Rain-X 5079279 Latitude 8-In-1 Premium Graphite Coated Wiper Blade – 22″

Review by Stanz for Rain-X 5079279 Latitude 8-In-1 Premium Graphite Coated Wiper Blade – 22″
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These wipers are fantastic in the rain, especially when brand new. They do not squeak or smear while removing all water from your windshield.

In the snow, they are not that bad, if you park your car in a garage anyway. The problem with these blades is that they do not hold up well in cold weather, especially when coated with snow and ice.

I’ve had these blades on my Blazer for about 7 months, and during the fall they were great. Once the bad weather started to come (Buffalo, NY) the snow and ice began to build up on the blades while parked outside. The design of these blades includes plastic end caps that keep the main blade strip from moving. But when water has collected inside the cap and it freezes, the expanded ice loosens the cap and it eventually falls off. After that, the blade will slowly ease its way out from the holder slot. If you do not slide it back right away (every day or during the drive) it will ruin the blade when it wipes. This results in the wiper not being able to get a clean wipe in thick snows or sleet on both strokes. I regularly get a big wet icy patch in the middle of my windshield due to this.

I have been looking for the perfect winter wipers for a long time, and these are not them.

Review by K. Slotkowski for Rain-X 5079279 Latitude 8-In-1 Premium Graphite Coated Wiper Blade – 22″
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***************** PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW ****************

This review only applies to Rain-X Latitude-2 wiper blade designed for what Rain-X describes as Insert & Lock (I&L) wiper arms. This 22″ wiper blade fits all 2007 and later models of Cadillac Escalade (all models), Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Sierra and Yukon amongst other manufacturers.

This wiper blade was purchased because of a recommendation in the November 2008 issue of Consumers Reports. In all fairness to CR only the Rain-X Latitude non dash 2 were tested.

The attachment for the blade to the wiper arm is not very robust (unlike the original General Motors OEM blades for Pinch Tab Wiper Arms) and keeps disengaging from the arm when it is lifted for cleaning the windshield (of snow and ice). The metal shoe which is fastened to the blade detaches easily from the plastic arm attachment device. These wiper blades are more expensive then others and yet their attachment method is not as secure as the original OEM blades. It could be quite possible for the Rain-X Latitude-2 to disengage from the wiper arm while driving (in a storm)! Apparently Rain-X did not test this design with snow and ice on the windshield. What was wrong with the OEM attachment design?

These wiper blade were purchased directly from Rain-X. Contacting Rain-X regarding this issue has been an exercise in futility. They have not recognized the seriousness of this issue.

Review by amphibiac for Rain-X 5079279 Latitude 8-In-1 Premium Graphite Coated Wiper Blade – 22″
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I’ll tell ya, friends, I’ve been trying different wiper blades for a long time, and the crap that’s being sold as premium now is just that….crap. These blades lasted about the same as any, which is a pitiful 3-4 months before they started making things worse instead of better. Grrrrr!