Repair guide

How to replace wiper blades

A wiper blade carries the rubber edge that clears water and dirt from the windscreen or the rear window. It is held on the end of the wiper arm by a fastening that differs between vehicles and between blades, and on most vehicles it can be changed by hand. This guide covers replacing complete wiper blades on the windscreen and the rear window; renewing the rubber alone and work on the wiper arms are separate jobs. It describes the job in general; where your vehicle manufacturer's instructions or the instructions supplied with the blade differ, follow them.

Published

Safety

Secure the vehicle before you start: on level ground, with the parking brake applied and the ignition off. If the vehicle has to be raised, support it on axle stands, never on a jack alone. Where this guide and your vehicle manufacturer’s instructions differ, follow the manufacturer. If a step is unclear, leave the job to a workshop.

Find the parts for your vehicle

Choose your vehicle to see what is listed for it as Wiper Blade: OE numbers, aftermarket part numbers and each part’s specifications as its supplier states them.

Tools

  • Thick, folded towel or a piece of thick cardboard to protect the glass under each wiper arm
  • Clean cloths for the glass, the rubber and the end of the arm
  • Glass cleaner that is suitable for vehicle windows
  • Clean water in a container, to dampen a cloth and to wet the glass before the wipers run
  • Small screwdriver or another hand tool, only where the instructions supplied with the blade or the vehicle manufacturer's procedure call for one to release a fastening or a cover

When to replace wiper blades

Wiper blades wear with use and with age: sunlight, heat, frost, dirt and road salt harden and damage the rubber even on a vehicle that is driven little. Their condition decides when they are changed. Look at them regularly, for example when you wash the vehicle and before the season in which you need them most, and replace them when they no longer wipe cleanly or are damaged. Where your vehicle manufacturer's service schedule or the blade's maker gives a point at which they are changed, follow it. Some wiper blades have a wear indicator; the instructions supplied with the blade say how it is read.

Inspect the blades when you notice one of these:

  • Streaks, a film or unwiped patches remain in the wiped area
  • A blade judders, skips or squeaks across wet glass
  • The rubber is cracked, torn, hardened or deformed, or its wiping edge is rounded, nicked or ragged
  • The rubber has come away from the blade along part of its length
  • The blade's frame, joints or fastening are bent, corroded, loose or broken

Replace a wiper blade whose rubber or frame is damaged, whatever its age. Poor wiping without visible damage has other causes too: glass that carries wax, oil, insects or tree sap, dirt on the wiping edge, unsuitable or missing washer fluid, glass that is pitted or scratched, and a wiper arm that is bent, twisted or no longer presses the blade against the glass firmly enough. Clean the glass and wipe the rubber with a clean, damp cloth first. If a new blade wipes poorly as well, first check that it is the right blade for the arm, undamaged, the right way round, on the right adapter, locked on the arm and without its protective strip, and clean the glass and the rubber again. If it still wipes poorly, have the blades, the wiper arms and the glass checked by a workshop.

A blade with damaged rubber or a damaged frame can leave the view through the windscreen unclear in rain and at night, and a blade from which the rubber has come away can scratch the glass. Do not put off replacing such a blade, and do not use the wiper concerned until it has been replaced.

Before you start

A wiper arm is pressed towards the glass by a strong spring. An arm that slips from your hand or falls back without its blade can strike the glass with its bare metal end and crack or chip it. Keep control of an arm whenever you handle it, lower it by hand, and never leave an arm without a blade standing over unprotected glass. Protection on the glass reduces the risk of damage; it does not make a falling arm harmless.

