After having the vehicle washed the windshield wipers squeak?

Tiny
ALYLAROSA485
  • MEMBER
  • 2022 KIA FORTE
  • 10,000 MILES
Got a car wash yesterday. The works squeaky clean and noticed today when it was rainy out, I had accumulated rain droplets on my windshield and when I turned my wipers on and squirted washer fluid on the windshield the wipers squeaked. I noticed mostly on low setting. When it began to downpour and more rain accumulated on the windshield and put wipers on high speed the sound practically disappeared. Is this normal? The windshield is super clean (post car wash) and wipers are new just replaced with Trico blades in February.
Monday, June 2nd, 2025 AT 6:08 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 14,769 POSTS
If it wasn't doing this prior to the car wash, it's possible they used chemicals in the wash that left a film on the glass. Like a wax or "polish" as one of the final steps. Those can cause squeals. However, you may want to check the rubber blades themselves. The way they work is like a squeegee on the glass. The blade flips to each side depending on the direction the wiper is traveling. If they are not flipping, you can get noise. However, this sounds like something in the wash water.
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Monday, June 2nd, 2025 AT 11:00 AM

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