Windshield Wiper Motor/Transmission Repair?

[mnkyman]

Hey Folks, long time no see. My wipers have started hitting the extremes of the window frame (slaps the Left side and bottom). This started occuring after I replaced the blade inserts with new OEM inserts (coincidence?). This occurs intermittently, but when it is occurring, it is loud and feels like they are about to break off. Firestone said its the "Windshield Wiper Transmission", based on the play in the wipers even when not running. They quoted me ~$300 ($200 for parts and $100 for labor). Wondering if anyone else has experienced this before and if anyone has attempted the repair on their own? I searched the forum and only saw a few mentions of windshield wiper motor recall (which I don't believe my car fell into) but no mention of a windshield wiper transmission. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

[mnkyman]

Hey folks. My posts looking for help about this never got traction. I ended up searching youtube and came across this video which explains the issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fhZausHiY0 and this video which reviews how to get to the components https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbF9SviejRI . Essentially, I took a chance that my issue was the same as the first video (one of the plastic grommets had worn out). Honda does not sell that specific grommet alone and aftermarket replacements aren't the best fit (from what I gathered reading online). I ended up buying the two linkage arms (which includes the grommets) from Honda for about $20 (Firestone would have replaced the entire windshield wiper motor assembly for $200 in parts and another $100 in labor) and replaced these both following the second video.



Posting in case someone on the Internet is searching for this fix and happens upon this post!

[timot_one]

Sorry Sam. I never saw this post until now. So, it's the plastic grommets in the arms that wear out?

Looking online, those arms are fairly cheap. Good advice and thanks for sharing. You should stick around and post more often. We miss you.

[mnkyman]

Sorry Sam. I never saw this post until now. So, it's the plastic grommets in the arms that wear out?
 
Looking online, those arms are fairly cheap. Good advice and thanks for sharing. You should stick around and post more often. We miss you.

No worries man. Ya 1 out of the 4 plastic grommets (2 linkage arms with plastic grommets at each end) had warn out. Once I got the trim off, it was quite obvious which linkage arm was to blame. I wasn't sure which one it would be ahead of time so I purchased both (since they are each about $10) and just replaced both for the heck of it. Appreciate the missing, but school/work/moving has kept me pretty busy. Will try to stop by and contribute more often!