  • Park the vehicle on level ground with the parking brake applied, out of strong wind where you can. Switch the wipers off at their switch, including any automatic or rain-sensing setting, and switch off the ignition. Wipers that start while you work can injure your hands and damage the arms, the bonnet or the glass.
  • Find out from the handbook how the wiper arms on your vehicle are brought into a position in which the blades can be changed. On many vehicles the arms park below the rear edge of the bonnet and cannot be lifted from there: such vehicles have a service position, which the handbook describes how to set and how to leave. Do not lift an arm against the bonnet or force it, and do not push the arms across the glass by hand unless the vehicle manufacturer's instructions provide for it.
  • Find out how far the arms lift. Many arms fold away from the glass and stay there; some lift only a little way and have to be held throughout, which is common on rear windows. On some vehicles a blade is changed with the arm resting on the glass. The handbook or the vehicle manufacturer's procedure says which applies.
  • Do not open the bonnet while the arms are in the service position or lifted from the glass, and do not open a tailgate with the rear arm lifted, unless the handbook says that this is possible: the bonnet or the tailgate can strike the arms.
  • Have the new blades ready, and read the instructions supplied with them before you take anything off. Find out which blade belongs on which arm. Before an old blade comes off, check that the new one is the blade for that arm, is undamaged and has the adapter it needs; settle any doubt with the supplier or the vehicle manufacturer first.
  • If a blade is frozen to the glass, do not pull it free: thaw the glass before you set the service position, operate the wipers or lift an arm. Ice torn off with the blade can tear the rubber, and the job is easier and safer on dry, clean glass.
  • Have a thick, folded towel or a piece of thick cardboard ready to lay on the glass under each arm before its blade comes off; it stays there until the new blade is fitted. Where an arm cannot be lifted, the protection is slid between the glass and the arm as far as it will go.

Choose the right blades

Wiper blades differ in length, in design and in the fastening that holds them on the arm. A blade that is too long can strike the edge of the glass, the windscreen's surround or the other blade; one that is too short leaves part of the view unwiped; one with the wrong fastening does not lock onto the arm and can come off while wiping. Fit only blades listed for your vehicle.

Select your vehicle with the selector on this page to see the part numbers listed for it. The vehicle's page shows part numbers with the specifications their suppliers state, such as the wiper blade type, the lengths and the fastening type; where a vehicle's list is long, it shows them for part of the part numbers only.

  • On many vehicles the driver's and the passenger's wiper blade have different lengths, and some blades are made for one side only. Read each length the vehicle's page shows together with its supplier's label, and do not conclude from the lengths alone what a part number contains: whether it is a set or a single blade, the quantity and the instructions supplied with the blades say that. Find out from the listing, from those instructions and from any mark on the blades themselves which blade belongs on which arm.
  • Where a supplier states whether a part number is a set or a single blade, or the quantity it contains, the vehicle's page shows it. Check that what you order covers every blade you intend to change.
  • The suppliers in the catalogue name several designs. A flat wiper blade, which some call a flat bar wiper blade, has no outer frame: a sprung strip inside the blade presses the rubber against the glass along its whole length. A bracket wiper blade has a hinged metal or plastic frame that presses on the rubber at several points. Wiper arms are made for particular fastenings, so a blade of another design fits only if it is listed for your vehicle.
  • Where a supplier states the fastening type, or which adapter is fitted to a blade or enclosed with it, the vehicle's page shows it under the supplier's own name for that fastening or adapter. Some blades are supplied with several adapters, of which only one fits a given arm; the instructions supplied with the blade say which one belongs to which arm and how it is fitted to the blade.
  • Where a supplier states that a blade is for left-hand drive vehicles, for right-hand drive vehicles or for both, it says which vehicles the part is for: on many vehicles the wipers of the two versions are arranged differently, and their blades are not interchangeable.
  • Choose a rear window's wiper blade for the rear arm: some rear arms have a fastening found only there, others one that front arms have as well. Where a supplier states a fitting position for a part number, such as front or rear, it says where the blade belongs. Where more than one blade is listed for the same place on a vehicle, they can be equivalent parts from different suppliers, different designs or parts for different versions of the vehicle. If what is stated does not settle it, ask the supplier or the vehicle manufacturer before you buy.

Inspect every blade the vehicle has. The front wiper blades are often replaced together, since they have usually been in use for the same time, and some part numbers are sets. A blade that is available singly can be replaced by itself when the others are undamaged and still wipe cleanly. Check what the part number you order contains. The rear blade is changed when its own condition calls for it. On some blades the rubber alone can be renewed; that is a separate job with parts of its own and is not described here.

All wiper blade OE numbers in the catalogue

Remove the old blade

Change one blade at a time, and finish it before you start the next, so that no arm stands without a blade for longer than the change takes. How a new blade belongs on its arm is settled by the instructions supplied with it and the vehicle manufacturer's procedure, together with what you note about the old blade before it comes off.

