Juddering windscreen wipers

[GeoffS57]

Hi all, My Emira is over a year old and in all that time it has rarely been driven in the rain. However I was driving during a storm recently and I noticed some slight juddering on both wipers but worst on the drivers side. In heavy rain the wipers worked fine, but when the rain got a bit lighter, just around the point where the intermittent wipe would cut in, then the juddering would start. They still cleared the windscreen acceptably, but the noise and the visible vibration is annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering whether it is worth simply replacing the wiper blades to see if that cures it?

 

[geoffbland]

No juddering from my wiper blades at all - driving it in light and torrential rain or even when not raining and I hit the wipers by mistake. Worth you replacing them, you can always keep the current ones as spares in case the swap doesn't fix it.

 

[jp129]

That juddering behavior sounds alot like worn wiper inserts. I think that'll be an economical way to troubleshoot if it's just the blades or something else.

Mine are also used infrequently, but its very smooth.

 

[RoryBellows]

If there's not as much water there's more friction to push through. My wipers aren't particularly fond of my ppf on the windshield either. A tip I got which seems to work in a pinch is to spray your washer fluid. The glycol in the washer fluid acts as a lubricant and makes them slide a little better.

 

[Tim Hurn]

There was a warranty upgrade to fix this on earlier cars. My Dec 2022 juddered from new and is now fine.

 

[Aero]

Hi all, My Emira is over a year old and in all that time it has rarely been driven in the rain. However I was driving during a storm recently and I noticed some slight juddering on both wipers but worst on the drivers side. In heavy rain the wipers worked fine, but when the rain got a bit lighter, just around the point where the intermittent wipe would cut in, then the juddering would start. They still cleared the windscreen acceptably, but the noise and the visible vibration is annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering whether it is worth simply replacing the wiper blades to see if that cures it?

Got my car in March 24. Hadnt used wipers (except accidently swipe once) since then. Got caught in torrential downpour on way back from dealer appt last week. Noticed exact same shuttering/juddering in medium to heavy rain. Thought they just used really cheap wiper rubber or something or got stiff after a year of zero use. Was also greeted by rain sensor error/fault when the auto position.
Living in England is more of feat to never get caught in rain.

 

[Beachbum]

UK rain is maybe more frequent than in some states in the US, but not all. However in some states when it rains, it makes a monsoon look like a slight drizzle(Looking at you Florida)

 

[crestima]

Hi all, My Emira is over a year old and in all that time it has rarely been driven in the rain. However I was driving during a storm recently and I noticed some slight juddering on both wipers but worst on the drivers side. In heavy rain the wipers worked fine, but when the rain got a bit lighter, just around the point where the intermittent wipe would cut in, then the juddering would start. They still cleared the windscreen acceptably, but the noise and the visible vibration is annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering whether it is worth simply replacing the wiper blades to see if that cures it?

One easy fix that has worked for me in the past, admittedly not to my Emira yet, was applying Rain-X to the windshield and cleaning the rubber wiper blades with it. The slippery silicone polymer coating from the Rain-X product should eliminate the blade juddering. There’s a Rain-X washer fluid additive which also works and provides de additional benefit of re-lubricarting the windshield just by using the car’s washer sprayer. As a dual benefit, the very same silicone coating in Rain-X that will stop the wiper blade from juddering, will also help improve dissipation of water drops substantially improving outward windshield visibility during rainfall.

 

[Rayjoedef]

Hi all, My Emira is over a year old and in all that time it has rarely been driven in the rain. However I was driving during a storm recently and I noticed some slight juddering on both wipers but worst on the drivers side. In heavy rain the wipers worked fine, but when the rain got a bit lighter, just around the point where the intermittent wipe would cut in, then the juddering would start. They still cleared the windscreen acceptably, but the noise and the visible vibration is annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering whether it is worth simply replacing the wiper blades to see if that cures it?

Mine does exactly that.....going in next week with a couple of other things

 

[mahabat]

Hi all, My Emira is over a year old and in all that time it has rarely been driven in the rain. However I was driving during a storm recently and I noticed some slight juddering on both wipers but worst on the drivers side. In heavy rain the wipers worked fine, but when the rain got a bit lighter, just around the point where the intermittent wipe would cut in, then the juddering would start. They still cleared the windscreen acceptably, but the noise and the visible vibration is annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering whether it is worth simply replacing the wiper blades to see if that cures it?

Mine also does it but I assumed it was because I put PPF on my windshield. I have always had the PPF so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

[Jbrock]

One easy fix that has worked for me in the past, admittedly not to my Emira yet, was applying Rain-X to the windshield and cleaning the rubber wiper blades with it. The slippery silicone polymer coating from the Rain-X product should eliminate the blade juddering. There’s a Rain-X washer fluid additive which also works and provides de additional benefit of re-lubricarting the windshield just by using the car’s washer sprayer. As a dual benefit, the very same silicone coating in Rain-X that will stop the wiper blade from juddering, will also help improve dissipation of water drops substantially improving outward windshield visibility during rainfall.

Using silicone washer fluid can damage the wash system of some cars. Not sure about a Lotus, but it's a no go in a BMW. I'd stick the cheap stuff to be sure.

 

[crestima]

Using silicone washer fluid can damage the wash system of some cars. Not sure about a Lotus, but it's a no go in a BMW. I'd stick the cheap stuff to be sure.

Interesting, I've used Rain-X on my past 5 BMWs, 2 Porsches and 2 Lexus without ever having a single problem with their washer system.

 

[Jbrock]

Interesting, I've used Rain-X on my past 5 BMWs, 2 Porsches and 2 Lexus without ever having a single problem with their washer system.

Check the owners manual. I used a silicone washer fluid in a 2020 M340 by mistake. Clogged the system, I was quoted over $1M to repair the system. Got lucky and it unclogged itself after running a regular washer fluid through it.

 

[crestima]

My last BMW, a 650M was some 8 years ago so I don't have a manual, but I'm not doubting at all that the warning was there. If I were to follow all the recommendations in manuals, in my particular case, I'd have a pretty boring ownership experience with my cars. With my Emira, for instance, I've already implemented many mods that are manual-defying rules. For whatever it's worth, there a few ingredients, particularly in high percentage content, that I avoid when buying washer fluid like ethanol, methanol, alcohol and ethylene (antifreeze) as these are proven to damage the car's clear coat, paint and PPF over time and many cheaper washer brands contain a good percentage of some of those.
Having said this, I completely respect your conservative preference of sticking to all of the manufacturer's recommendations.
Best

 

[Jbrock]

My last BMW, a 650M was some 8 years ago so I don't have a manual, but I'm not doubting at all that the warning was there. If I were to follow all the recommendations in manuals, in my particular case, I'd have a pretty boring ownership experience with my cars. With my Emira, for instance, I've already implemented many mods that are manual-defying rules. For whatever it's worth, there a few ingredients, particularly in high percentage content, that I avoid when buying washer fluid like ethanol, methanol, alcohol and ethylene (antifreeze) as these are proven to damage the car's clear coat, paint and PPF over time and many cheaper washer brands contain a good percentage of some of those.
Having said this, I completely respect your conservative preference of sticking to all of the manufacturer's recommendations.
Best

In my BMW I use their concentrate. Mix it up depending on the season.