The PIAA wiper blades do not fit my 2020 Toyota Sienna without massive engagement force. The blades are retained on the U-bend wiper arms by two small nubbins in the plastic retention assembly. The width of the Sienna arm is just a bit too wide to fit between the nubbins while slipping the blades onto the arms. They seem engaged but they do not fully engage, which I found out while driving at interstate highway speed in the middle of a rainstorm. I could see that the blade was disengaging from the arm and turned the wiper off before losing the blade.
The next day I found the problem with the nubbin height and was able to force the wiper onto the blade using a wide-open Channel Lock plier to exert the needed force to push the wiper blade fully into the plastic blade holder.
The PIAA blades are great. I used the included Silicone cleaning/treatment, and the windshield is shedding water, and I have good visibility in heavy rains, (and now in heavy snow falls).
The reason for my poor review points is the poor design that does not allow for successful installation. The good thing is that when finally installed with great difficulty the blades work well.
PIAA's Super Silicone wiper blades are the best wiper blades I have used. I purchased these units one year ago and they are still performing very well -- no chatter and they still clear the windshield as well as day one. I run them on all of my vehicles and will continue to do so going forward. If you have not tried these wipers before, you should probably purchase the blade/arm combo first. After that, you can simply purchase the wiper blade refill as they age out. The arms should last much longer.
PIAA Super Silicone wiper blades and the windshield treatment wipe that they include should be standard OEM equipment on every vehicle. Follow directions and you have completely silent, 100% effective wiper blades, water blowing off the treated glass, and they last for years even if you park outside in the sun.
PIAA wipers and blades are expensive. Not totally convinced that the extra expense is worth it. I went with a replacement blade to cut the cost. I found the instructions hard to understand when it came to removing the old blade. As for the replacement blade, don't take the clips off that hold the two metal spines on the blade until necessary or you'll have a mess on your hands. As you slide the new replacement blade into the frame, slide each clip towards the other end of the blade. When you can't push the blade in any farther, take the clips off and finish sliding the blade in.
Outer ends of the wiper blades do not stay in contact with the windshield. It appears that the wiper arm puts too much pressure on the center of the blade and the outer end pops up. There does not seem to be a way to adjust the pressure exerted by the arm. I have never had this problem before with other wiper blades, including PIAA blades purchased previously from Tire Rack. I have contacted customer support multiple times via phone and email. It takes more than a week for any email response and I have not gotten any response to phone messages. Its now been nearly a month and I do not have working wiper blades. I have requested a return or exchange for the PIAA Si-Tech wipers but have not gotten any response from the assigned service rep. I have always had a good experience with Tire Rack in the past, this has been very disappointing.
PIAA Silicone Wipers are the only wipers I use now. As long as you know how to use them properly, they are awesome. Here is how they work: Every time you use your wipers, it will deposit a little bit of silicone in any little cracks or pits in your windshield. You cannot usually see all the little cracks and dents in your windshield but they are there, all over the place. Then the water gets on your windshield and beads up because it doesn't like the silicone. It doesn't smear all over the place like it used to. I don't use my wipers as much or as often compared to regular wiper blades. Also, the blades can recondition an old pitted windshield by filling in pits with silicone. These wiper blades take a little bit of work for them to function correctly.
HOW TO GET THEM TO WORK:
- Purchase the regular wiper blades first, not the refills.
- Follow the installation instructions. Most important is a clean windshield and run them dry for five minutes.
- Keep your windshield and wiper blades clean. These blades are designed for water, not all the bugs that you hit. You will have to clean the bugs and their mess off the windshield yourself. Wiper fluid made for bugs helps, but not a whole lot. Dirt and grime may build up on the wiper blades too, so check the blades themselves. Usually I'll just need to rub my finger, or the windshield cleaning tool at the gas station along the edge of the wiper blade that is usually in contact with the windshield.
I have been using PIAA blades for over ten years.
This is the first pair of replacement PIAA blades I have bought for my truck- the original PIAA 18" wipers were installed in 2006, and they preformed superbly for the last 14 years. I have to admit, I took no care of them after the install and the Suburban was parked outside for 8 of those years. By the end of of the 14 years I had them the driver side had two streaks due to some cracks, but not objectionable. I was upgrading my two newer cars to PIAA blades, and decided it was time to put replacements in my Suburban- I didn't feel I really had too, but they would be streaky for the first minute, then were just fine. Well with the new PIAA replacements the windshield in rain and snow is streak free immediately and clear. I can't believe the amount of times I bought wipers at Auto Parts stores until I discovered PIAA wipers back in 2006. Well worth the investment.
Have bought PIAA Silicone wiper blades for all my Subarus. Unfortunately, PIAA does not fit OE wiper frames, which requires you to use PIAA's wiper frames - which apparently no longer available from Tire Rack. Great performance wiper blade, def. 3 season application.
Best wipers I have ever had. They leave an invisible film of silicon on your window which is why they are so good, the last set lasted over 2 years . Just remember to clean your wiper blades from time to time. Beautiful clear windows especially at night. These refills only fit Pias own super silicon wiper blades so be aware of that.
I purchased a set of these wipers 2 years and they are still performing like the day I got them. Although I did purchase some refills I have not needed them at this time. I also take care of the wiper blades. About every three months I wipe the blades with silicone oil several times to clean them and maintain the silicone rubber. Then prop them up off the windshield for several hours. By doing this I have not had one problem with the wipers performance. Best wipers I have ever purchased of all the years I have been driving.
Best wipers hands down the silicone does not become brittle and cracked over time. When the start to leave lines nine times out of ten if you take an alcohol pad and wipe them off they return back to new condition. They last longer than any other wiper I've used. These wipers are not cheap however they last a lot longer than the premium rubber wipers at the local auto parts store and when the blades wear out from use ( and not the sun or elements) you can actually still buy refills which is really rare these days.
About 3 years after buying my 2003 Tundra it was time to replace the blades. I bought PIAA Super Silicon. I'm embarrassed to say I've neglected touching them since I put them on 8 years ago. They are still wiping clean 8 years later! My brother was right. It makes no difference how many blades are on the silly things (like disposable razors). It's what kind of rubber their made of. And for the record, since it was new the Tundra sits outside 365 days a year in southern MO because our cars take priority in the garage. I'm getting ready to buy another set of PIAAs (not for the Tundra!) but for another car I recently purchased.
Excellent wiper blades. I've had them for over 3 years and 3 winters. As long as you maintain them with every wash they'll hold up. I just ordered a refilly recently only because only now the blade itself is starting to deform. Not bad for northeast weather and I've used the same blades for my snowboard trips up to VT, they've held up to ice and snow.
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