  1. With the wipers switched off, bring the arms into the position for changing the blades, as the handbook describes, and switch off the ignition again if setting that position required it.
  2. Where the arm lifts, raise it by the arm itself, not by the blade, slowly and only as far as it goes freely. Where it stays up by itself, check that it is held there securely; where it does not, keep hold of it until the new blade is fitted and the arm is back on the glass.
  3. With the old blade still on the arm, clean the glass in the wiped area with glass cleaner and a clean cloth, as far as you can reach it, including the place where the blade rests when parked, and let it dry. Dirt left there is drawn across the glass by the new rubber. Then lay the protection on the glass under the arm, and make sure that it stays there until the new blade is fitted.
  4. Before you release anything, note how the old blade sits on the arm: which end points towards the arm's pivot, which way round any spoiler along the blade lies, and how the fastening is closed.
  5. On some vehicles the blade carries washer nozzles or heating, with a hose or an electrical connector that runs to the blade. Where your blade has one, detach it as the vehicle manufacturer describes before the blade comes off: release any clip or lock on it, pull on the connector itself and never on the hose or the wire, and keep dirt out of the open ends.
  6. Release the fastening the way its design requires; the instructions supplied with the new blade and the vehicle manufacturer's procedure show how. Where the arm ends in a hook, the blade is usually turned to an angle with the arm, any tab or catch on its adapter is pressed or lifted, and the blade is slid along the arm, towards the arm's pivot, until it is out of the hook and can be taken off. Where the arm ends in a straight piece or a pin, the blade is held by a push button, a pair of tabs that are squeezed together, a cap or flap that is opened, or a catch that frees it when the blade is turned to a certain angle, and it then slides or lifts off the arm's end. On many rear windows a cover on the arm has to be opened first, if the arm has one, and the blade is unclipped from a pin by turning it away from the arm.
  7. Use only the force of your fingers. If the blade does not come free, stop and go through the release again with the instructions: the fastening may not be fully released, may be of another design than you took it for, or may be seized or damaged. Do not force it; if the blade cannot be taken off the way the instructions describe, have a workshop remove it. Use a tool only where the instructions call for one, and do not lever against the arm or the glass. Old plastic can be brittle, and a bent arm no longer holds its blade square to the glass.
  8. As soon as the blade is off, lower the bare arm slowly onto the protection on the glass, or keep hold of it, unless it stands securely by itself and the glass under it is protected. Do not let it fall back.
  9. Look at the end of the arm. Wipe off dirt and loose corrosion with a cloth, and check that the hook, the pin or the straight end is not bent, cracked or badly corroded and that any catch on it moves freely. An arm whose end or catch is damaged cannot hold a blade securely: stop there, have the arm repaired or replaced by a workshop, and do not operate that wiper until its arm holds the right blade securely.

Fit the new blade

  1. Check that the new blade is one listed for your vehicle and is the one for this arm. Then compare it with the old blade: the length, the design, the curve and the fastening. Where they differ in more than the make and the design the listing names, do not fit the blade until its supplier or the vehicle manufacturer confirms that it is the right part. The blade that was fitted may itself have been the wrong one.
  2. Check that the new blade is undamaged and that its rubber follows the shape the blade is made with, is seated along the whole blade and has no cuts, nicks, twists or kinks. Many blades are curved by design: do not straighten one. Do not fit a blade whose rubber is kinked, cut or coming away. Avoid touching the wiping edge, and keep grease and oil off it.
  3. Where the blade needs an adapter that is not yet fitted, choose the one the instructions name for your arm and fit it to the blade as they describe, the right way round and until it locks, if it is made to. Where an adapter is already fitted, check with the instructions that it is the one for your arm before you go on; some blades need a fitted adapter exchanged for another one supplied with them.
  4. Remove any protective strip or sleeve from the rubber, if the blade is supplied with one, at the point the instructions name: on some blades it comes off before fitting, on others once the blade is on the arm. A blade that wipes with its protection still on does not clear the glass.
  5. Hold the blade the way round that the old one sat, unless the instructions or a mark on the blade say otherwise: on a blade made for one side or one direction, a mark or the instructions say which end points towards the arm's pivot and which side faces up.
  6. Join the blade to the arm the way its fastening requires, as the instructions describe. On a hook, the blade's adapter is brought into the hook and the blade is slid along the arm, away from the pivot, until the catch engages. On a straight end or a pin, the blade is pushed or turned onto the arm until its button, tabs or catch engage, and any cap or flap is closed until it locks. A rear window's blade is fitted the way its own fastening requires: where it clips onto a pin, it is pressed onto the pin until it engages, and any cover on the arm is closed.
  7. Check the fastening by hand. Pull the blade gently in the direction in which it came off, and try to move it sideways: it must stay locked on the arm. Check as well that the blade can move on the arm in the way the instructions supplied with it describe, where its fastening is made to let it tilt so that it follows the glass. If it comes off, sits crooked or is held where it should move, take it off and fit it again; if it still does not lock, do not use it.
  8. Where the blade has a hose or an electrical connector, join it again as the vehicle manufacturer describes: push it fully home, fasten again any clip or lock you released, and route the hose or the wire as it was, so that it is neither kinked nor caught when the arm moves.
  9. Take the protection off the glass and lower the arm slowly by hand until the blade rests on the glass. Do not let it drop. Check that the rubber lies on the glass along its whole length and that the blade does not reach beyond the glass.
  10. Change every other blade you intend to replace in the same way, with the glass under its arm protected. Then check that every blade you fitted is on the arm it belongs to.

