Windshield Wipers Chattering/Skipping

[JWreck]

Last year, Audi replaced my windshield because my wipers kept skipping - big time. They replaced the wipers, used a 3M polish on it approved by Audi - none of it worked. Finally they blamed it on whatever was used to wash the car and the "damage" (little pits that EVERY car that's been driven down a highway has) to the windshield. The replacement was a "courtesy replacement". The issue went away after that.

Fast forward, my S4 is in the shop again for the same exact reason. This time, they noted that the windshield was not smooth to the touch - it was rather sticky. They applied the same polish again and it certainly helped, but they also said that my wiper arms were far too loose. They ordered parts to replace the arms which are now being installed.

Then, this morning I get a text from my wife and she said that her wipers were skipping like crazy this morning on her way to work (raining all day in Austin). WTF! We washed her car last night since we just got back from Dallas and it was filthy. This is a BRAND NEW CAR (Jaguar F Pace S).

I immediately swapped cars with her, went home and started to work on cleaning the windshield. I used dish soap, a razor and Bar Keepers Friend and after extensive testing, I believe it is back to normal again. (I'm letting it sit in my garage dry then going out again soon to test more).

At this point, i'm convinced that something I'm using while washing the car is the culprit. On a normal wash, I use:

Adams Shampoo
Gary Deans Infinite Use Detail Juice (while drying)
Chemical Guys window cleaner
an assortment of microfiber towels

I'm about to throw it all out. SOMETHING has to be causing it. The only other thing I can think of is that it does get humid in my garage, and perhaps that's causing an issue?

Interestingly, the A3 loaner I'm in has the SAME problem. I haven't washed it, it's just been in my garage. The dealership said those are known to have issues with skipping wipers and that's why they even carry the 3M polish they've used on mine.

Help?! It's hard to be objective and narrow down the list of what might be causing this when I'm so frustrated and can't find ANYONE else that has this much of an issue with a single cleaning product! What else could it be?! We don't park under trees, I've razored, clayed and washed the windshields repeatedly!

[14S4GWM]

0000 steel wool will do wonders on glass.

[JWreck]

0000 steel wool will do wonders on glass.

Good tip. I have some I use on my exhaust tips, I'll try that if it comes back. I'm just wondering what the heck could be causing it, on multiple cars from different manufacturers!


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[14S4GWM]

I think it's something from the roadway. Mine does it once in a while. I had my windshield ceramic coated and it chattered then pretty bad. Took the steel wool to it and i'm good now.

[jygesq]

Bon ami cleaner, I would not use any from of steel wool on glass.

[chrisucf99]

This happens to my wipers / windshield. A coat of paste wax on windshield works wonders. Apply and buff it off just like you're waxing your car.

[JWreck]

Here is a slow-motion video showing the issue. This was not even that bad - previously, it would jump across the windshield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdbVHlnDpXc

[14S4GWM]

Bon ami cleaner, I would not use any from of steel wool on glass.

I would, lots of people do it. It's harmless with 0000.

[JWreck]

I would, lots of people do it. It's harmless with 0000.

Interestingly the dealership asked if I had done that previously and said they usually try that first.


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[EHesh14]

Steel wool and coat it with carbon collective platinum glass

[LYKUNO]

I'd consider trying a different brand of wiper blade. Are you using blades from the Audi parts dept at your dealer?

[JWreck]

Yep, so I bought new blades online (the only other kind that seem to work with our car, well documented here on the forum - Bosch OEM replacements I believe) and issues started soon afterward. Then, the dealership replaced the wipers with ones from a brand new car on the lot. Then they did it again after they replaced the windshield. Now, they've changed them once more after polishing the windshield this go-'round.

[cspcrx]

when mine start to do it. I just clean the glass with window cleaner from Costco and apply a fresh coat of rainx.

[administerturbo]

I suspect it's the Detail Juice. Had a similar issue after a rain ex application on a B6 A4.

[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

Yep, so I bought new blades online (the only other kind that seem to work with our car, well documented here on the forum - Bosch OEM replacements I believe) and issues started soon afterward. Then, the dealership replaced the wipers with ones from a brand new car on the lot. Then they did it again after they replaced the windshield. Now, they've changed them once more after polishing the windshield this go-'round.

