the xb i bought hadn't had rear wiper replaced in a long time. i bought those new entire arm aftermarket ones off ebay for $10. they look oem but aren't oem. i installed it but the rubber wiper doesn't sit completely flat against the glass. i had a piaa silicone refill laying around so i used that to "refill" and it sits completely flat. oem arms are better. you can just refill and use common sense. you can probably buy the cheapest rainx wiper blade and cut it to fit and refill.

 

I keep forgetting that these even have a rear wiper. I've never used a rear wiper in my life.

(Then again, it rarely rains in AZ)

 

I did the wiper delete for $8.00 and it was worth it. Looks clean!

 

Yes, you need the whole arm. That's a DOT compliance rule. Think of sitting on the back of a bus, going over a bumpy road. Maybe not so much on the xB, but a number of vehicles drag air at the blade, they lift off the glass slightly, and between the two design flaws, wind up shooting back at other cars when they fail.

I don't know when this was mandated, but seeing a wiper blade fling off a car at 60+ mph is an 'Oh sh*t' moment for sure.

Good thing they are pretty cheap, and if you periodically clean your blades with the brown paper at gas station courtesy buckets, the blade will last for many years.

The retention nut does get rusty, you'll want to use care in removal, because you can't just replace the stud without rebuilding the rear wiper motor if that thing snaps or strips.

Some people do a wiper delete, use that hole to plop a backup cam. I'm sure you can search the site and find a few examples.

And you could buy the wiper assembly of anything you like that accepts the stud diameter and thread pitch. I haven't seen it on xBs, but others want either a bigger blade or that ability to just replace it with a universal cartridge. I'm not sure I would bother, or even recommend it. But if you want to be that rebel, there ya go. Don't blame me if something bad happens.

 

So you can't just replace to blade like on the front wipers?

 

Short answer: Not unless the arm that's on there has been replaced with one that accepts 'Rock Locks'.

And TBH, my last 2 were aftermarket ebay pickups. And the one I originally had was also a whole unit. Someone else will need to confirm whether or not a blade/cartridge was part of the OEM parts.

 

Thanks

 

Where I live, the salt gets so bad, that if you take one 40 mile trip on a stretch of highway, that back windshield is heavily obscured. And if you just zap it with wiper fluid, it makes it worse.

Of course, I'm talking about maybe 4 days in the year where this is even a bother.