I used to use Bosch, but have been quite happy with the Rainx latitude blades which I'm running on all 3 of my rigs and love em. The ones I've had on my R I've had for 5 months and still looking good.

 

I've found that such things are usually from sharp rocks and road debris damaging the squeegee part of the blade.

Seems to be a luck of the draw thing, sometimes a set of blades will stay intact forever, and sometimes they get ****ed up in only a few months.

I'm on my second set up bosch blades, first set lasted a couple of years and currently have over 6 months on these, so same luck seems to apply to these as I've had with others.

 

You should keep an eye on RockAuto for closeout deals on wipers, then you can have enough blades stored up that you won't care one bit if they only last a few months. I most recently bought a dozen Neoform blades for about $2 each.

 

I use the Bosch evolutions and changed them before every winter and I've never had any streaks or anything. S60 I put the oem ones for the oem look on them. But I don't think I've ever used them on that car lol.


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Glad to see I'm not the only one annoyed. I usually buy Bosch icons

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Yup, I realize now the icons weren't oem. Valeo definitely makes the oe wipers, make sense being they make headlights and other components of the R.

Well, with Fcp's lifetime warranty I'm never going back to Icons, at least on this car.

Thanks 4C, big help!

 

I can't help but get annoyed at Bosch, I know they are supposed to be the same but I swear the OEM Volvo are different.

Well, they ARE different (no swearing reqd)...

When Volvo switched to the lower-profile wiper arms+blades for '05 MY, the new blades were manufactured by Valeo (valeoServiceUSA.com).

When the original owneRs heRe did their original group buy of replacement Valeo blades way back when (there's a thread about it somewheRe...), they got Valeo Gen2 blades. Gen2 blades are cheaper; they were the first blades of this then-new type that Valeo made available to the public, However, they are NOT the OEM blades. (IMHO, that gave rise to long-lasting epic confusion regarding OEM wiper blades...) Eventually, Valeo released to the public the OEM ones:

900-22-8B (for '05+ Rs)
900-24-8B (for '05+ Rs)

My caR's original blades finally failed 2 weeks ago (while on the road)! I put in a spare set of OEM blades that I'd bought from the owner of a newer Volvo (I paid half towards a new/different set of replacement blades from a Volvo stealership and kept her used originals); I'd been carrying them in the trunk for a year waiting to need them, which I'd obtained before I learned about the details of the true Valeo OEMs.

I ordered new Valeo 900s last week (from amazon, of which I am no longer a fan, since they've raised their minimum order amount for free shipping AND are now charging sales tax ), and am expecting them to be the same as my caR's originals. If they're not, I'll let you know.

I found the originals to be somewhere between excellent and superb. Apparently, some people think they're too flimsy for moving depths of snow, but I've never used/needed them for that (I carry a snow brush in Winter...); mine have consistently worked great through the yearS (which is why I'll accept no substitute), even in less-than-ideal weather:

 

OEM Wiper Blades ('05+)

 

This will sound sarcastic, but I'm asking honestly. I bought these OEM Valeo blades in 2012 for $20/pair. I think that's a very good price for them. As I said above, I most recently got very similar Neoform blades for just over $2 per blade. That information in mind, would you consider the Valeo OEM blades to be 4 to 5 times better than competing blades? Since it's been many years and many blades since I last used the Valeos, I can't comment either way.

 

Yeah, I'd say that $20/pr for these OEM Valeos is a very good price. Where did you get them? (And why are the not still good and in use after only 4 years? )

would you consider the Valeo OEM blades to be 4 to 5 times better than competing blades?

A car is only original once ... sometimes it's cause for celebration when crappy original tires, that the owner couldn't bear to trash, finally wear out and superior replacements are fitted.

But in the case of these blades, I'm sold on the originals. Our caRs' wipers are not 'hidden' but exposed in their stowed position. A major benefit of the '05+ style is that they are flatter, lower (profile). Every time I tried or looked at an alternative wiper blade, they were bigger (thicker/taller). And on ouR caRs, the view out the (bottom portion of the) windshield is not of the (contours of the) hood, it's of the wipers. So I'll take mine as low-profile as they come, please.

That's a big part of why I find all the aftermarket alternatives to be a step backwards, both cosmetically and functionally. YMMV...

 

 

Cool!! Who makes these? I like the shape- I have found the supposedly better than steel frame bar type blades lift off of the windshield on the freeway and start streaking. The blades pictured look like someone thought of that and fixed it.

FWIW 'Bosch" makes like 10 variants of wiper blades.

 

Trico blades are nice. Oreilly has them for like $20/ each. Have had mine since October and no streaking. And they're pretty slimline


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Just so you guys know, here's maybe a little known secret.

Through the new Volvo warranty program MOST parts sold over the counter from the dealership carry a 2 year warranty. Probably depends if your local one wants to play nice or not, but mine has agreed that if I do buy the OEM ones from them and they fail within this 2 year period, they will replace them under parts warranty.

You could get blades for life for the one time purchase if you play your cards right.....just FYI

In addition, Volvo now offers lifetime warranty on parts AND labor on nearly everything that you have done through the dealership on your car. This INCLUDES bushings. Again depends on if your local one wants to play nice or not but if you're lowered and go through bushings a lot or spring seats, pay for them once and forget about it. It's crazy, it's really almost everything short of brake pads and rotors.

 

Just so you guys know, here's maybe a little known secret.

You could get blades for life for the one time purchase if you play your cards right.....just FYI

Yes, if you purchase them through our forum sponsor FCP Euro they will be warrantied for life.

www.fcpeuro.com

 

That two year warranty from Volvo must be new. I use to be that it was a one year warranty for parts and that you were only covered for two years if you had the parts installed at the dealer.

 

I didn't think the warranty would include wear items. Good to know.

And for what it's worth, the older style OE blades are Valeo 800 series.

 

I can't help but get annoyed at moronic VALEO!

So the "OEM" wipers arrived (I showed you the boxes...). And they work great, just like the low-profile originals. So why am I displeased?

Because the highly visible rubber airfoil atop the blade is too light-colored. It's not black, it's gray. And so not only does it not visually blend in with the black windshield bottom, it looks far more weathered -- far older -- than the 9-year-old originals (or the emergency replacement originals I'd been carrying)!!! :facepalm:

Thinking that these wipers must have been sitting in stock for 10 years and the rubber was oxidized, I applied the silicone-based product I used to help keep the originals (and other trim pieces) blackish. To no avail!!! So I called Valeo to inquire/complain. They offered to send me another pair. I told them to first check to make sure that the were made of rubber that was black not gray, because I have no desire for any gray wiper blades, much less any more.

Watkins called me back to say that they are all gray now. That that's how they are made now.

I'm waiting to hear back from a Valeo desicion-maker. But in the meantime, I guess there are no more (original-looking) OEM blades available for our caRs.

 

Really happy I bought my wipers through FCP Euro Will keep an eye on how they perform over the 2-year period. Should be around 200,000 miles then.

 

I've been using Bosch Evolution wiper blades on my 2008 S60,
but the quality seems to have been slipping,
so I set out to see if there might be something better.
Long story short, I've switched to TRICO Ultra.
See TRICO Ultra Wiper Blades recommendation.