Check the wipers

  1. Make sure that every arm is down with its blade on the glass, and that no towel, cardboard, cloth, packaging or protective strip is left on the glass, on the bonnet or in the path of the wipers. Keep people and hands clear of the wipers.
  2. Wet the glass thoroughly with clean water before anything moves. New blades should not sweep dry glass, and on some vehicles the arms move as soon as the service position is left.
  3. Leave the service position as the handbook describes, if you set one, while the glass is still wet. On some vehicles the arms return when the ignition is switched on or the wipers are operated.
  4. Run the wipers at each speed they have and watch a number of complete sweeps. Keep the glass wet throughout: if it begins to dry, stop the wipers and wet it again before you go on. The blades should clear the wet glass evenly, without streaks, unwiped patches, juddering or noise, stay within the glass, touch neither each other nor the windscreen's surround, and park where they did before.
  5. If a blade strikes something, lifts off the glass, hangs at an angle or comes loose, switch the wipers off at once and switch off the ignition before you touch it. Then check that it is the right blade on the right arm, that the right adapter is fitted and that the fastening is locked.
  6. Operate the washer and check that fluid reaches the glass that the blades wipe. Where a hose runs to the blade, check also that fluid comes out of the nozzles and that nothing leaks at the connection. Where the blade is heated, check as far as the vehicle lets you that no fault is shown.
  7. If the blades streak or judder, switch the wipers off, including any automatic or rain-sensing setting, and switch off the ignition before you touch a blade or the glass. Where the blades can be reached only in the service position, keep the glass wet while you set it as the handbook describes, and switch off the ignition again before you handle them. Check again that each one is the right blade for the vehicle and its arm, undamaged, the right way round, on the right adapter and locked on the arm, with any protective strip removed. Then clean the glass again and wipe the rubber with a clean, damp cloth: wax, oil or a residue of cleaner on the glass is a common cause. Wet the glass and keep everyone clear before you test again. If the blades still wipe poorly, have the blades, the wiper arms and the glass checked by a workshop. Until the wipers clear the glass properly, do not drive in conditions that need them.
  8. Where a wear indicator on the new blades has to be started, do so with the wipers switched off and the ignition off, as the instructions supplied with them describe.
  9. Dispose of the old blades as your local waste rules require.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Letting a bare wiper arm fall back onto unprotected glass
  • Lifting the arms against the bonnet where the vehicle has a service position
  • Working with the ignition on or with an automatic wiper setting active
  • Opening the bonnet or the tailgate with the arms lifted, where the handbook does not allow it
  • Fitting a blade that is not listed for the vehicle because it is nearly the right length
  • Fitting the driver's and the passenger's blade on the wrong arms, or a blade the wrong way round
  • Using an adapter other than the one the instructions name for the arm
  • Leaving the protective strip on the rubber
  • Driving off without having checked that each blade is locked on its arm
  • Running the wipers on dry glass, or pulling free a blade that is frozen to it
  • Levering a stuck blade off with a tool against the arm or the glass

What the suppliers state

From the 1554 part numbers listed as Wiper Blade on our vehicle pages (2593 OE numbers, 16326 vehicles). The values differ from part to part: use the one stated for the part you fit, and your vehicle manufacturer’s value where it gives one.

