I just bought this car a few weeks ago (96), and when it rained the drivers side wiper skipped all the way across the windshield. Ok, so I bought a set of winter wipers.. I figured why not, I loved them on my durango. Still skipped. So I figured it was the fact that they don't bend as much across the windshield, so I refilled the stock wiper and they still skip. I don't know what to do, its driving me nuts. I searched the forums, but nothing really pointed me in any direction. The spring acts normally for the arm..

 

mines do it too... i just ignore it, it seems like it has to do with the speed im going or how hard its raining

 

Make sure the spring that tensions the wiper arm isnt broken. Also make sure the pivot for the arm moves freely. You may want to try lubing the pivit if its hard to lift the wiper off the glass. Also try using rain x or other similar product to make the windshield a little slicker.

 

Mine do this too. The problem seems to go away as the rain picks up and the wipers get wetter though. I also heard that rain x wipers work well because they glide more smoothly across the windshield.

 

The wiper blades could skip if they are not angled properly. Audi has a tool to check the angle, and you twist the arm to get the proper angle. The angle is 3 degrees off of perpendicular. The angle of tilt is towards the top of the windshield.

I did this without the audi tools by twisting the arm and it worked. Place a thick towel on the glass under the wiper (to prevent broken glass if you drop the arm), take the wiper off the arm, get a pair of pliers and twist the arm by tilting the pliers towards the windshield. Use plastic or rubber between the pliers and the arm to avoid scratching paint. Give it a gentle torquing, it only needs to tilt a little bit.