builthatch

i know, a write-up for something so dumb, but trust me, these are not anything i've seen before, and are different than the coupe of the same generation.

for whatever it's worth, both sides of refills cost me something like $9 total from my local honda dealer. I do have a basic account there so i think it's like 25% from list, but still- HELLA CHEAP!

to start, i put some heat shrink on a flat blade screw driver that would fit in the slot shown below. i did this to help protect vs. gouging. a single wrap of e-tape would probably do the same thing



put the blade in the slot, press on the two textured tabs on the side of the cover, and while giving the driver a twist to push the slot, press the tabs and push forward in the direction of the opposite side of the car


pop the cover off and then feel underneath for a tab. press that tab and push the blade toward yourself, and then disengage the flexblade from the hook of the wiper arm



find the end of the old refill that says "lock"


take the tape or shrink off the the driver end you used before, and lift the shroud of the flexblade to expose the end of the refill that says "lock"


while slightly prying outwards with the blade, push with your other thumb to help the effort to slide the old refill outward and remove the old refill.


remove the metal strips on each side of the old refill, and insert them into the opposite of the "lock" end of the new refill. make sure the end of each metal insert is butted all the way tight against the end of the channel(s) in the refill. this is because you are now going to install the new refill in the flexblade in the opposite order of the removal.


you want to make sure you don't force the new refill in, and only engage the metal strip supported grooves when sliding it back together. as you are sliding the new refill in, use your thumb on the opposite hand to help guide it until it's completely inside the flexblade shroud

K5^

Why not sticky this thread up top? Better yet, a diy thread with links.

Caveman74

Mine you just squeeze the end and the clip comes off. Then you pull out the blade. I guess they changed them from 06'

builthatch

that's the coupe style...

Caveman74

Ahh, That sucks they didn't do the same design

builthatch

and to boot, they changed the sedan style yet again for '08 ; )

freakin' weird. but i will tell you that the OE wiper refills, even with supreme care to the blades and windscreen, will go bad relatively quickly. maybe they kept changing them until they found the best design. whatever- the blades on my old '97 worked fine for a decade; i think i had to change them twice or three times, ever.

2008fijibluesi

Wow...I was wondering what all of the fuss was about.

I was thinking "BH always seemed like a pretty bright guy, why is he having such a problem?"

Now I see. What a PITA. The coupe design is pretty simple, although I'd rather a complete wiper to replace because the refill to wear out very quickly. At least they are rather cheap.

high_revs

you dont have to remove the blade completely to replace the inserts, not sure if your aware or not

builthatch

i'd imagine it's easier to maneuver when it's off, esp if it's the first time and you've waited a while.

the thing that threw me initially is when you can't do what the manual instructs, or what helms says...then something is not quite right and that's why i wound up posting about it before. i don't have a problem forcing stuff a little bit but i'm strong as hell and with just my fingers i could not get that black cover piece off...and the manual mentions NOTHING about using anything other than finger power to remove that thing. i figure if the very first step in the manual is not working out, then i was in for a little more investigation. must be an age related thing since this car is an '07 with 45k and have never had the wipers serviced.

high_revs

yeah deff easier, those clips are always impossible to remove by hand, **** almost any clip honda uses is...all the dash stuff is supposed to off by hand and most of the times i have to use prying tools which can possibly lead to damage or even break certain stuff..

Noodler

good **** my friend, just did this in less than 10 minutes thanks to your diy! couldnt figure it out by the manual LOL.

Opanani

Thanks for the DIY post. I thought I was having a blonde moment. I never knew it could be sooo hard to change wiper blades.

autodog

I've been in the auto industry for over 35 years and I never knew changing the wiper blades on a car could be so difficult. Changing blades on the 2007 Honda Civic is rediculously hard. Honda Engineering what were you thinking!