Stupid mistake - ripped wipers off completely

Richard53

Look at the ends of the wiper arms. Do they look plain with a rounded end and a little pip or hole on one side? If so, you have broken the plastic wiper blade mount. New blades and you are done. They are easy to fit but sometimes need a bit of fiddling to get them the right way round. If you buy the blades from somewhere like Halfords they will fit them for a small fee.

forgotmyname

Some motor linkages have a weak point for such situations, but if the wiper arms still move if lifted off the screen then the motor is fine.

The issue is that some care require half teh scuttle panel to be dismantled to get to the arm to pop it back on which is a 10 second job.

AdrianC

forgotmyname wrote: »

One thing the driving instructor didnt teach my kids, that and leaving it in gear when parking.
The instructor said to me why would i do that? He didnt know?

Why would you?

Unless, of course, your handbrake doesn't work.

peter12345678910

Also if you we're in a hurry the car would go backwards or forwards maybe hitting something if you forgot to put the gear in neutral before you turn the ignition key.

peter_the_piper

peter12345678910 wrote: »

Also if you we're in a hurry the car would go backwards or forwards maybe hitting something if you forgot to put the gear in neutral before you turn the ignition key.

Lots of cars won't start without foot on clutch pedal so not always a problem. Chances of a parking brake fail are slim but I still put in gear when turned off.

ripplyuk

I've just checked, and the wiper arms still work fine. I understand that I'm terrible at explaining this sort of thing, but the ends look like new blades should be able to clip in. Nothing looks obviously 'broken' there, from what I can tell anyway.

I really appreciate all the replies as I was totally panicking. I'll go to the mechanic this morning, once the roads defrost a bit.

bsod

Changing (or refitting) a wiper blade/arm doesn't normally require a mechanic.

Richard53

ripplyuk wrote: »

I've just checked, and the wiper arms still work fine. I understand that I'm terrible at explaining this sort of thing, but the ends look like new blades should be able to clip in. Nothing looks obviously 'broken' there, from what I can tell anyway.

I really appreciate all the replies as I was totally panicking. I'll go to the mechanic this morning, once the roads defrost a bit.

See my post #12 above. You can buy the blades and fit them yourself. Easier if you can see how the old one fitted on, but quite possible without that if you are logical. If you get the arm into the plastic mount and push it down firmly, it will click when it's in place. If you're really not sure, as I said above Halfords will fit for a couple of quid, and no doubt most places that sell them would be happy to help you. It's literally a 2-minute job if you've done it before.

ripplyuk

It seems I didn't even need new wipers. The guy asked to see the old ones and they just slotted back on, within seconds. A bit embarrassing as I'd just explained to him I spent almost an hour trying. . He said they had just 'popped off' but no parts had broken.

I tried them out for a while just to make sure, and they do seem to be working fine.

I'll never do that again!!

z1a

"Why would you?

Unless, of course, your handbrake doesn't work."

Or you have a Saab.