Raised Wiper Arms…What’s the Point?

In the last few years you may have noticed a trend of vehicles with the wiper arms flipped up when freezing weather is expected.

Every time I see a vehicle with the arms up, I ask myself “What’s the point?”. The basic premise is that by lifting your wiper arms, you are preventing the wiper blade from freezing to the windshield.

But the vehicle has a defrost mode to heat the windshield with. Maybe it’s easier to clean the snow/ice of the wiper blades. Okay valid point. But here is my view on this.

1. The manufacturer never intended for the arms to stay up for a long period of time. So eventually the springs will weaken. Check your vehicles manual….nada.

2. Damaged windshield. Ever see a wiper snap back to the windshield? Scary. It’s just dangerous because, on a windy day, the arm can snap down with enough force to crack your windshield.

3. It just looks silly….