Review: BMW Evo Flat Blade Windshield Wiper

While browsing the forums, I frequently see threads asking various questions about wiper blades. These threads usually end up with people suggesting Bosch ICON's, PIAA's or replacement OEM refills. Occasionally people will mention Rain-X Latitudes or some other type. However, I have never seen anyone mention the Evo Flat Blade available through BMW.

For those that don't know, the Evo Flat Blade is a frame-less, curve design similar to the ICON, Latitude, etc. The part no. is 61610037009. My local dealer sells them for MSRP of $51.94 a pair but you can get them from Tischer for $41.55. As with the aftermarket curved wipers, you have to remove the wiper blade guide on the driver side.

RealOEM


First, I want to go ahead and say that I am very disappointed with these wiper blades. They are not even close to reaching my expectations of a $50+ set of blades.

I purchased them about a month ago from my local dealer. I saw them on RealOEM earlier that day and asked the guy at the parts counter about them while I was picking up some other items. He said their first order for E46 applications wasn't there yet and was expecting them within a couple of days. Then he corrected himself while looking at the computer saying he was wrong and they had arrived that day. He made it seem like it was a brand new product but I don't know. I didn't bother to ask. I decided to go ahead and buy them despite the fact I could get them for less.

I put them on about 3 weeks ago, replacing my Bosch ICON's. First thing I noticed, the Evo blades have the same flaw that the ICON's did. The passenger side does not sit flush on the windshield at the end in the off position. You would think that wouldn't be a problem with OEM blades. At any rate, it wasn't that big of a deal since my previous wipers were the same way. I got the chance to use them very same day. The first swipe was very smooth and quiet until it reached the transition point where they come back down. There was a loud noise as the blade rolled over and switched sides. This is also something that my ICON's did but only after they had some age on them. So again, I said not a big deal. It's annoying but I can live with it.

I used them probably 3 times from install to the beginning of this week. Over the past couple of days, I have used them every time I get in the car because the remains of Hurricane Ida are rolling through. The performance of the wipers has significantly gone down hill. Not only is it still loud at the transition, the blades also jump as they are going up. If they don't jump, you can still hear them all the way through the cycle regardless of the amount of water on the windshield and the speed you are traveling at.

[rant]
I decided to take them back to the dealer tomorrow and get my money back. I pulled out my receipt only to see the note saying, "NO RETURNS AFTER 20 DAYS." So now I am out a pair of wipers that work correctly and $51.94 plus tax. And to add some more fuel on the fire, I bought a set of cheapo blades yesterday at $16 a pair for my company car (Mercury Mountaineer) and they perform flawlessly. They make no noise what so ever. I drove the Mountaineer on a 200 mile round trip to Boone yesterday in the rain the whole time and they worked perfectly. If you didn't see them, you'd have no idea they were on.
[/rant]

I made a short video to demonstrate the jumping and noises of the Evo blades. During the first swipe, the blades jump on the up motion. On the second swipe, the blades don't jump but you can still hearing the annoying noises as they move.

Both my partner and I bought Valeos for our A6 and 325Ci; they are the same concept. We got a great deal on them and thought they'd be great.

They SUCK.

Your passenger are is bent bend it a little towards the windshield while it's up

lol, wow that sucks. I didn't think they'd that bad even on a video, but that sounded horrible.

My cheapo Valeo blades I got at the tire rack are way better than that.

My Bosch Icons are great. A total step up from OEM.

I did however have to bend the wiper arm to increase tension so they didn't chatter. A small price to pay.

They are $60.95 in Canada, my parts guy said they are replacing the old metal style blades as a change up, not good.

I've had them on my E46 for months, and I haven't experienced anything like that.

Mine clear extremely well, have held up like-new, and were very easy to install. I also honestly haven't heard a peep out of them since installed - dead quiet. Noticeable improvement over the originals, IMHO.

Maybe you got a faulty pair?

Originally Posted by bishop1977

Your passenger are is bent bend it a little towards the windshield while it's up

lol, wut?

Originally Posted by hvirani

My Bosch Icons are great. A total step up from OEM.

I did however have to bend the wiper arm to increase tension so they didn't chatter. A small price to pay.

I'll have to try this and see if it gets any better. I guess this is what bishop1977 is trying to say.

Originally Posted by Jason@Tischer

I've had them on my E46 for months, and I haven't experienced anything like that.

Mine clear extremely well, have held up like-new, and were very easy to install. I also honestly haven't heard a peep out of them since installed - dead quiet. Noticeable improvement over the originals, IMHO.

Maybe you got a faulty pair?

Interesting. I'm going to try and exchange them for a different pair at the dealer. Hopefully they'll have some sympathy but I'm not very optimistic.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it!

Originally Posted by snowcatxx87

If it isn't broken, don't fix it!

That makes no sense in this situation. I was replacing worn out wiper blades.

Well that sucks. I love my OEM refills. I think they are 6 each

the wiper arms bend easily so when you was your car it doesn't take much for those arms to bend a little...mine were the same way...i just pulled the arms up away from the windshield and gave it a small bend and it fixed it up

i was thinking about getting these because mine look horrible. I like these for its modern look, i think they look really good. keep this updated, if yours were a faulty pair i might give it a shot

i got the bosch icons for my car and they've been great so far

Well I stopped by the dealer on the way home from work but no love. They stood by their 20 day return period even after I pulled up the video on my phone. I bought a new wiper blade guide and some refills for my original articulated wipers. I had to buy the guide because I broke mine when removing it for the ICON's.

There is some good news though, this is post # 2000.

Damn that sucks

Get some De-naturalized Alcohol and clean ur windshield.... That should help out on the skipping...

-Anthony@F1 Autohaus

I have had the exact same experience with the Evo Flats as well. The passenger side does not curve properly to the windshield. At the dealership, we even tried a new pair on a e46 M3 with the same result. Going to the dealership this Tuesday.

Good information, I will stay with the OEM refills, they seem to last about 6 months, and only cost $2.88 ea. at the dealer. Why reinvent the wheel so to speak.

I have the same ones and they have been good for about 3 months.