The Bosch ones suck ass. I had the same issue with them the first week they were put on and they were new. They're crap on this car for some reason. I returned them and ordered Valeo and haven't had any more issues. Part numbers are 900209B and 9002411B.

[Johnnycash]

+1 on valeo wipers

[LYKUNO]

Thought I'd share a couple of highly-detailed articles about glass care on the TOGWT blog site. The first is "Polishing Auto Glass" and the second is "Glass Cleaning Process".

[Johnnycash]

Thought I'd share a couple of highly-detailed articles about glass care on the TOGWT blog site. The first is "Polishing Auto Glass" and the second is "Glass Cleaning Process".

little tidbit from the link:

External Glass

Use detailer’s clay towel to remove road debris, brake dust, tar, etc. I would not advocate the use of synthetic steel or brass wool on glass surfaces; the reasons being are that no matter how fine of a grit (even #00000) you use you are actually micro scratching the surface of the glass allowing more spaces for dirt to build and settle where normal washing will not remove it, even though the glass looks super smooth to the naked eye. Grades of steel wool are similar to grit in finishing papers; the finest steel wool is grade #0000 steel wool or 1000 grit

[doughboy17]

Your anticipation of it being attributable to something being used to detail the car is probably correct. I do my best to avoid placing anything on the glass, especially the windshield of my A4. My understanding is that Audi glass is treated in some way to shed water. At times, I have tried using Windex and it always results in smearing. I believe many glass treatments require frequent re-application to prevent smearing/skipping (RainX certainly did on my Camaro way back in the 80s).

However, I am puzzled why brand new wipers plus a new windshield AT THE SAME TIME would not resolve the issue. You may want to try just using distilled water and wiping immediately in the future.

From experience, the best wipers are OEM ... at least on my A4.

[JustPlaneChris]

Damn, I was just complaining about this issue. Same thing for me (same town too LOL). I blamed it on the RainX I applied before I read that one should not use such coatings on the Audi. First time I've ever had an issue with RainX on ANY car, and now I'm wondering if it's really the cause, or if it's the (brand new) Bosch wipers I installed.

The truly weird thing is the shuddering doesn't happen immediately. It's only after driving for a while.

Whatever the cause, it is super annoying.

[JWreck]

Damn, I was just complaining about this issue. Same thing for me (same town too LOL). I blamed it on the RainX I applied before I read that one should not use such coatings on the Audi. First time I've ever had an issue with RainX on ANY car, and now I'm wondering if it's really the cause, or if it's the (brand new) Bosch wipers I installed.

The truly weird thing is the shuddering doesn't happen immediately. It's only after driving for a while.

Whatever the cause, it is super annoying.

Yeah, when the issue started, it was only after driving for a while and using the wipers constantly. Prior to the 'fix' though, it was repeatable immediately by pressing the wiper stalk into the single wipe mode.

Have you taken yours to the dealer?

[JustPlaneChris]

No, I totally forgot to mention it during the 25k service I just had done.

I'm going to go use denatured alcohol to clean the windshield tonight, and we'll see if it helps (assuming it rains again tomorrow).

[JWreck]

No, I totally forgot to mention it during the 25k service I just had done.

I'm going to go use denatured alcohol to clean the windshield tonight, and we'll see if it helps (assuming it rains again tomorrow).

Supposed to rain tomorrow. The dealer uses some 3M polish to help. It seemed to help on my car last time, although it didn't rain much afterwards so I'm not 100% on it 'fixing' it. But honestly it seems to make sense that if it's something getting on the windshield and not a defective part or system, polishing it should remove the problem.

I've got my wife's Jag going well now. I can see a slight hazing now, but I may just order that polish the dealer is using and see if that does anything to help with that.

[bayonet14]

use some soapy water and razor blade to scrape clean your glass - if you have some old clay bar...lube up and clay the glass - several products out there to coat the glass and increase hydrophobic properties (like Forte Fly-by) on the glass...you can clean the wiper blades and give a light coat as well ;) - you can do the same for all your exterior glass ;)

[JWreck]

Keep me informed on the denatured alcohol. You're using actual denatured alcohol, not rubbing alcohol right?

