2011 Avalon Windshield Wiper Nightmare.

[Tom K.]

OK. It's official. I am really, really steaming mad.

I have a brand new 2011 Avalon. It has 5000 miles on it. The car is a dream to drive. Best car I have ever owned. I love it. Except for one HUGE problem.

The windshield wipers chatter.

I told the dealer and they put on a pair of new blades. It didn't fix the problem. They still chatter.

I went to another dealer during a rainstorm because the chattering was driving me insane and without an appointment they threw on another pair of blades. I'm talking real Avalon blades. Not some third party brand. Guess what. They still chattered.

I am at a loss at what to do. When you look closely at the blades I notice that the ends near the bottom portion of the windshield don't make contact with the windshield. That can't be right.

Keep in mind the car was purchased brand new. Everything is working perfectly.....except for this maddening problem.

Forget about telling me the windshield needs to be cleaned or use Rainex. I have tried all of that and it didn't work. The problem has something to do with the blades themselves or the housing or some physical, mechanical phenomenon.

I'll write a letter to Toyota if this thread doesn't come up with a solution.

I have had three brand new sets of blades on that gorgeous car and they all chatter.

What in God's name can I do?

Thank you.

[Glenn8963]

there is something you can (again if you have already done it), and that is to get the windshield SUPER CLEAN...

i personally use Eagle 1 Glass Cleaner. spray it on heavy enough, maybe let it "sit there" for a minute or two. you may have to do this twice. during shipping, some fluid from the hydraulic rams of the truck, could have been leaking, spraying your windshield. the pre-delivery guy would have cleaned your car, but just didn't get the window clean enough. then over time, you were washing your car, but didn't get the thin film off either.

next, i use RainX wiper blades. i do not know the particular series, but they look like "winter" wiper blades. those glide over my windshield.

next, there can be a defect in the windshield itself, where it is NOT perfectly formed into the curve it needs to be, in order for the wipers to make perfect contact. a glass shop should be able to check on this for you. now if it is a defect in the glass, then that may very well be covered under your warranty. i personally have had a vehicle in which there was this tiny "dip" in the glass, and the blades went over it, not wiping the rain...!! just run your palms over the glass, and feel any high or low spots.

next, there is also the possibility that the wiper arm springs are too weak to hold the wipers onto the glass, and this may be allowing the blades to "jump" causing the chattering....

one last thing, wiper blades are not made of the same materials they were made of many years ago. in the hot sun, they will "take shape" as the hot sun will cause a blade to sorta like bake. when you go to turn on the wipers, this "baked on shape" will NOT ALLOW the blade to flex like it is supposed to.

[Tom K.]

Thank you Glenn8963.

One thing that really bugs me. Why wouldn't a $35,000 car have windshield wipers that just work. I had a 1996 Dodge intrepid where the windshield wipers were silent. I never had to meticulously clean the glass or anything. They just worked. Same for a 1990 Chevy Caviler. Same for my other car which is a 2009 Honda Civic.

By the way......the windshield on my Avalon is flawlessly clean. It would be very strange for a car company to expect people to keep their windshields spectacularly clean every single day in case you need to employ the wipers. I mean the windshield will get a bit diry every time you drive the car. So after a long drive home from work the owner would have to break out the windshield cleaner and clean the windshiled every day. That makes no sense whatsoever.

On my Honda I never gave the wipers a thought. I just turn them on and they work silently. Whether it just misting outside or raining cats and dogs.

Why the problem with the Avalon exists is beyond me.

[nitronate33]

did they replace the blades only or the entire housing that holds the blade? i've had problems with wipers that had plastic backings, and typically replacement blades always have plastic backings. i think some of the bosch and higher end wiper/housing combos have blades with metal backings.

but yes, definitely do what glenn said and buy a set of high-end wipers that include the housings.

[Tom K.]

Thank you nitronate33. I just talked to the service department who put the blades on. The replaced the housing along with the blades themselves.

To be precise the model number of the blades are:
Beam Blade 85222-YZZ50-TM* Driver's side and 85212-YZZ50-TM* passenger side.

I am at a total loss as what to do.

[MAToyotaSales]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Thank you nitronate33. I just talked to the service department who put the blades on. The replaced the housing along with the blades themselves.

To be precise the model number of the blades are:
Beam Blade 85222-YZZ50-TM* Driver's side and 85212-YZZ50-TM* passenger side.

I am at a total loss as what to do.

Try some aftermarket blades, if that doesn't solve it then Id say you have an issue with the windshield.

My demo is a 2011 Avalon and now I'm leasing one as well, been through rain, snow, ice....never any chatter with the wipers although I will say the wiper quality is pretty low. They streak a lot, but do not chatter.

