Freelander 1 Rear Wiper Issue

So this is annoying...

Driving back from Plymouth in the snow yesterday I noticed that the rear wiper doesn't wipe the top half of the window. In fact it does but it barely touches it and I only noticed it because of the salt deposits being smeared into a thin layer across the top of the glass rather than being wiped away. In the rain you can't notice it (I checked this morning).

I thought at first the blade was u/s but it seems fine. Then I thought I could bend the arm slightly to give more pressure on the glass but I can't do that because it's plastic.

I've had the spare wheel and carrier off to see if someone had hit the rear end when I've been parked up somewhere but all looks fine.

This is on an SE so I checked against a GS and they appear identical other than the blade on the SE barely touches the glass.

I did have it all off about 6 months ago to clean behind the wheel carrier (bit anal I know). I can't see how but is it possible I put it back on wrongly?

I also switched tailgate glass with the aforementioned GS (rear demist wasn't working on the SE) but that sits correctly so I don't think it's that.

Any ideas?

still have the GS? try swapping the wiper.

Do you have the correct wiper blade fitted? A lot of aftermarket blades don't fit correctly. It's a marginal system anyway. My own SE has a new OE blade and arm, and it still leaves an inch at the top that's not wiped.

Mine was similar and the arm was rubbing the door paintwork behind the spare wheel. A few minutes with a hot air gun on the arm and a slight bend sorted it out.

Mine was rubbing the boot door. Replaced it and now the top section of the window doesn't get cleared just like yours. I'll be trying a combination of the heat gun treatment and a decent quality blade at some point in the future.

Hey thanks for the replies.

I'm pretty sure it's an after market blade on the SE. I'll try swapping them over and see what that's like...Or else it's heat gun time.

fritz

Nodge68 said:

Do you have the correct wiper blade fitted? A lot of aftermarket blades don't fit correctly. It's a marginal system anyway. My own SE has a new OE blade and arm, and it still leaves an inch at the top that's not wiped.

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I replaced mine with a OE blade and mine leaves about an inch at the top as well

tlo said:

I replaced mine with a OE blade and mine leaves about an inch at the top as well

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The the rear wiper is marginal at best. Luckily the top of the rear screen isn't needed for vision, so it's not a huge problem.

Maybe try one of them Aero blades they seem very bendy when new.
Dave