Customer Reviews

Bosch 422B ICON Wiper Blade - 22"

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

You need an "A" for driver's side and a "B" model blade for the passenger side. The way the seller is listing these you'd never know !

For more than 30 years, I've searched high and low for the perfect wiper blade. Being a little tiny bit obsessive about my car, one of the things I can NOT tolerate is a chattering, noisy, smeary, streaky wiper blade. Driving in the rain is hard enough without feeling like you're trying to look through a wax-paper windshield.

In the past, I'd put new wiper blades on my car two or three times a year and sometimes more, just to make sure I never had to deal with wiper smear or worse, wiper chatter. That sound is like fingernails on a blackboard to me!!

I'd also clean the rubber edge several times between blade changes, to keep the leading edge clean and free from debris and gooey tree gunk and junk. Due to my desire to keep the finest quality blades on the car, I'd only buy authentic Toyota blades for my 2003 Camry and then one day...

An associate at the local Toyota dealer talked me into buying the rubber inserts for the blades, rather than the whole blade assembly. For 20 minutes, I waited and watched as she fiddled around trying desperately to get the inserts into the arm assembly. Two days later (and 10 minutes of use later), while driving in a light rain storm, the whole thing came apart in pieces, scratching my windshield in the process. It was a Sunday afternoon (dealer was closed), so I drove directly to the auto parts store and told them I wanted the most expensive wiper-blade they sold. They took me to the Bosch Icon and said, "these are the best, but they're pricey."

I couldn't be more pleased with the quality and performance of this product. The two blades I bought for Cammie cost less than $50 which isn't THAT much contrasted against the frustration of not being able to see clearly through the windshield when it rains.

April 2008 UPDATE: I am on my second pair of Bosch Icons and I'm saddened to say that I am no longer "raving" about these things. While they're just swell for the first 60 days, they deteriorate quickly after that and become streaky and smeary. When I was buying wiper blades for my daughter's car, I asked the auto parts guy about the Bosch Icon. He replied, "I'm not that impressed with them either. They don't last long."

My title says all, did review and was about 50-50 on performance, but took the chance, because in my mind anything is better than OEM. Was completely wrong on that thought, OEM was able to keep window clean on up and down movement. The Bosch wiper 422A blade leaves about 3 inch smear in viewing area (area as you are looking straight ahead) on down movement. Went to Bosch web page and ensured 422A was driver side, but flip position with 422B anyways and now only leaves about ¼ inch smear in lower part of viewing area. DO NOT Recommend these at all, if you do not trust OEM blades try something else, because Bosch 422A/B ICON Wiper Blades are a waste of your money.

On the good side, ICON blades are easy to change, look GREAT, and never squeak.

The bad news: the springs aren't nearly strong enough so they don't stick to the windshield tightly. This remains true no matter if you're standing still or driving fast, so it's not an aerodynamics problem, it's a spring tension problem. And low tension brings a weak wipe.

Tiny leaf stems, other plant parts, and insect parts get stuck between the blade and the windshield glass and stay there, leaving streaks. Even micro scratches in the glass quickly make the blades streaky and they STAY streaky even if you carefully clean off the rubber edge.

Everything about the ICON series *looks* like a big upgrade, and that gets you to pay the high price. Then you notice that the only real benefit is they don't squeak. Sure, they don't squeak but they also don't clean your windshield!

I tried two pairs in a row just to give them a fair shake. I'm going back to regular blades and next time it will be much more difficult for Bosch or anyone else to persuade me to take a big leap to a new style of wiper blade.

In case I wasn't clear enough, these ICON blades give a wipe that is as streaky and unclear, when one or two weeks old, as regular blades did after six months of wear. They're an absolute ripoff and should be recalled.

Last but not least: no, I'm not using them on an extremely curved windshield. I have a 2004 GMC Canyon, and the windshield has a very tame, ordinary curve that works fine with most wiper blades and even with the straight squeegees at gas stations. ICON blades are failing what should be one of the easiest tests. I expected MUCH better from Bosch after appreciating the craftsmanship of their appliances and woodworking tools.

These blades are an absolute ripoff. The blades that I was replasing did a better job when they were worn out then these pieces of garbage did new. Save your time and money and avoid this blade.

This is the first time I have ever bought and installed windshield wipers myself, and I must say that it was quite easy. The hardest part was figuring out how to get the old ones off, but that only took a couple minutes to work out.

After twice in a row of getting screwed over by a dealer putting on cheap wipers that rumble and skip across the windshield and actually making visibility worse, I decided that I had had enough. How in the world brand new (cheap) wiper blades can skip across the windshield from the moment they were installed is beyond me.

I've only had these wipers through a couple of rain storms, but so far they work perfectly. Hopefully I will be just as happy with the way these wipers hold up long term.

By the way, I got 1 Bosch 422A for my driver's side and 1 Bosch 422B for my passenger side because that's what the auto zone website said my car needed when I was researching wiper blades.

Let me start with the fact these wipers are impossible to find locally besides at a dealership. With that in mind you'd better buy 2 sets because if you NEED them they won't be available unless your willing to spend $80. While I appreciate the design and its "superiority" over the normal U connector type of wipers, I don't think the pro's of the design outweigh the con's of not being able to buy them locally, or purchase just 1 (they only come in a set of 2).

With that said, they do a great job of what their for, removing rain, snow, dirt, etc from your windshield. That is until you lift them off the windshield to remove snow from beneath them and the plastic connector breaks when you put it back down. The previous style before the "revision" had a removable plastic cap that slid into place and locked the wiper blade to the wiper arm. The new style incorporated the plastic cap into the blade and made the plastic much thinner. This thinner connector breaks rather than popping off under stress leaving you with a useless wiper blade and the possibility of severely damaging your windshield if you forget its missing before you can replace the set.

The moral of the story is, buy them locally where ever you can find them and pay the outrageous price because its worth it to have someone to complain to when they break after less than 1 month of use. Or even better yet... find the old style and stock up!

This is the first wiper I have used on a Ford or Chevrolet car that does not streak and noisily "rumble" across the windshield; especially in very light rain or snow, and I have tried many! Please Note: This wiper is designed by the manufacturer for the passenger's side only. The complementary & matching wiper for the driver's side can be found at Bosch 422A ICON Wiper Blade - 22".

these are the best wipers on the market, quick and easy transaction and super fast shipping. this item ships for free when 2 are purchased

I purchased Bosch, Icon, blades for winter use on a 2010 Toyota, Tacoma. Bosch has always had a good reputation for automotive parts and accessories. Bosch purports the blades to be "All Season"; However, they worked find until the temperature went below 25 degrees, at which time they did not fit the contour of the windsield and left a void of ice and snow in the center of the blade wipe path, thereby compromising vision and safety. I returned them and went back to Anco Winter blades, for 1/3 the cost of the Bosch, Icon blades. Anco is still be best choice for wiper blades. Furthermore, Bosch specified 22 inch blades for driver side and 21 inch blades for passenger side, which were consistent with the length of the factory blades; however, Anco recommended 22 inch for both driver and passenger sides for the 2010 Toyota, Tacoma. Surprisingly, the 22 inch blades DO work on both sides and do not project beyond the seam of the windshield.