[gary1949]

Purchased my 2011 Avalon about 2 months ago and we've had plenty of rain in upstate New York to test the wipers - I've experienced NO chattering. But I certainly sympathize with you that this would be very annoying and a potential safety hazard.

IF I HAD THIS PROBLEM . . . at home, I would use a garden hose to simulate rainfall and determine that the blades chatter. If they chatter consistently then I would go to your dealer and ask that a hose be used to duplicate what you did at home. The new car prep area should have the hose all set up. If the wipers chatter have the dealer fix the problem. Do not allow them to use temporary fixes like Rain X spray, etc. Do not allow them to install non-OEM wiper blades unless they are willing to replace the blades free of charge for the life of the vehicle, and I would ask for this in writing. The Toyota designed windshield and wiper system should work correctly together under all normal conditions, including a clean windshield, a dirty windshield, a bug-splattered windshield, etc.

A dealership service manager may regard this as a minor PITA, but it isn't given the possibility that poor visibility could cause a serious accident during a rainstorm.

You should not have to purchase wiper blades from Bosch, Rain X, Aamco or any other source and undertake your own quality assurance program.

Good Luck . . .

[Tom K.]

Thank you very much Gary. I feel the same way about this. I just bought a $35,000 car and it's a dream........except when it rains.

I'm bringing it in for service on the wipers this Thursday. The service manager told me this is the first time they have heard of this problem on a 2011 Avalon.

I am losing confidence in the Toyota service department though. This is the 3rd set of brand new blades I have had on that car.

I would consider it a miracle if this thing gets fixed Thursday. One good thing though. It's supposed to rain Thursday. Then they can see it under "real" conditions.

[azgurney]

Originally Posted by Glenn8963

there is something you can (again if you have already done it), and that is to get the windshield SUPER CLEAN...

i personally use Eagle 1 Glass Cleaner. spray it on heavy enough, maybe let it "sit there" for a minute or two. you may have to do this twice. during shipping, some fluid from the hydraulic rams of the truck, could have been leaking, spraying your windshield. the pre-delivery guy would have cleaned your car, but just didn't get the window clean enough. then over time, you were washing your car, but didn't get the thin film off either.

next, i use RainX wiper blades. i do not know the particular series, but they look like "winter" wiper blades. those glide over my windshield.

next, there can be a defect in the windshield itself, where it is NOT perfectly formed into the curve it needs to be, in order for the wipers to make perfect contact. a glass shop should be able to check on this for you. now if it is a defect in the glass, then that may very well be covered under your warranty. i personally have had a vehicle in which there was this tiny "dip" in the glass, and the blades went over it, not wiping the rain...!! just run your palms over the glass, and feel any high or low spots.

next, there is also the possibility that the wiper arm springs are too weak to hold the wipers onto the glass, and this may be allowing the blades to "jump" causing the chattering....

one last thing, wiper blades are not made of the same materials they were made of many years ago. in the hot sun, they will "take shape" as the hot sun will cause a blade to sorta like bake. when you go to turn on the wipers, this "baked on shape" will NOT ALLOW the blade to flex like it is supposed to.

I agree with this. There is some chemicals on the windsheid that need to be removed. Probably something they used to clean the car at some point.

[Tom K.]

WoW! You won't believe what happened. I took the car to my local Toyota service department today (I had a 12 noon appointment). When I dropped off the car I had typed out on a nice large white piece of paper exactly what was going on. The service manager read it.....and....I talked to him. I told him of the seriousness of the problem. He understood. Then.....as I was getting into my other car which my wife drove as she drove down to give me a ride home.......I thought I would take a look at a new Toyota Avalon 2011 (exactly like mine) and see what the wiper blades looked like.

Bam! They looked different then the one's installed on my vehicle. I went back inside and told the service manager. He wrote it down.

After a little more than 1.5 hours my phone rang. The service manager said that the blades on the 2011 Avalon they had on the lot were indeed different. The blades I had on my car were Avalon replacement blades direct from the Toyota factory.....but.....the replacement blades looked different. Soooooo........he took the blades off of the Avalon they had in the lot and put them on my car. He said they tested them and they worked perfectly. It's going to rain tomorrow so I can give it a real world test.

He said what must have happened was the same thing I had thought about initially. When I had the blades replaced the first time for chattering.....I noticed they didn't look the same. But they were the correct replacement blades according to Toyota. But.....they never worked well and chattered and didn't make good contact with the windshield. Soooo.......when they were replaced again....they were replaced with yet another set of the same "replacement" blades (which were not exactly like the blades on the Avalon as shipped from the factory).

Think about it. How many 2011 Avalons in the world have had their wiper blades replaced? Very, very very few. Blades last quite a while. It looks like I stumbled upon a future problem for all Avalon owners. When they do have to replace their wiper blades and they are given the replacements from Toyota.....they won't work well. Because they are not exactly the same blades as those placed on the vehicle in the factory where they are built.