[JWreck]

use some soapy water and razor blade to scrape clean your glass - if you have some old clay bar...lube up and clay the glass - several products out there to coat the glass and increase hydrophobic properties (like Forte Fly-by) on the glass...you can clean the wiper blades and give a light coat as well ;) - you can do the same for all your exterior glass ;)

I do this about once a quarter anyway. I did today to help clean it up and it seemed to work OK, along with the bar keepers friend. A very very slight haze now, but maybe some alcohol will clear that up, or I'll get a glass polish and pad and hit it with that.

The weird thing is, all the crap I'm doing, people do all the time. Washing their car with Adams, using the detail spray, claying the windshield - all of it. So why does something seem to have a negative effect on my cars?! Bad chemical batch? Poor application (how many ways are there to apply soap...)? I'm just almost clueless.

[k9lovr]

Clay or Nanoskin the windshield....makes the glass smooth as silk

[pdqgp]

Use 3D Eraser Gel and a Magic Eraser - the ones from your common grocery store. It will strip any/all things on that window. If you rinse your windshield and you notice any areas that are still beading or holding water, re-hit those as that is an indicator that it's not fully stripped. When you have it perfectly clean and free of all contaminatnts, water will not bead and will take forever to sheet away. That's because it's down to bare glass that has pits and micro-small little pits from rocks and road dust holding onto the water. A coating is what fills those in and makes it silky smooth.

Once Clean, Coat it with either McKee's glass coating or even something like optimum opti-seal or Blackfire Crystal Seal/any type of WOWA Product as both McKee's and the others mentioned will work great. If they aren't new, then replace the wiper blades too.

Going forward use either McKee's or Optimum on it. You won't have any more problems.

I'd also have you consider emptying the windshield washer fluid and insuring that it's just standard blue stuff.

I doubt you'll need to polish it unless it's badly pitted. 3D is an acid and will remove everything. IF you need to polish glass, Ceriglass and a Rayon Pad is the way to go. It's messy stuff and won't remove scratches unless you use a rotary. A standard DA unit will do a good job cleaning it though. Just pointing this out for those that haven't used it before.

[JustPlaneChris]

Well, I couldn't find my denatured alcohol (packed in a box still, my workshop is still in flux). So, I used Mequire's Ultimate Compound on the windshield, followed up by a cleaning with isopropyl alcohol. I also wiped down the wiper blades with alcohol.

We'll see what that does.

[JWreck]

Well, I couldn't find my denatured alcohol (packed in a box still, my workshop is still in flux). So, I used Mequire's Ultimate Compound on the windshield, followed up by a cleaning with isopropyl alcohol. I also wiped down the wiper blades with alcohol.

We'll see what that does.

I used isopropyl before and I feel like it made it worse. I ran up to Home Depot and bought some denatured, going to test it tonight. Windshield on the Jag is still fine, but I want to see if it makes that slight haze go away.

[JustPlaneChris]

Maybe I better dig through the boxes and find the denatured then!

EDIT: Found it! Windshield cleaned with denatured, and it feels very different to the touch. Almost "grippy". It will be interesting to see what it does now.

[JWreck]

Maybe I better dig through the boxes and find the denatured then!

EDIT: Found it! Windshield cleaned with denatured, and it feels very different to the touch. Almost "grippy". It will be interesting to see what it does now.

Oh....see, the dealer didn't think it should feel grippy. After they polished it, it was smooth as glass (see what I did there?). That said, I went up to a random car on a lift and had them feel that windshield, and it felt "grippy" - exactly like mine did. They thought that was interesting.

[4wheelpilot]

A few observations and suggestions that may be helpful...
1. Audi discourages the use of windshield coatings like Rain-X because it can leave a film and obscure visibility (this is most obvious when sunlight hits the windshield at certain angles).I started using Rain-X decades ago...it works great to help shed water (above a certain speed) but I stopped using it long ago because getting the haze off is annoying, even when following their directions.
2. Occasionally after I clean the windshield-I prefer Invisible Glass by Stoner-there is still a haze. But this is most often on the inside which gets a film very easily.
3. I noticed that my wipers stutter ONLY when I use the single swipe. They may stutter in other modes if there isn't enough water (rain) on the windshield but spraying with fluid makes them glide smoothly. I use the cheap blue washer fluid. I would prefer the "bug removing" fluid but it may disrupt the car's fluid level sensor.
Best of luck.

