I'm currently considering the purchase of an '04 Max, and I'm worried about wiper effectiveness. My '97 Maxima was lousy in the windshield wiper department. I believe part of the problem on that car was that the springs in the arms didn't put down enough pressure.

I tried several brands of wipers, and never got satisfactory performance. At any speed above, say 70 MPH, the wipers stopped doing their job properly.

I always wished that the Maxima's wipers had mini spoilers, or fins, to provide aerodynamic downforce at speed. My current car has this, and I find it very effective. See the image:
[image]http://www.roverconnection.com/Disco%20Acc%20Pix/wiper.jpg[/image]

I'm worried that the '04 Maxima's wipers will not be very effective. Matter of fact, the '04 could be worse than my '97 was, because of how huge they make the driver's side wipers now.

What is up with that? Why does Nissan put an XXL wiper on the driver side, and an itty bitty one on the passenger side of all their cars? My wife's '00 Sentra has that, and it seems really stupid (and the wipers do suck on her car, by the way).

Perhaps the area around the Nissan factory in Japan never gets rain?

I would like to hear serious responses on this topic from those of you who have had your '04 Maximas for a while.

 

I don't think there is a problem with the wiper performance. Mind you my car is only a couple months old now. I can't recall problems with any of the times I've driven in the rain up to about 80-90mph.

There are aftermarket wiper spoilers available should you want to try them. Similar to what you've shown, with a larger wing and only 4-5 inches wide. They cost a couple dollars at your local Pep Boys or whatever. If you can't find any locally I'll send you a pair for a few bucks.

Also some aftermarket wipers do have integrated "spoiler" effects built into the arms. Look for them at your local supply store.

In addition to this there are external springs you can by for the wiper arms. They fit over the pivot point on the wiper and provide extra downforce at all times. These are the most effective of all the products. Though they are hard to fit on some wiper arms.

Keeping your windshield clean, and keeping the wiper blades clean will also aid in performance.

CM.

 

Rain-X http://www.rainx.com/

 

You stole my post...

You don't even need wipers with Rain-X.

 

Yea, Rain-X is absolutely awsome!

 

i was driving 80 mph in pouring rain...i have treated my windshield with rain-x, but i also use the wipers...i found no problems with the wipers at 80 mph...i will let you know the next time i hit 120 in the rain...

 

I've used the wipers at 80 and they work flawlessly. Granted, I've only had the car for a week, so that's not saying much for how they'll last over time, but they definitely work fine for me now.

-Nate

 

Thanks for all the response, everyone. I'm glad to hear satisfactory comments about the wipers on the Maxima. This helps me work toward a decision as to whether or not to buy a Max. (I have about 3 weeks left to decide.)

Yeah, I've used Rain-X in the past. But the problem is, when I do have to sometimes still use the wipers (such as at low speeds, or when the Rain X is wearing off), then the stuff gets on the wipers. My experience was that the wiper rubber then gets all greased up and become less effective. Perhaps that's changed.

 

I've never like Rain X. I've always found that after treatment, yes the water does roll off quite nicely. But then when you do use your wipers there is a lot of streaking left behind for a second or two after each sweep of the wipers. I always make sure the window is nice and spotless before application but I always get that result.

CM.