SpecificationParts stating itValues, with the number of parts
Wiper blade type595
  • Flat wiper blade × 441
  • Bracket wiper blade × 114
  • Wiper blade with optical wear warning × 37
  • Hybrid Wiper Blade × 24
  • with pre-assembled adaptor × 8
  • Bent Wiper Blade × 3
  • Bracket wiper blade with spoiler × 3
Wiper blade version269
  • Flat bar wiper blade × 174
  • Wiper blade mount × 41
  • Wiper blade mount w/o spoiler × 36
  • Wiper blade mount with spoiler × 18
Length543
  • 350 mm × 50
  • 400 mm × 42
  • 650 mm × 40
  • 600 mm × 38
  • 500 mm × 25
  • 550 mm × 24
  • 280 mm × 23
  • 450 mm × 19
  • 300 mm × 16
  • 475 mm × 16
  • 700 mm × 15
  • 250 mm × 14
  • +63
Length 1684
  • 650 mm × 150
  • 600 mm × 147
  • 550 mm × 50
  • 700 mm × 45
  • 530 mm × 37
  • 750 mm × 26
  • 500 mm × 21
  • 400 mm × 19
  • 450 mm × 14
  • 800 mm × 14
  • 280 mm × 11
  • 380 mm × 11
  • +38
Length 2610
  • 500 mm × 82
  • 450 mm × 76
  • 475 mm × 74
  • 400 mm × 58
  • 550 mm × 53
  • 650 mm × 51
  • 530 mm × 47
  • 600 mm × 33
  • 700 mm × 17
  • 425 mm × 15
  • 750 mm × 15
  • 480 mm × 12
  • +24
Length [inch]331
  • 16 Inch × 35
  • 11 Inch × 26
  • 14 Inch × 25
  • 24 Inch × 23
  • 26 Inch × 21
  • 21 Inch × 20
  • 13 Inch × 19
  • 18 Inch × 19
  • 20 Inch × 19
  • 22 Inch × 18
  • 19 Inch × 17
  • 12 Inch × 15
  • +11
Length 1 [inch]363
  • 26 Inch × 106
  • 24 Inch × 95
  • 22 Inch × 29
  • 28 Inch × 26
  • 21 Inch × 21
  • 30 Inch × 19
  • 25 Inch × 17
  • 20 Inch × 11
  • 23 Inch × 11
  • 27 Inch × 9
  • 31 Inch × 5
  • 18 Inch × 4
  • +4
Length 2 [inch]363
  • 20 Inch × 56
  • 18 Inch × 42
  • 19 Inch × 42
  • 16 Inch × 37
  • 22 Inch × 37
  • 21 Inch × 32
  • 26 Inch × 32
  • 24 Inch × 22
  • 17 Inch × 15
  • 28 Inch × 12
  • 14 Inch × 9
  • 30 Inch × 9
  • +6
Length 1 (inches)261
  • 26 " × 34
  • 24 " × 33
  • 16 " × 19
  • 21 " × 18
  • 15 " × 14
  • 22 " × 14
  • 28 " × 14
  • 10 " × 12
  • 12 " × 12
  • 23 " × 11
  • 11 " × 10
  • 13 " × 10
  • +15
Length 2 (inches)175
  • 19 " × 30
  • 18 " × 26
  • 20 " × 20
  • 21 " × 18
  • 16 " × 11
  • 22 " × 11
  • 0 " × 10
  • 26 " × 9
  • 17 " × 8
  • 24 " × 7
  • 25 " × 4
  • 23 " × 3
  • +10
Set/single284
  • Set × 170
  • Single × 114
Quantity661
  • 2 × 331
  • 1 × 330
Left-hand drive/right-hand drive272
  • Right- and left-hand drive × 176
  • Left-hand drive × 93
  • Right-hand drive × 3
Left-/right-hand drive vehicles382
  • for left-hand drive vehicles × 378
  • for right-hand drive vehicles × 4
Fastening type406
  • Hook fixing × 67
  • HBG1.1 × 65
  • REAR (special) × 47
  • Push Button 19 mm × 33
  • Mini Push Button × 30
  • Pinch tab × 30
  • Side Pin 22 mm × 30
  • RBTL2.1 (16mm) × 29
  • Top Lock × 25
  • Bayonet attachment × 22
  • Pin Lock × 19
  • Side Pin 17 mm × 18
  • +25
Pre-installed adapter263
  • Yes × 263
Included adapter263
  • No × 258
  • Yes × 5
Adapter enclosed47
  • A,B,C × 7
  • A,B × 6
  • M+A+B+C × 6
  • R,S,T × 4
  • M+A+B × 3
  • R,T × 3
  • A × 2
  • A,C × 2
  • fest montiert × 2
  • R × 2
  • R, S, T × 2
  • A , R × 1
  • +7
Matching Adapter76
  • A × 21
  • U × 17
  • V12 × 10
  • C12 × 7
  • M10 × 6
  • M2 × 5
  • PY × 2
  • T2 × 2
  • A17 × 1
  • B × 1
  • M3 × 1
  • SL × 1
  • +2
Curved wiper blade262
  • No × 258
  • Yes × 4
Styling308
  • with spoiler × 306
  • without spoiler × 2
Spray nozzle257
  • No × 253
  • Yes × 4
Wear indicator262
  • No × 262
Blade material11
  • SBR (Styrene butadiene rubber) × 10
  • Silicone × 1

