I couldn't find anywhere with quite the right information on it to help me change the rubber bit of my wiper blades (apparently called refills or sometimes inserts). So here's my instructions, for my Toyota Corolla Verso 2005 UK.
This video is pretty good, but you can't see the key stages clearly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Ijmsg2sKs
0. Get new blades
I got them from my dealer or local Toyota specialist. The two front ones cost me about £16. To me the real Toyota ones aren't much more expensive than generic ones and look like they will be much better.
0.5 Get an old rag
1. Remove the wiper blades.
These are the whole assembly including the rubber bit and the bits that it connects to. The wiper blade connects to the wiper arm. The arm hooks around part of the blade assembly. There is a little bit of plastic on this part of assembly. When you push it towards the wiper arm, you can push the blade assembly down towards the car and the whole assembly becomes free.
Now get your old rag out and place it carefully under the bare wiper arm, and place is carefully against the windscreen. This avoids either scratching the windscreen when it is placed carefully against it, or smashing it when the spring loaded arm is brushed against and fires itself at the windscreen!
1.5 Look at the existing assembly.
Note:
A: where the metal bits fit into the insert (That's the rubber bit.)
B: Which end of the rubber insert is fixed (One end of the rubber is fixed and held in place and the other end moves in an out of the blade assembly as you flex the rubber.)
2. Remove the old Insert
Starting at the fixed end, you need to pull the rubber out of the metal bit of the wiper assembly that's holding it in place. You might damage the old rubber insert to do this, but you should not need to damage or bend the wiper assembly.
There are two metal rods holding the insert into place. At the very end of the insert near the fixing point, pull the rubber insert through these metal rods away from the assembly. [The pull direction is critical here. If the wiper was still fixed to the car you would be pulling the rubber through the windscreen into the car.] Keep pulling the first inch or so through until the bit of the insert that is held fixed into place by the assembly is free. You should now be able to slide the whole of the insert out.
3. Put the old metal rods into the new insert
4. Push the new insert into the wiper assembly
Work out which end of the new insert should be the fixed end. Push the unfixed end of the rubber insert into the fixed end of the wiper assembly, then thread the whole length of the insert into the wiper assembly. The fixed end of the insert is angled so when you push hard when the whole insert is threaded, the fixed end becomes fixed (the metal holds the insert and won't release it.)
Good luck!
This video is pretty good, but you can't see the key stages clearly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Ijmsg2sKs
0. Get new blades
I got them from my dealer or local Toyota specialist. The two front ones cost me about £16. To me the real Toyota ones aren't much more expensive than generic ones and look like they will be much better.
0.5 Get an old rag
1. Remove the wiper blades.
These are the whole assembly including the rubber bit and the bits that it connects to. The wiper blade connects to the wiper arm. The arm hooks around part of the blade assembly. There is a little bit of plastic on this part of assembly. When you push it towards the wiper arm, you can push the blade assembly down towards the car and the whole assembly becomes free.
Now get your old rag out and place it carefully under the bare wiper arm, and place is carefully against the windscreen. This avoids either scratching the windscreen when it is placed carefully against it, or smashing it when the spring loaded arm is brushed against and fires itself at the windscreen!
1.5 Look at the existing assembly.
Note:
A: where the metal bits fit into the insert (That's the rubber bit.)
B: Which end of the rubber insert is fixed (One end of the rubber is fixed and held in place and the other end moves in an out of the blade assembly as you flex the rubber.)
2. Remove the old Insert
Starting at the fixed end, you need to pull the rubber out of the metal bit of the wiper assembly that's holding it in place. You might damage the old rubber insert to do this, but you should not need to damage or bend the wiper assembly.
There are two metal rods holding the insert into place. At the very end of the insert near the fixing point, pull the rubber insert through these metal rods away from the assembly. [The pull direction is critical here. If the wiper was still fixed to the car you would be pulling the rubber through the windscreen into the car.] Keep pulling the first inch or so through until the bit of the insert that is held fixed into place by the assembly is free. You should now be able to slide the whole of the insert out.
3. Put the old metal rods into the new insert
4. Push the new insert into the wiper assembly
Work out which end of the new insert should be the fixed end. Push the unfixed end of the rubber insert into the fixed end of the wiper assembly, then thread the whole length of the insert into the wiper assembly. The fixed end of the insert is angled so when you push hard when the whole insert is threaded, the fixed end becomes fixed (the metal holds the insert and won't release it.)
Good luck!