[JWreck]

A few observations and suggestions that may be helpful...
1. Audi discourages the use of windshield coatings like Rain-X because it can leave a film and obscure visibility (this is most obvious when sunlight hits the windshield at certain angles).I started using Rain-X decades ago...it works great to help shed water (above a certain speed) but I stopped using it long ago because getting the haze off is annoying, even when following their directions.
2. Occasionally after I clean the windshield-I prefer Invisible Glass by Stoner-there is still a haze. But this is most often on the inside which gets a film very easily.
3. I noticed that my wipers stutter ONLY when I use the single swipe. They may stutter in other modes if there isn't enough water (rain) on the windshield but spraying with fluid makes them glide smoothly. I use the cheap blue washer fluid. I would prefer the "bug removing" fluid but it may disrupt the car's fluid level sensor.
Best of luck.

Thanks for the input. I have never applied a rain x type coating to my cars windshield.

The haze is definitely outside and is clear until the wipers swipe across it. Not a big deal because it's barely noticeable (I've seen a lot worse).

I have heard the rain x fluid or bug removing fluid does clog up sensors and nozzles on our car. I rarely use the spray so I let the dealer top it off with whatever they use (I haven confirmed they don't use anything special).


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[Senseless]

I once tried 0000 steel wool on my windshield and it made the glare much worse. I wouldn't recommend that. For really good glass cleaner I get Subaru branded glass cleaner, believe it or not. Subaru parts departments have it.

[JWreck]

I once tried 0000 steel wool on my windshield and it made the glare much worse. I wouldn't recommend that. For really good glass cleaner I get Subaru branded glass cleaner, believe it or not. Subaru parts departments have it.

Good info, thanks!

[bayonet14]

I do this about once a quarter anyway. I did today to help clean it up and it seemed to work OK, along with the bar keepers friend. A very very slight haze now, but maybe some alcohol will clear that up, or I'll get a glass polish and pad and hit it with that.

The weird thing is, all the crap I'm doing, people do all the time. Washing their car with Adams, using the detail spray, claying the windshield - all of it. So why does something seem to have a negative effect on my cars?! Bad chemical batch? Poor application (how many ways are there to apply soap...)? I'm just almost clueless.

Could be - had to replace a front windshield and it was grippy as you stated - had to use Ceriglass‎ to polish it out the sealed it w/forte - no issues

[SouthernBoy]

I noticed two days ago that my 2016 S4's wiper blades would skip only when using the single swipe mode. When using the intermittent rain sensing mode, they worked fine. That was the first time my S4 got caught in a down pour in the eleven months I've owned it (I drive my truck in rainy weather and in snow).

An old window cleaning mix is a small amount of white vinegar and distilled water. I doubt this would have any affect on the skipping but tends to work well with haze and plastic gas out on the interior side of the windshield.

[bberg22]

Thanks for the input. I have never applied a rain x type coating to my cars windshield.

The haze is definitely outside and is clear until the wipers swipe across it. Not a big deal because it's barely noticeable (I've seen a lot worse).

I have heard the rain x fluid or bug removing fluid does clog up sensors and nozzles on our car. I rarely use the spray so I let the dealer top it off with whatever they use (I haven confirmed they don't use anything special).


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I think Rain-x changed their formula back to the original because I have put over 6 gallons through my car without any issue. There was a "new blend" that actually looked redish in color which I think was the issue. Also i like to use silicone wiper blades to avoid the chatter/squeak, PIAA is the brand I prefer and they do have one model that fits our cars I believe. The PIAA blades will be on my car the next time I need replacements.

[Helmet165]

The Bosch ones suck ass. I had the same issue with them the first week they were put on and they were new. They're crap on this car for some reason. I returned them and ordered Valeo and haven't had any more issues. Part numbers are 900209B and 9002411B.

Thanks for the recommendation, just ordered a set!

To OP - I'm not sure it'll help with the chatter, but I highly recommend Sprayway glass cleaner. Back in the day I could only get it at my friend's glass repair shop, fortunately now it's on Amazon (with 90+% positive reviews). It's really great stuff.