Valeo wiper blades let me down ,,,

In July I posted that I switched from the OEM blades to the Valeo All Season and was very pleased. As I drove from NY to Stowe, VT, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (with my wife, two kids and two siberian husky pups on board) and was walloped with a foot of blinding snow, the plastic casing on the Valeo cracked and later flew off. The wiper stayed in place but this cheap plastic is a design flaw. I replaced them with Trico Chill Winter Blades. Besides having a metal casing they come with a protective sleeve that covers the blade. So far they are performing great. Will update if they don't.

I have to say in the last few hours driving north on 91, we saw about 30 cars that had spun off the road; plenty of SUV's and even a pickup that was flipped over. The LR4 performed brilliantly. I stayed in low range and used the snow mode and it was my first time experiencing snow with the Nokian WRG2's. We were prepared to pull off the road and stay in a motel if I felt it was too dangerous but despite blinding snow and unplowed highways there were only two occasions where I felt traction loss. It was stressful, but we made it safe, thanks in large part to an amazing piece of machinery.
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PeterA said:

It was stressful, but we made it safe, thanks in large part to an amazing piece of machinery.
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I love reading reports like this. Glad you made it safely and enjoyed some pride of ownership along the way!

PS: I went with Bosch replacement blades when my OEMs wore out and have not had any wintry weather to test them yet (DC area). Will be interested in your report on the Tricos.

I never had problems with Valeo Ultimate blades and I have driven with them all over NE, especially New England during worst storms in recent history.Famous freezing rain storms from Maine to NJ, 36 inches of 2010 Christmas Blizzard, many snow storms going skiing to VT, ME and Lake Placid, driving for 8 to 10 hours strait. Heavy rain , sleet , snow they never let me down, whereas Genuine disintegrated after few months of usage.,Also I change them religiously every 6 months to avoid passable problems with wear and tear.
Had WR G2 s for 55 000 miles with great success , that also added to my security, driving ,during these rough conditions, for the last of couple of years .

Glad you made it through. For the future though, my recommendation would be to stay out of low range in deep snow. That's not what it's for and can actually work against you in snow.

I replaced my blades recently and after doing quite a bit of forum reading, it seemed the consensus was that the OEM are better than all the 3rd party blades. Picked up my OEMs from LR and all is well.

do any of you have the problem of the drivers side blade making a popping noise as it reverses direction at the top?
I've tried 3 different blades since owning my LR and all 3 make that noise at certain times, usually when moving fast.

srschick said:

do any of you have the problem of the drivers side blade making a popping noise as it reverses direction at the top?
I've tried 3 different blades since owning my LR and all 3 make that noise at certain times, usually when moving fast.

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I have a thunking/popping noise. It was pretty loud so I chalked it up to worn blades even though they were clearing well. I switched out my blades from OEM to Bosch ICONs. The sound subsided but is still noticeable. I have decided to be philosophical about it ("it's a Land Rover thing") so it doesn't drive me crazy, but would love to know if it is truly common or if there are any fixes.

I had Bosch icon wipers on my 2011 and loved them. Great performance, no problems.
Will be replacing OE wipers on my 2013 with the Bosch.
Icons come in left and right. ( look identical , just different curvature I believe).
Maybe you mounted them wrong??

TLB said:

I had Bosch icon wipers on my 2011 and loved them. Great performance, no problems.
Will be replacing OE wipers on my 2013 with the Bosch.
Icons come in left and right. ( look identical , just different curvature I believe).
Maybe you mounted them wrong??

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Good thought TLB but I'm one of those people who thinks that those who "measure twice, cut once" are rushing into things. I can turn any 5-minute job into 2x-3x that long due to being over-meticulous.

Still, I will go back and double-check; thanks.

Chris

the current set are top-o-line Bosch's. they make less sound, but still there.
I, too, chalk it up to "must be a Land Rover thing".