F30 wiper arm weak/bends easily?

Hello,

Got a lot of snow the other day where I am. And I was using the wipers to clear off the snow. The snow started to accumulate at the base of the windshield, not allowing the wipers to return to it's original position. The thing is that the arms of the wipers are now bent. I was totally shocked. I have never had such a situation with wipers before. Was I totally in the wrong not to completely clear the snow from the windshield before using the wipers?

I asked the dealer how much it would cost to have the wipers replaced and it would be around $200 plus, including labor. Ouch. And the thing is that my dealer is out of stock of the wipers. They said that I should bring it in and they could possibly bend it back in shape. But I feel I should get a new set. What's the point of having ones that already bend so easily? Should this be covered in the warranty? Or do I have a lost cause?

Anyone else have something like this happen? Any advice as to what I should do?

W

Well, that's a bummer, I know. BMW does tend to overcomplicate things.....

From the owner's manual:

Fold-out position of the wipers
Required when changing the wiper blades or
under frosty conditions, for example.
1. Switch off the ignition.
2. Under frosty conditions, ensure that the
wiper blades are not frozen onto the windshield.
3. Press the wiper lever up beyond the point of
resistance and hold it for approx. 3 seconds,
until the wiper remains in a nearly vertical
position.
After the wipers are folded back down, the wiper
system must be reactivated.
Fold the wipers back down
Before switching the ignition on, fold the
wipers back down to the windshield; otherwise,
the wipers may become damaged when they are
switched on.
1. Switch on the ignition.
2. Press the wiper levers down. The wipers
move to their resting position and are ready
for operation.

Originally Posted by mdsbuc

Well, that's a bummer, I know. BMW does tend to overcomplicate things.....

From the owner's manual:

I dont think that is what the OP was talking about. He was using the wipers to remove snow as in while the car was running but snow got packed into the groove at the bottom of the windshield creating a hard curved pack and when the wipers tried to go back to the bottom of their motion the motor didnt stop at resistance and therefore cause the wipers to bend.

I would indeed claim that for warranty repair. It was normal use of the vehicle and something such as the wipers should account for resistance and stop accordingly. But then again I am not BMWNA so I have no idea what they will do.

Speaking of wipers, I live in a snowy clime, and I was told by a mechanic, that putting wipers, not necessarily BMW wipers, in the folded out, vertical position for extended lengths of time (like a week at the airport) is a bad thing to do because it results in stretched wiper springs. Now I've never done this in my new F30, so I have no idea if this car even has wiper springs, or if the fold out technique referenced simply puts the wipers high up on the windshield as opposed to in the park position to avoid freezing down there.

Can anyone speak to these issues? Does this car have wiper springs, and could they be stretched if extended for extended periods of time?

Originally Posted by MonkeyCMonkeyDo

I dont think that is what the OP was talking about. He was using the wipers to remove snow as in while the car was running but snow got packed into the groove at the bottom of the windshield creating a hard curved pack and when the wipers tried to go back to the bottom of their motion the motor didnt stop at resistance and therefore cause the wipers to bend.

I would indeed claim that for warranty repair. It was normal use of the vehicle and something such as the wipers should account for resistance and stop accordingly. But then again I am not BMWNA so I have no idea what they will do.

Yes, thank you for putting it more eloquently for me. The snow caused a bigger buildup on the corner away from the driver's seat and that wiper is now bent protruding out of it's normal resting position. And the other arm isn't gliding well now.

I didn't know that you had to keep the wipers out in vertical position to avoid them from sticking to the windshield. But that wasn't my problem.

Other comments would be appreciated.

It seems like you should be able to get this covered under warranty. Also, I'd spend 5 dollars on a snow brush.

On a similar note, the snow thing led me to find this product:

http://www.carid.com/2013-bmw-3-seri...e-3122512.html

It's a windshield cover for snow. Wonder if it's any good.

Originally Posted by MonkeyCMonkeyDo

I dont think that is what the OP was talking about. He was using the wipers to remove snow as in while the car was running but snow got packed into the groove at the bottom of the windshield........

You're right. I should read more carefully! My mistake.......

.

mdsbuc,

No worries. Thanks for your comment. Insightful.

W

Depending on the conditions, this "packing" can occur while driving too. If you're stuck in traffic during a storm you can't just hop out and brush it off.

Originally Posted by Ronin951

Depending on the conditions, this "packing" can occur while driving too. If you're stuck in traffic during a storm you can't just hop out and brush it off.

Good point there. Thanks.

Originally Posted by welchanos

Good point there. Thanks.

You're not going to get that kind of packing while driving if the car was a) previously cleaned off before driving and b) you have the inside temperature set to a habitable level, which will melt most snow as it hits the windshield.

Try living in New England. It does happen while driving.

Originally Posted by Kar Don

Try living in New England. It does happen while driving.

I lived in northern Maine for most of my life. No it doesn't. Think about it, your car gets warm when you drive, especially the area at the base of the windshield. As long as the car is clean to begin with, you're fine. If you take off with a bunch of ice covering the area the wipers are in, then yeah, it might happen, assuming you take off in a giant blizzard.

Originally Posted by KLC

I lived in northern Maine for most of my life. No it doesn't. Think about it, your car gets warm when you drive, especially the area at the base of the windshield. As long as the car is clean to begin with, you're fine. If you take off with a bunch of ice covering the area the wipers are in, then yeah, it might happen, assuming you take off in a giant blizzard.

I live in Michigan and when you are driving in a blinding snowstorm the wipers can't keep up and snow builds up on the base of the windshield. It does happen on occasion.