Altea - how to change wiper blades?

Bidey

Guest
Hi Guys,
Is ther any guide on how to change the wiper blades on the Altea :confused:. Also Has anybody found a cheap source for replacement wiper blades or are we tied into SEAT ones at £48 the pair?:cry:

Bidey fae Perth
 

samirdamle

Guest
I have changed them about 6 months ago.
they are pretty easy to do, just put the key in the ignition and turn it to the I position.
Then touch the wiper stalk once downwards, this will get them to the service position.
After this just slide them out of the clip as per conventional wiper blades on any other car.
Once finished then just turn the ignition and do the same as before, for the wipers to go back to the normal position.
I am afraid I have not seen any replacements other than the SEAT ones either, they arn't cheap at all.
I also suggest that you clean the windscreen thoroughlly before puting the new wipers on, as this prolongs the life of the blade too.
Hope this helps.

Samir:)
 

leemac

Active Member
Jun 24, 2007
110
0
Bristol
I used bosch aerotwin flat blades on my altea they are miles better than the valeo ones from seat, wiperblades.co.uk sell them for £38.50 .
 

Tell

Full Member
Staff member
Moderator
If your going to Germany you can go Bosch dealer and they get the aerotwin ones in for you quick as a flash, like by next day and they are slightly cheaper than in the UK. Back windows you can use refills, you can search the threads here for which halford one you can use and you cut to size.

Reverting back to the fronts some old timers on this site have been swapping them around so they move left to right and get new life out of them, but I reckon the rubber as I remember it, isn't placed where it should be if you do that. I got about two years out of my original fronts without swapping them and then replaced with the Bosch ones.
 

robint

Full Member
Apr 12, 2006
168
9
UK, Essex
Set your ebay search to include German (or EU) sites and not just English language sites and look for 958S. Delivered price to UK about 42-45Euro vs £41 from wiperblades.co. About 30Euro before postage in Germany and £38.50 in the UK before postage......UK being ripped off again.......???[:@]
 

Bidey

Guest
hi Guys,
Great now i can try and get them cheaper, but first would like to try the swop over "option".
Does anybody have some details (pictures / notes / sketch) on how to physically undo them at their fixing point? As i do not have that info and had a quick look tobut could not see the obvious??
Bidey
 

Tell

Full Member
Staff member
Moderator
I'm a bit surprised at the number of Altea owners that don't have car manuals !, least of all the correct ownership documentation. You put the wipers in service mode which means you have to do a nifty bit of switching the ignition on and off with the wipers turned on, off or whatever, it's in the manual. This leaves them down. Having got them in service mode the whole assembly just slots in and out.
 

Tabintab

Newbie
Sep 15, 2006
80
0
Peterborough
Wiper Blade Refils

hi Guys,
Great now i can try and get them cheaper, but first would like to try the swop over "option".
Does anybody have some details (pictures / notes / sketch) on how to physically undo them at their fixing point? As i do not have that info and had a quick look tobut could not see the obvious??
Bidey

Purchased my refills from http://www.wiperblades.co.uk/ cost me £5.05 inc the p&p. These refills had a rigid adapter which does not fit our wiper blades, i just removed the refill from the rigid plastic adapter.

I used a screwdriver to flick the tabs that hold on the end caps away from the runner (4 tabs on each cap) then slid the end caps off the end of the wiper blades. It looks like the tabs are going to break, but mine never did. They are very flaxible. The locking mechanism is realy hard to get at, thats why i forced the tabs, start with the two smaller caps first as they are easiest to get off.

To get the refill in place i used a pair of pliers to grip the refill & liquid soap to remove friction as the refills are a tight fit. I would say the job took under an hour.

Tab.
 

Henning Bech Ma

Guest
hi Guys,
Great now i can try and get them cheaper, but first would like to try the swop over "option".
Does anybody have some details (pictures / notes / sketch) on how to physically undo them at their fixing point? As i do not have that info and had a quick look tobut could not see the obvious??
Bidey

I'm sure there is a guide with pics on the package with the new blades that show how to:)
 

Tell

Full Member
Staff member
Moderator
Interesting that we often get posts from people without the user manual !... how does this happen, a rental deal from work may be where the manual is kept.

On the front blades the mind sort of boggles as how you could put a replacement into them.... think we need a picture of that one as well :).

I'll stick to getting mine from a Bosch dealer in Germany when passing through and give the car a holiday treat. Ah was going to say that Auchan sell the Bosch Arero ones but so far they haven't got the Altea / Toldeos in yet, so you never know may be able to buy them from a French supermarket very soon at supermarket prices... just need a French car that uses this fitting.
 

Magnus

Guest
Wipers now also available at www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk for £36.49 a pair.

I'm just about to order my third repacements in 2 years. The nearside wiper seems to wear out so fast and leave big smears that then become mucky smudges when the water partialy dries then gets spread around by the fourth delayed wipe when using the washer. Anybody know a cure. Had heard a rumour that the wiper mechanism can be "realigned", but the two dealers I've spoken to knew nothing relevant.
 

Tell

Full Member
Staff member
Moderator
Think the alignment thing is about when the blades are too high or too low ie. hitting the side of the car, not how they wipe aka pressure. The smear is that the mechanism is made for left hand drive cars, so the last wipe is on the drivers side, our passenger side, so we get the water left in position on the drivers side when the wipers stop.

Apparently few eurocars have the mechanism changed for RHD, I might have got that from Honest John, somewhere. This is my third car, I buy them new and keep them for ten plus years each, my first two just had one wiper at the front, so... new one for me as well.
 

ladydriver

Guest
I have a 2 year old Altea with the original blades, I have done almost 55000 miles so it's not that they haven't been used, have I just been lucky?
 

Tabintab

Newbie
Sep 15, 2006
80
0
Peterborough
I did two years with mine, not 55,000 miles. Suppose to be sun light and the elements does them in, but running them dry does as well since they get scufted up.

Loving care I suspect rather than luck :).

Rubber perishes etc so I’ve been trying to acquire silicone blade refills for my car. Apparently silicone blades are good for 5 years because they are a lot more resistant to the elements. I found a couple of web sites on the net who sell complete wipers, but they are of the traditional design. you have inspired me enough to make a few phone calls & see if I can get some silicon refills.

Tab
 

Bidey

Guest
Hi Guys,
Gave in after finally cleaning windscreen with AutoGlyn glass cutter and no improvement!!
Bought Bosch Aerotwin wipers from SEAT dealer in Kilmarnock £37 ish and they fitted them.(discovered release catch was broken!!!).
INSTANT SUNSHINE absolutely brilliant!!
Not a broken bit in old ones but don't know why, even Mechanic could noy offer explanation other than they all snear after a while and we just replace them.
Bidey fae Perth (i can see the pub from here!)
 
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