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

I do find it interesting that item #7 (rubber refill) is listed as for 9/2004-up...but there's not build restriction for the wiper blade #9.

So, if #7 fits #9 for the face lift e53...but there's no build date restriction for #9...then why won't #7 fit the pre-face lift since they use the same blade? Hmmm.

If a pre face lift e53 X5 owner was in need of new refills (for approx $20)...I'd stop by my local BMW dealer and ask the parts guys if they can answer this conundrum. We may find out that the rubber refills (#7) might work for the early e53s...or we may find out that they don't.

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i WIPER ARM/WIPER BLADE

[Qsilver7]

If you enter the last 7 digits of your VIN and pull up the wiper diagram...see if #9 ( or #6 & #5) are the same part nbr for the facelift. If so, then again, I'm curious as to why #7 only appears for the face lift if the #9 (a set that includes #5 & #6) fits the entire X5 line. Also not sure if #7 is rubber only...or if it comes with the metal reinforcing inserts.

Next time you're hopping into the X...take a look at the MFG label on the driver's door jamb...the build date should be around the top right of the label.

You can see in the pic below where my VIN label indicates 12/05 as my build date.

[stevekat]

Thanks.

BTW, it seems the aero part of the driver wiper is removable and could be put on a compatible replacement wiper blade cartridge.

[nyum96]

[QUOTE=stevekat;962471]The wiper blades that are worn and on my X5 are SWF Valeo. They seem like they may be original style. Their website says they are original equipment for many Euro cars. The left front wiper in the 800 series comes with the wind deflector (and looks like the series that is on my e53.)


Plug and play and in my opinion works better. Had used the 1,000,000,000 contact point blades and they missed half my windshield at cruising speeds. No issues with the SWF's if you don't mind doing back to the early blade design phase.