Bosch Icon's review

I picked up the Bosch Icon's for my 05 325xi. Even though they were not listed in the official fitment book. I looked on-line and bought the 420A and 422A. They mounted simply and look excellent. They basically cover up the connection and arm leaving a nice clean look. They are noticeable cleaner from the drivers seat.

They work very well, very tight to the windshield and they clear all the water nicely.

I had the OEM's on and they can't even be compared.

Highly recommended.

Did you remove the little plastic piece on the drivers side towards the bottom that holds the factory blade in place? If not, just know that if your wiper starts missing a big section in the middle, take that piece out. It was causing all kinds of problems on mine, but I didn't know what the problems was until I found that.

Does the passenger side wiper get a clean wipe towards the bottom of the windshield? I know this is popular on the X5, with the drawback being about 2" of uncleared portion towards the bottom outside of the passenger stroke.

Topshelf; I did not take off that piece, but based on the rain and washing it does not seem to cause any issue, but thanks!

AzNMpower32; The down wipe totally clears the area like a squeegee. Now with that said, there is a slightly bigger area outside the wipers on the right of the passenger side. So it is a tad shorter, but not a issue at all. The functionality and clean look more then make up for it.

Originally Posted by jp325xi

I picked up the Bosch Icon's for my 05 325xi. Even though they were not listed in the official fitment book. I looked on-line and bought the 420A and 422A. They mounted simply and look excellent. They basically cover up the connection and arm leaving a nice clean look. They are noticeable cleaner from the drivers seat.

They work very well, very tight to the windshield and they clear all the water nicely.

I had the OEM's on and they can't even be compared.

Highly recommended.

+1! I have them and I love them! Pair them up with a nice coat of Rain-Ex and you are golden!

Originally Posted by jp325xi

AzNMpower32; The down wipe totally clears the area like a squeegee. Now with that said, there is a slightly bigger area outside the wipers on the right of the passenger side. So it is a tad shorter, but not a issue at all. The functionality and clean look more then make up for it.

As far as the length of the blades...you DID get a blade that was too short. I got the 425A blade for the passenger side simply because the recommended size was too short. If you take the OEM blade in and measure it up against what they recommended, you would see that it was way to short (by about two inches). Solution: get a bigger blade. They were the same fitment, just a bit longer; that all. Much better!

I'm running 422B (driver) and 420B (passenger). Same size as OEM and works great.

Originally Posted by KrisL

I'm running 422B (driver) and 420B (passenger). Same size as OEM and works great.

So THAT is what the passenger size was...thanks Kris! The point I was trying to get at was to just check the replacement blade to make sure it was the same length...that's all.

Originally Posted by KrisL

I'm running 422B (driver) and 420B (passenger). Same size as OEM and works great.

Uh oh. Mine's been ordered last week and already shipped.. 422B (driver) and 419B (Passenger)
I've followed the size from bimmerfest e46 Wiki...

Wiper Blades
The wiper blades are 22" (drivers side) and 19" (passenger side). The correct Bosch Icon pair are 422B and 419B.

Originally Posted by triggs

Uh oh. Mine's been ordered last week and already shipped.. 422B (driver) and 419B (Passenger)
I've followed the size from bimmerfest e46 Wiki...

Wiper Blades
The wiper blades are 22" (drivers side) and 19" (passenger side). The correct Bosch Icon pair are 422B and 419B.

The edge of the 420B wiper doesn't touch the windshield when it's in the rest position (due to the curvature of the windshield). The 419B does. Either is fine, really... 420B will just give you an additional 1/2 inch of swipe on each side.

I just measured mine, and the sizes are 24 inch driver, 20 inch passenger.

'01 325xi

Just FYI.

I had those on my gmc truck I traded in. Worked awesome, goofy looking as hell though on that truck

Not sure what they would look like on the bmw.

Hmm, I know mine are 22 driver and 20 passenger. No could anything longer than that 22 work on the drivers side. If you can see, then I guess it's the right size!

Woah, those are big for a sedan! The X3 uses the same length (22"/20")

This is a sidenote, but ICON's sit noticeably taller than standard wipers. If you look at the OEM implementations of Audi, MB Infiniti and even Lexus, you'll notice they implement an offset wiper linkage to reduce the profile of the blade.

Just went back and exchanged the 20 inch passenger wiper with a 19 inch, but the 24 sits fine and doesnt go over the windshield at all.

Does the 24 sit properly in the down position? That's where I think you would run into a problem with the bottom of the wiper. If it's working, then just leave it though.

I got the size from Bav. Auto. The driver's side fits perfect and the passenger side, at rest, sits with the right tip almost touching the rubber, so I don't think I could of gotten them any bigger. I noticed when I was looking at some other brand, similar to the Icon's, that each year was different and they didn't even list 05 xi's in the fitment guide. If I was not so lazy I would go take a pic and post it.

It was pouring today and the blades worked much better then OEM.

Originally Posted by Topshelf

Does the 24 sit properly in the down position? That's where I think you would run into a problem with the bottom of the wiper. If it's working, then just leave it though.

Well technically I've ordered the 24 inch bosch for pickup tomorrow morning, but the old wiper I have there now also measures 24 inches and it sits fine with no issues.

I'll repost here tomorrow if I have any problems with the new one.

Just posting to say that 24inch driver and 19 inch passenger fits perfectly on the windshield, both in motion and at rest, although I dont think you can go any higher than 24 and have it fit.

Gives me a huge tract of wiped space on the windshield too. I like it.

Just FYI, someone in another forum I frequent revealed that the Bosch Icon letter designations after the sizes ("19A", "22B") signify a less or more aggressive curvature to adapt the wiper to windshield curves of smaller radii. In other words: Pick the letter A wipers for a flatter windshield application, and the letter B for a more curved windshield.

If your tips don't quite touch the windshield on the passenger side, you might want the B style there... the driver's side would use either the A or the B

I thought that the A and B meant whether or not it was drivers side or passengers side. I.E. A for driver and B for passenger...

Since I need wiper blades, this thread came along at a great time. On Amazon, I found the blades for my car ('02 330cic) and this is what Amazon lists them as:

"Bosch 3397001394 Wiper Blades, OE Fitment - Set of 2"

"This product fits your 2002 BMW 330Ci"

There's nothing designating a number (e.g., 422A, B, etc.). Would these be the right blades?

Thanks,

Tom

422B, etc are the Bosch Icon part numbers. Bosch makes several models of wiper blades.

OK. I think I understand. Thanks.

I thought that the A and B meant whether or not it was drivers side or passengers side. I.E. A for driver and B for passenger...

You'd be right for our applications... but not all vehicles have the wipers pivoting from the far left/center like our cars. Some pivot from the far right/far left (tips meeting in the middle of the windshield), far right/center (perhaps a right-hand-drive car originally, but shipped to us as a left-driver), top of the windshield (say, a tour bus or other large vehicle), etc. Thus, I guess, the A and B designation...