I'm told a feature of the A4 1.8T is the extra long windscreen wiper blades. My problem is the blades sometimes make a loud rough noise when they are operating. The noise comes and goes. When it happens, it is quite scary inside the relatively small cabin of the A4.

I have replaced the blades a few times with genuine audi as well as aftermarket parts and the noise is still there. I've had an unthorised dealer look at it; he replaced the blades and it worked smoothly whilst he had it and the noise came back when I was driving it home. The noise results from the rough dragging motion as it tries to wip the screen. Any ideas? TIA .... Greg

PS I live in Melbourne Australia which has temperate climate so the problem is not related to excessive heat or cold.

 

Melbourne Australia ( its the heat drying your windshield too fast ) use rainX which puts a smooth finish on the screen used by aircraft/AA/police/plus many more its really good stuff
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=rainx&hl=en

 

Thanks avant80@2.6. I will give it a go. ... Greg

 

You can get window washer fluid which actually contains rain-x.

 

Well I tried applying RainX to the windscreen and unfortunately it has not eliminated the sound of wipers dragging on the glass. Most frustrating since amongst other things I've replaced the blades with 'genuine' audi parts twice. I think I might need to strip everything off the glass and then perhaps use RainX again. What do people think? Is there a recommendation for something that will strip the RainX, wax and everything else that may have accumulated over the years please? TIA .... Greg

 

Get new wiper blades. I bought some Bosch Icon blades and I LOVE them. They're expensive ($25USD a piece) but man, best wipers I've ever put on a car. Mist or a downpour, they make no noise what so ever.

That having been said, maybe one of the wiper arms is bent slightly?

 

gvm im just down the road from you, ive order one of the AeroFlat wiper conversion kit for my B5S4 and will let u no what it turns out like
I was jus driving back from Melb this arvo and had the same prob & ive just changed wipers for genuine ones too

 

same problem for me - its only happens on the return wipe cuz the windshield is dry alredy ... all i usually do is spray some windshield fluid and it goes away for a whle

 

Have you tried really cleaning the windshield well?

 

I am willing to bet that the wipers aren't the problem, rather that the linkage is nearly seized, causing the wipers to drag like they are. Very common problem.