How often should wiper blades be changed?

Fresh off the lot or pre-owned garage from whence you found a Convenient Deal4U, picture yourself driving your new baby in the rain and for a brief moment you spot what looks like one of your favourite local sporting stars like Siya Kolisi, Faf du Plessis, Andile Jali, Dean Furman, Themba Zwane maybe or perhaps even a Hlompho Kekana, or whomever. The scenario which plays out could assume so many different permutations, the worst of which would be the low visibility which is a result of your wiper-blades being worn out, likely making for the second-worst possible time to realise that it’s time to have them changed.

Of course, the first-worst time would be during an event which threatens your safety as a result of the low visibility, but we led with those specific soccer stars for a specific reason, which is to drive home the point that certain elements of your car work extremely hard while often going unnoticed, only coming to one’s attention when something goes wrong with them. It’s much like the central midfielders mentioned – when the team is doing well you don’t notice just how hard the central midfielder is working, but watch the structure of the team’s game-play suffer when that pivotal player is missing through injury or other reason.

That’s how your car’s wiper blades are – they’re a very important aspect making up the many safety pointers contributing to your driving experience and yet their importance is often only realised when they’re not quite functioning at peak performance. You can very well be forgiven for overlooking the wiper blades as a factor to consider in the regular maintenance of your car, but there’s no getting around the fact that they form part of the responsibility.

So, how often should you change your wiper blades then?

Unlike with many other cogs that come together to make up your vehicle, with wiper blades, poor performance doesn’t necessarily mean they’re worn out and need to be changed, but it most definitely can. It may just be a case of your windshield needing good cleaning...

Otherwise, as a general rule, wiper blades are like a subscription to the wonderful sights of the world as seen through the screen which is your windscreen, renewable annually, so you should never let a set of wiper blades be in use for more than 12 months. Don’t wait until the worst of times to realise they need replacing, because a set of wiper blades that offers great visibility one day could make for a safety issue the very next day once they’ve been left on for too long.

By all means, if there are some visible signs that they need replacing before the period of 12 months has lapsed, get a new set. Streaking, clicking, or smearing in addition to visible wear and tear justify replacement with a new set.