Questions and answers

How often should wiper blades be replaced?

When their condition calls for it: when they no longer wipe cleanly after the glass and the rubber have been cleaned, or when the rubber or the frame is damaged. Sunlight, heat, frost and dirt age the rubber even on a vehicle that is driven little, so look at the blades regularly. Where your vehicle manufacturer's service schedule or the blade's maker gives a point at which they are changed, follow it.

Which wiper blades fit my car?

Select the make, the model series and the vehicle on this page, and check the engine and the other details shown for the vehicle. The vehicle's page lists the part numbers that suppliers state for that vehicle, and shows the specifications their suppliers give, such as the lengths and the fastening type, where they give any; where the list is long, it shows them for part of the part numbers only. Check what is stated about the fitting position, left-hand or right-hand drive, the fastening and the adapter against your vehicle and the instructions supplied with the blades; if the listing does not settle whether a blade suits your vehicle's version and its wiper arm, ask the supplier or the vehicle manufacturer before you buy.

Are the driver's and the passenger's wiper blade the same?

On many vehicles they are not: the two blades have different lengths, and some blades are made for one side only. The listing, the instructions supplied with the blades and any mark on the blades themselves say which one belongs on which arm. Blades for left-hand drive and for right-hand drive versions of a vehicle are often not interchangeable either.

Do I have to replace both wiper blades at once?

Not necessarily. Inspect every blade the vehicle has. The front wiper blades are often replaced together, since they have usually been in use for the same time, and some part numbers are sets. A blade that is available singly can be replaced by itself when the others are undamaged and still wipe cleanly. The rear blade is changed when its own condition calls for it.

What is the service position of the wipers?

A position in which the wiper arms can be lifted from the glass to change the blades. Many vehicles whose arms park below the rear edge of the bonnet have one, and the handbook describes how it is set and how it is left. On such a vehicle, do not lift the arms from their park position or force them: they can strike the bonnet.

Why do new wiper blades streak or judder?

Switch the wipers off, including any automatic or rain-sensing setting, and switch off the ignition before you touch a blade or the glass. Where the blades can be reached only in the service position, keep the glass wet while you set it as the handbook describes, and switch off the ignition again before you handle them. Check first that each blade is the right one for the vehicle and its arm, undamaged, the right way round, on the right adapter and locked on the arm, and that any protective strip has been removed from the rubber. Then clean the glass and wipe the rubber with a clean, damp cloth: wax, oil or a residue of cleaner on the glass is a common cause. Wet the glass and keep everyone clear before you test again. If the blades still do not wipe cleanly, the wiper arm can be bent or twisted or can press too weakly, or the glass can be pitted; have the blades, the wiper arms and the glass checked by a workshop.

Can I fit flat wiper blades instead of bracket wiper blades?

Only if a blade of that design is listed for your vehicle. Wiper arms are made for particular fastenings, and a blade that does not lock onto the arm can come off while wiping. Where both designs are listed for your vehicle, check what each supplier states about the vehicle's version, the fitting position and the fastening; if that does not settle which of them fit your wiper arms, ask the supplier or the vehicle manufacturer before you buy.

Why must the windscreen be protected while the blade is off?

A strong spring presses the wiper arm towards the glass. If an arm without its blade slips or falls back, its bare metal end can crack or chip the glass. A thick, folded towel or a piece of thick cardboard under the arm reduces the risk of damage, but does not make a falling arm harmless: keep control of the arm and lower it by hand.