Isn't that something?

Isn't that amazing?

I should notify Toyota about this. I could save them a boatload of headaches in the future along with Avalon owners.

I wish I knew how to get a hold of some more of those blades. The replacement blades Toyota is recommending for that vehicle right now are not the right ones.

Trust me on this one. Using those replacements is dangerous.

What's the best way to alert Toyota about this?

Thanks for all the help folks. This is a great and valuable forum.

[avalon35]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

WoW! You won't believe what happened. I took the car to my local Toyota service department today (I had a 12 noon appointment). When I dropped off the car I had typed out on a nice large white piece of paper exactly what was going on. The service manager read it.....and....I talked to him. I told him of the seriousness of the problem. He understood. Then.....as I was getting into my other car which my wife drove as she drove down to give me a ride home.......I thought I would take a look at a new Toyota Avalon 2011 (exactly like mine) and see what the wiper blades looked like.

Bam! They looked different then the one's installed on my vehicle. I went back inside and told the service manager. He wrote it down.

After a little more than 1.5 hours my phone rang. The service manager said that the blades on the 2011 Avalon they had on the lot were indeed different. The blades I had on my car were Avalon replacement blades direct from the Toyota factory.....but.....the replacement blades looked different. Soooooo........he took the blades off of the Avalon they had in the lot and put them on my car. He said they tested them and they worked perfectly. It's going to rain tomorrow so I can give it a real world test.

He said what must have happened was the same thing I had thought about initially. When I had the blades replaced the first time for chattering.....I noticed they didn't look the same. But they were the correct replacement blades according to Toyota. But.....they never worked well and chattered and didn't make good contact with the windshield. Soooo.......when they were replaced again....they were replaced with yet another set of the same "replacement" blades (which were not exactly like the blades on the Avalon as shipped from the factory).

Think about it. How many 2011 Avalons in the world have had their wiper blades replaced? Very, very very few. Blades last quite a while. It looks like I stumbled upon a future problem for all Avalon owners. When they do have to replace their wiper blades and they are given the replacements from Toyota.....they won't work well. Because they are not exactly the same blades as those placed on the vehicle in the factory where they are built.

Isn't that something?

Isn't that amazing?

I should notify Toyota about this. I could save them a boatload of headaches in the future along with Avalon owners.

I wish I knew how to get a hold of some more of those blades. The replacement blades Toyota is recommending for that vehicle right now are not the right ones.

Trust me on this one. Using those replacements is dangerous.

What's the best way to alert Toyota about this?

Thanks for all the help folks. This is a great and valuable forum.

I have a 2007, so I am not sure if there is a difference, but I have Toyota replacements (had them changed when i bought the vehichle as they had some aftermarket version wipers) and the Toyota replacements work flawlessly on my car. I hope you get this fixed as those little things can be the most annoying.

-C

[Tom K.]

The wipers now work perfectly. They are dead quiet and they do a great job of removing water from the windshield during rain.

If you own a 2011 Avalon then you MUST use the exact same blades that are on the vehicle when purchased. The replacement blades Toyota currently recommends for the 2011 Avalon Do Not Work. I tried three separate pairs of them. No go. When the Toyota tech literally took wiper blades off of a 2011 Avalon they had in the lot and placed them on my car....the problem was instantly solved.

To repeat: Replacement blades offered by Toyota for the 2011 Avalon are different then those shipped with a 2011 Avalon and they Do Not Work.

I hope this helps people in the future with this problem. The web is great for sorting out these kinds of problems.

[TOYOPARTSMAN]

Sounds like you have had your problem resolved, good for you. In the future, and for those who read these posts, have the dealer put these blades on and see if that doesn't solve the problem:
85212-AC011
85222-AC012
They are the original blades that came on the car, the other ones are replacement blades and I have had some of the Avalons have this similar complaint, but not all of them.

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Thank you nitronate33. I just talked to the service department who put the blades on. The replaced the housing along with the blades themselves.

To be precise the model number of the blades are:
Beam Blade 85222-YZZ50-TM* Driver's side and 85212-YZZ50-TM* passenger side.

I am at a total loss as what to do.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by TOYOPARTSMAN

Sounds like you have had your problem resolved, good for you. In the future, and for those who read these posts, have the dealer put these blades on and see if that doesn't solve the problem:
85212-AC011
85222-AC012
They are the original blades that came on the car, the other ones are replacement blades and I have had some of the Avalons have this similar complaint, but not all of them.

Thank you very, very much. This thread will help others in the future. The part numbers you provided are just what folks will need. I am grateful to you for that.

[DAGardner]

Our 2011 Avalon has been having the same problem. The service manager in Mishawaka IN (Jordan Toyota) told me that the only fix was to treat the window with RainX. i will be back there tomorrow to have the wipers changed.